The Iowa Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) has awarded four grants to current and former ISU employees to assist in their research.Frank Chavez, assistant professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics, received a one-year, $10,000 seed grant from ISGC to help in his research of flutter clearance testing, which is the study of wing vibrations.A written proposal must be submitted to ISGC in order to be considered by the group for a grant, Chavez said.”Another one of the requirements is that it must be sponsored by someone within NASA,” he said. Chavez said he works with NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California.One of the main objectives with this project is to begin long-term relationships with NASA, he said. “The objective is to demonstrate what we can do,” Chavez said.He said the money he received from ISGC will go towards paying the two students who work for him along with travel expenses.Howard Shanks, recently retired scientist with the microelectronics research center, received a seed grant to further his work on a new power source.”I received the grant to continue work based on an idea I patented a few years ago,” he said.Shanks said his idea is for a power source which makes use of tridium and phosphorus that could be used in deep space probes.”The advantage to this type of power is that it would have an extremely long life span — 10 to 12 years,” he said.The grant provides for a student to work on the construction of a prototype, Shanks said.Bill Byrd, director of ISGC and program director for aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics, said the group is NASA-supported and includes Iowa State, University of Northern Iowa, University of Iowa and Drake University.”NASA funds a consortium in every state, and basically our money is used to get things started,” he said.Byrd said most of the group’s money comes from the state through the Iowa Board of Regents and NASA.”What we’re mainly looking to do is give money to people whose work will establish future funding sources,” he said. “We try to help people get established.”The ISGC has been around for 12 years and has been awarding seed grants for about five years, Byrd said.Others receiving seed grants are Adin Mann, associate professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics and Gene Rankey, assistant professor of geological and atmospheric sciences.The seed grants took effect Feb. 1 and will expire Dec. 31 of this year, Chavez said.