Dominic Oddo awarded NASA FINESST Astrophysics Grant
November 27, 2023 - Dani Rae Wascher
Dominic Oddo, a University of New Mexico Department of Physics and Astronomy graduate student, was awarded the NASA FINESST grant to fund his research for three years through the end of his Ph.D.
Unlike other NASA grants, the student participant (Future Investigator) defines the FINESST project and is the primary author of the research proposal. This year, the selection rate for these awards was just 10%. The award is for a total of $150,000. The award will typically cover the later stages of a graduate student's funding until graduation and is usually competitive.
About the NASA FINESST award: Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) solicits proposals from accredited U.S. universities and other eligible organizations for graduate student-designed and performed research projects that contribute to the Science Mission Directorate's (SMD) science, technology, and exploration goals. The graduate student shall have the primary initiative to define the proposed FINESST research project and must be the primary author, with input or supervision from the proposal's Principal Investigator (PI) or mentor, as appropriate. The proposal must present a well-defined research problem/activity and justify its scientific significance to NASA. FINESST awards are research grants for up to three years and up to $50K annually.
"This award is very meaningful to me. Since it is directly an investment in me and the work that I'm doing, it means that the research area that I'm interested in is also of interest to others. In other words, it makes me feel like the work I'm doing is of interest and impactful to others as well. More broadly, it shows that the scope of exoplanet research (planets orbiting stars other than our sun) is expanding to include stars and stellar systems that are not like ours, which is very exciting," said Oddo.
Oddo's research studies planets in tight binary star systems, meaning two stars that orbit one another. He points out the relevance of this research because most stars in our galaxy are in binary or higher-order systems. Oddo says that we've only just begun to scratch the surface of planets in these systems.
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