← LeaderboardsInvestigatorsiAttributed = a PI's even-split share of each grant — a $1M grant with 2 PIs counts $500K each.
Southwest Research Institute
San Antonio, TX
$327,690,307
Total funding
575
Grants
Funding over time
peak $51.6M · FY2005–25$100M$75M$50M$25M$0
'05
'06
'07
'08
'09
'10
'11
'12
'13
'14
'15
'16
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24
'25
Funding mix
By agency
NASA$198,016,640 · 431
DOE$93,489,874 · 45
NSF$19,668,595 · 76
NIH$10,925,767 · 10
DOD$5,589,431 · 13
By mechanism
—$316,764,540 · 565
N01$5,473,374 · 2
R01$2,666,472 · 2
R21$2,636,082 · 5
R29$149,839 · 1
Investigators at Southwest Research Institute
InvestigatorsiAttributed = a PI's even-split share of each grant — a $1M grant with 2 PIs counts $500K each.
Exposure= the full size of every grant they're on ($1M each).
Rising Stars
First grant in the last 5 yrs
Not enough data
Emerging Leaders
6–10 yrs in
Not enough data
All-Time
Most funded here, all years
Largest grants
WE PROPOSE TO PLACE FUNDAMENTAL CONSTRAINTS ON THE THERMAL HISTORY VERTICAL DIFFERENTIATION AND GEOGRAPHICAL VARIABILITY OF THE MOON BY MEASURING ITS HEAT FLOW AND SUBSURFACE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY STRUCTURE AT SCHRODINGER BASIN. ELECTRICAL COND$9,627,000
· FY2022 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
DE-FOA-00014564 AND CONTROL NUMBER
1564-1529.
SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE$8,149,932
· FY2017 · Department of Energy
NOVEL CONCEPTS FOR THE COMPRESSION OF LARGE VOLUMES OF CARBON DIOXIDE$7,583,684
· FY2008 · Department of Energy
NOVEL CONCEPTS FOR THE COMPRESSION OF LARGE VOLUMES OF CARBON DIOXIDE$7,296,936
· FY2009 · Department of Energy
DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH EFFICIENCY HOT GAS TURBO-EXPANDER AND LOW COST HEAT EXCHANGERS FOR OPTIMIZED CSP SUPERCRITICAL CO2 OPERATION$6,785,892
· FY2012 · Department of Energy
HOW THE CORONA IS HEATED TO TENS OF MEGAKELVIN (MK) IN SOLAR FLARES AND QUIESCENT (NON-FLARING) ACTIVE REGIONS IS STILL POORLY UNDERSTOOD. ELEMENTAL ABUNDANCES ARE A UNIQUE DIAGNOSTIC OF HOW MASS AND ENERGY FLOW INTO AND WITHIN THE CORONA.$6,490,337
· FY2022 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
RESEARCH TITLE: UNDERSTANDING THE FORMATION AND BOMBARDMENT HISTORY OF THE MOON. THREE FUNDAMENTAL SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS HAVE CHANGED OUR UNDERSTAND$6,083,188
· FY2009 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
MULTIPLE YEAR AWARD WITH INCREMENTAL FUNDING FOR YEARS ONE TO FIVE. THIS PROPOSAL IS ENTITLED "PROJECT ESPRESSO: EXPLORATION SCIENCE PATHFINDER RESEARCH FOR ENHANCING SOLAR SYSTEM OBSERVATIONS." THIS IS AWARDED IN RESPONSE TO COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NOTICE_CAN_NO. NNH16ZDA009C NASA SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION RESEARCH VIRTUAL INSTITUTE_SSERVI CYCLE THREE. THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR IS DR. ALEX H. PARKER WITH THE SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE_SWRI. PROJECT SUMMARY WE PROPOSE THE ESPRESSO PROJECT FOR SSERVI NODE THAT WILL PURSUE A BROAD RANGE OF PATHFINDING RESEARCH WITH SCIENCE AND OPERATIONS OBJECTIVES RELEVANT TO ENABLING