NASA research funds go to Delaware

Delaware State University in Dover will be the new home of the Optical Sciences Center for Applied Research (OSCAR) after receiving a $5-million grant from NASA.

Delaware State University in Dover will be the new home of the Optical Sciences Center for Applied Research (OSCAR) after receiving a $5-million grant from NASA. The center is designed to spur new optical technology developments to improve the aerospace industry.  The research center will specifically target areas including planetary science, space communication and navigation, and astrobiology. Delaware Governor Jack Markell (D) says he hopes the research center will bring high paying, high tech jobs to the state.

“Our great institutions of higher learning are an important part of my strategy to turn our economy around.” He says he hopes the grant money will “launch new companies and create good jobs for students graduating from those institutions.”

Initial projects will include the development of an optical gyroscope and emergency medical support for astronauts. The center will work in cooperation with the Goddard Space Flight Center near Washington, D.C., the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.