RESEARCH projects from a Scottish university will be tested out aboard the International Space Station (ISS) thanks to a new link-up.
The University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and its PhD students will have the opportunity to collaborate with Nasa and American academic institutions after a forming a partnership with International Space School Education Trust (ISSET). The initiative aims to apply research to tackle challenges humankind faces both on Earth and in space.
The announcement came during a launch event at the university’s Paisley campus. Michael Foale, the most experienced British-born astronaut in the history of human spaceflight, spoke to an audience of students, senior Scottish academia and industry about his experience in orbit.
Through the partnership, leading UWS academics will have the opportunity to exploit their knowledge in areas including gas-sensing technologies for growing healthy plants on the ISS; the effects of growth hormone administration on muscle mass and cognitive function; and the changes in material decomposition in space. UWS also announced the creation of three fully-funded PhD scholarships as part of the partnership.
Professor Ehsan Mesbahi, the university’s vice-principal (academic), said: “Our new partnership with ISSET represents a key step forward in realising UWS’s strategic vision to link its multi-disciplinary expertise to projects in space.
“Through collaboration with ISSET, Nasa, and a number of important American academic institutions, our PhD students have the chance to explore the unknown opportunities that space, and the ISS, present. The university is immensely proud to be part of such an important initiative, which puts Scotland firmly on the map for this type of exploratory study.”
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