AND ENHANCING EXPLORATION OF NEAR-EARTH ASTEROIDS_NEAS THE MOON AND THE MOONS OF MARS. THESE OBJECTIVES WILL BE ACHIEVED WITH A TIGHTLY INTEGRATED INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAM TO DEVELOP IMPLEMENT AND CHARACTERIZED A SUITE OF ENABLING FACILITIES ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES AND INSTRUMENTATION TECHNOLOGIES. THE ESPRESSO OBJECTIVES ARE GUIDED BY THE FOLLOWING THREE THEMES:1_ENHANCING OPERATIONAL SAFETY.2_ENHANCING TARGET SELECTION SAMPLE SELECTION AND IN-SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION (ISRU) POTENTIAL.3_ENHANCING TARGET CHARACTERIZATION AND ANALYSIS CAPABILITIES.BY VIRTUE OF THE DISTRIBUTED INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM ENABLED BY THE VIRTUAL INSTITUTE MODEL ESPRESSO WILL SUPPORT A DIVERSE ENSEMBLE OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INVESTIGATIONS GUIDED BY THESE THEMES. THE EIGHT ESPRESSO INVESTIGATIONS ARE:1_DEVELOPING INSTRUMENTED NANO-IMPACTORS FOR REMOTE GEOTECHNICAL HAZARD ASSESSMENTS.2_CHARACTERIZING GRAIN-SCALE THERMOMECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF TARGET BODY CONSTITUENTS.3_PREDICTING TARGET BODY LANDSLIDE HAZARDS BY ADAPTING TERRESTRIAL HAZARD ANALYSIS TOOLS.4_CHARACTERIZING IMPACT EJECTA DYNAMICS TO UNDERSTAND POTENTIAL SIZE- AND CHEMISTRY-DEPENDENT REGOLITH MOBILIZATION PROCESSES ON TARGET BODIES.5_EXPERIMENTALLY CHARACTERIZING TARGET BODY REGOLITH GARDENING AND CRATERING PROCESSES.6_MEASURING OPTICAL CONSTANTS OF TARGET BODY CONSTITUENT MATERIALS FOR QUANTITATIVE REMOTE COMPOSITIONAL ANALYSIS OF TARGET BODIES.7_CHARACTERIZING LASER INDUCED BREAKDOWN SPECTROSCOPY_LIBS RAMAN SCATTERING AND LASER-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE FOR IN SITU TARGET BODY COMPOSITION ANALYSIS.8_DETERMINING THE EXPLORATION ROLES OF FIELD LIBS AND RAMAN FOR SAMPLE SELECTION RESOURCE PROSPECTING AND HAZARD IDENTIFICATION.TO ENABLE INVESTIGATIONS 1 3 4 AND 5 SWRI HAS PARTNERED WITH INDUSTRY TO DEVELOP THE AIRBORNE SPACE ENVIRONMENT CHAMBER_ASEC A LARGE GENERAL-PURPOSE VACUUM CHAMBER FLOWN IN REDUCED GRAVITY AIRCRAFT TO PROVIDE ESPRESSO AND OTHER SSERVI TEAMS WITH ACCESS TO A SPACE-LIKE GRAVITY AND PRESSURE EXPERIMENT ENVIRONMENT. THERE ARE 12 PLANNED ASEC MICROGRAVITY FLIGHTS SCHEDULED UNDER THE SWRI INSTITUTIONAL CONTRIBUTION FOR ESPRESSO WITH ASED FLIGHT SPACE AVAILABLE FOR OTHER SSERVI EXPERIMENTAL PAYLOADS. EXPRESSO'S INVESTIGATIONS ARE DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO 20 OF THE SSERVI CAN SCIENCE AND EXPLORATION TOPICS AND ADDRESS AT LEAST SEVEN NASA STRATEGIC KNOWLEDGE GAPS_SKGS INCLUDING SMALL BODY SKGS II.D-2 II.D-2 III.A-1 III.A-2 III.D-1 IV.A-1 AND NASA LUNAR EXPLORATION SKG III.C-1. ESPRESSO WAS DESIGNED TO CONSTRUCTIVELY INTEGRATE INTO THE SSERVI NETWORK BY EXPANDING CAPABILITIES AND FACILITIES AVAILABLE TO SSERVI AND WE HAVE DEVELOPED KEY COLLABORATIONS WITH FIVE EXISTING TEAMS.$5,598,596
· FY2020 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
DEVELOPMENT OF AN ULTRA-HIGH EFFICIENCY INTEGRALLY-GEARED SUPERCRITICAL CO2 COMPANDER$5,350,000
· FY2017 · Department of Energy
