NASA Awards Postdoctoral Program Contract to USRA

Columbia, MD-USRA has been selected by NASA to operate the NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP), a prestigious, national-level effort supporting all NASA Mission Directorates and Centers. NPP awards fellowships to highly qualified postdoctoral scientists and engineers, enabling them to conduct research and participate in NASA mission activities at various locations.The NPP is a vital means by which NASA identifies and engages talented early-career scientists. It also provides an important pipeline for developing the NASA workforce needed for future challenges. Dr. Jeffrey A. Isaacson, USRA President and CEO, commented, 'Achieving NASA's goals for the NPP requires an organization with longstanding NASA relationships, insight into research projects as they relate to NASA's missions and long-term objectives, and strong connections to the university research community.USRA is ideally suited for this important charge.'

The NPP contract is for five years and is valued at $100 million.The program will be managed at USRA' headquarters facility in Columbia, MD, under the direction of Dr. Michael Corcoran. 'As a former NASA postdoc, I'm excited to help guide the future of this extremely important program, and to help NASA identify top scientific and technical talent from the US and around the world,' said Dr. Corcoran. The new contract will have an effective date of January 15, 2016, with a phase-in start of October 15, 2015.