Colorado Mesa University will receive a portion of a $3.7 million grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to support research initiatives.

CMU is unique as a teaching university in affording undergraduate students an opportunity to get research experiences usually only offered to those in graduate programs — including the NASA science mission directorate bridge seed program.

This program will enable CMU students to explore collaborative research that will result in meaningful relationships with NASA, including access to mentorships and employment opportunities within the agency. The program is a year-long, two summer, paid research opportunity starting this summer. The research collaborations will focus on complex fluids and soft matter.

During the academic year, students will meet remotely with research partners at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Florida International University and NASA Glenn Research Center. Summer 2025 students will spend about 10 weeks at one of the partner institutions working on a research project.

“I’m extremely excited that NASA has given us the opportunity to build and lead a unique multi-institutional STEM undergraduate research and education consortium out of CMU,” said Jarrod Schiffbauer, an assistant professor of physics at CMU. “By continuing to build our program with NASA Glenn Research Center and including other CMU faculty research, we hope to create even more opportunities for students interested in graduate STEM study or NASA/aerospace-related careers in the near future.”

Shahra Lambert, senior advisor for engagement at NASA, stated in a news release the bridge program and partnerships like the one with CMU will  build relationships and provide “the best and brightest talents in our nation” access to NASA to “develop a diverse and capable workforce to further our understanding of the cosmos.”