DE-FE0031929 WITH THE SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE TITLED ''DEVELOPMENT OF COAL SYNGAS OXY-COMBUSTION TURBINE FOR USE IN ADVANCED SUPERCRITICAL CARBON DIOXIDE (SCO2) POWER CYCLES''. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A COAL SYNGAS OXY-COMBUSTION TURBINE FOR SUPERCRITICAL CARBON DIOXIDE (SCO2) CYCLE ENVIRONMENTS TO IMPROVE THE STATE OF THE ART FOR THERMAL EFFICIENCY, PLANT COSTS, AND FLEXIBLE OPERATION, RESULTING IN IMPROVED PERFORMANCE AND PRODUCTION OF A HIGH-PRESSURE STREAM OF CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2), SIMPLIFYING CARBON CAPTURE AND MAKING THE POWER PLANT NEAR EMISSION-FREE.$5,188,415
· FY2021 · Department of Energy
WE PROPOSE A CUBESAT MISSION TO STUDY SOLAR PARTICLES OVER THE EARTHS POLES: CUSPP A 4-YEAR LCAS PROJECT TO DESIGN, DEVELOP, AND INTEGRATE A 3U CUBES$5,170,629
· FY2014 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
FPDS BASE DESCRIPTION, MULTIPLE YEAR AWARD&INCREMENTAL FUNDING FOR YEARS ONE TO FIVE. THIS PROPOSAL IS ENTITLED, "INSTITUTE FOR THE SCIENCE OF EXPLO$4,729,503
· FY2014 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
DE-FE0031580 PROJECT ENTITLED ''FLAMELESS PRESSURIZED OXY-COMBUSTION LARGE PILOT DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, AND OPERATION''$4,122,771
· FY2018 · Department of Energy
HIGH INLET TEMPERATURE COMBUSTOR FOR DIRECT FIRED SUPERCRITICAL OXY-COMBUSTION$3,705,138
· FY2014 · Department of Energy
20-HFORT20-0003.COMPOSITION AND DYNAMICS EXPERIMENT (CODEX) IN THE TOPSIDE IONOSPHERE$3,271,581
· FY2022 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
DE-EE0008873 WITH SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE TITLED ''ENERGY EFFICIENT MANEUVERING OF CONNECTED AND AUTOMATED VEHICLES WITH SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AT INTERSECTIONS''.$3,188,983
· FY2019 · Department of Energy
THIS PROPOSAL FOCUSES ON: 1) MODIFICATION OF AN EXISTING MASS SPECTROMETER ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT UNIT TO WITHSTAND ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING$3,150,772
· FY2021 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
WE PROPOSE TO ADVANCE FROM TRL-4 TO TRL-6 AN INSTRUMENT TO IDENTIFY AND QUANTIFY IN SITU THE ABUNDANCE OF COMPOUNDS OF KEY CHEMICAL AND ASTROBIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE IN PLANETARY GASSES AND LIQUIDS SUCH AS ICY MOON OCEAN WATER THE MELTWATER FROM PLANETARY ICES AND THE ORGANIC SEAS AND LAKES OF TITAN. THE OVERARCHING GOAL IS TO TAKE AN EXISTING COMMERCIAL LABORATORY MEASUREMENT SYSTEM (TRL 4) AND CARRY OUT THE NECESSARY TRADES DESIGN MODIFICATIONS MINIATURIZATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING REQUIRED TO DEMONSTRATE A PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT THAT MAY BE CREDIBLY PROPOSED FOR FLIGHT. