Alumnus in space: Zi Chen gets NSF grant to conduct research on the ISS

Branco Weiss Alumnus Zi Chen has received a $400,000 grant from the US National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), to lead a three-year research project on the International Space Station (ISS). Zi Chen is an Assistant Professor at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth, USA.

Chen’s proposal was one of just three selected from institutions across the USA. With the funding for his project, “ISS: Unveiling the Mechanical Roles of Gravity and Buoyancy in Embryonic Brain and Heart Torsion,” he aims to identify the biomechanical mechanisms that drive the shape changes in early embryonic brain and heart development.

“It’s rare to be able to test hypotheses such as ours, especially as there has been a lack of opportunity in accessing the International Space Station until recently,” said Chen, who noted that the research topic has garnered significant interest despite the little existing available data. “Any simulated micro-gravity conditions can only be done for a few seconds if you’re lucky, but embryonic development takes course over at least a period of hours and days.”.

Read more on Dartmouth Engineering’s website

Read more about Zi Chen’s project