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS PROPOSAL THE PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT IS DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED AROUND AN IMPLEMENTATION FOR A EUROPA LANDER. THE FULL INSTRUMENT CONCEPT CONSISTS OF A FRONT END SYSTEM THAT INGESTS SMALL AMOUNTS (MG) OF ICE MELTS THE SAMPLE IN A CONTROLLED MANNER AND ANALYZES THE RESULTING VAPOR WITH A NEW CLASS OF IR LASER SPECTROMETER. THE MAJOR ADVANTAGE TO THE PROPOSED SYSTEM COMPARED TO OTHER DIRECT MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES (E.G. GCMS OR RAMAN) IS A LARGE SAVING IN RESOURCES WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY PROVIDING RAPID (~ 1 MIN) AND UNAMBIGUOUS SPECTRAL IDENTIFICATION OF VOLATILIZED COMPOUNDS AND DISSOLVED GASES. IT ALSO HAS SIGNIFICANT ADVANTAGES OVER REFLECTANCE SPECTROSCOPY IN TERMS OF CAPABILITIES SIMPLICITY RESOURCE ALLOCATION AND SIGNAL-TO-NOISE. FOR EXTREMELY RESOURCE CONSTRAINED MISSIONS (E.G. THE EUROPA LANDER) SUCH LOWER RESOURCE AND HIGH CAPABILITY INSTRUMENTS MAY BE THE ONLY FEASIBLE PATH TO OBTAINING HIGH PRIORITY SCIENCE. THE WORK PLAN HAS THE FOLLOWING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: GOAL 1: PRODUCE A MEDIUM FIDELITY TRL-5 BRASSBOARD AND DEMONSTRATE OVERALL PERFORMANCE IN A SIMULATED OPERATION ENVIRONMENT WITH REALISTIC SUPPORT ELEMENTS. OBJECTIVE 1A: FINALIZE SCREENING AND SELECTION OF LASERS ELECTRONICS OPTOMECHANICS AND DETECTORS USING COMPONENTS WITH PATH TO FLIGHT; CONDUCT RADIATION TESTING OF KEY COMPONENTS. OBJECTIVE 1B: CLOSE MINIATURIZATION REPACKAGING TRADES AND FINALIZE MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL DESIGN INTO A CONFIGURATION THAT IS CLOSE TO THE EXPECTED FORM FIT AND FUNCTION OF FLIGHT INSTRUMENT. OBJECTIVE 1C: FABRICATE ASSEMBLE INTEGRATE AND TEST OVERALL PERFORMANCE AND MEASUREMENT OF TRACE GAS SPECTRA UNDER SIMULATED OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS. GOAL 2: PRODUCE A HIGH FIDELITY SYSTEM TRL-6 PROTOTYPE THAT ADEQUATELY ADDRESSES ALL CRITICAL SCALING ISSUES AND IS OPERATED IN A RELEVANT ENVIRONMENT TO DEMONSTRATE OPERATIONS UNDER CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. OBJECTIVE 2A: COMPLETE DELTA-DESIGN TRADES BASED ON KNOWLEDGE GAINED FROM TRL-5 BRASSBOARD. OBJECTIVE 2B: ASSEMBLE INTEGRATE AND TEST LASER OPTOMECHANICAL ELECTRONICS AND OPTICAL CELL SUBSYSTEMS. OBJECTIVE 2C: TEST PROTOTYPE UNDER RELEVANT CONDITIONS AND VALIDATE AGAINST PERFORMANCE DESIGN AND SCIENCE-DRIVEN MEASUREMENT REQUIREMENTS. THE PROPOSED INSTRUMENT AND DEVELOPMENT WORK IS IN CONCERT WITH THE MATISSE SCOPE AND GOALS. THE TRL RANGE IS COMPLIANT AND THE RESULT WILL BE AN INSTRUMENT PROTOTYPE PROVIDING FORM FIT AND FUNCTION OF A FLIGHT SYSTEM THAT HAS BEEN TESTED IN THE RELEVANT ENVIRONMENT.$3,070,258
· FY2020 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A REVOLUTIONARY ORGANIC COMPOSITIONAL ANALYZER (OCA) BASED UP-ON THE ONLY MASS SPECTROMETER SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR THE HARSH ENVIRONMENT AT EUROPA MASPEX-EUROPA CLIPPER (FROM SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE SWRI). THIS WORK OPTIMIZES AN OCA FOR LANDED SAMPLE ANALYSIS BY COMBINING THE MATURITY OF MASPEX DEVELOPMENT FOR EUROPA CLIPPER WITH NOVEL MICRODEVICE GAS CHROMATOGRAPH AND SAMPLE PREPARATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AND JHU-APL RESPECTIVELY. THE COMBINED INSTRUMENT MASPEX-ORCA (MASS SPECTROMETER FOR PLANETARY EXPLORATION-ORGANIC COMPOSITION ANALYZER) HAS EXCEPTIONAL CAPABILITIES TO SEARCH FOR ORGANIC SIGNATURES OF LIFE; ENABLE ASSESSMENTS OF THE CHEMISTRY OF THE LANDER ENVIRONMENT INCLUDING MOLECULAR INDICATORS OF HABITABLE CONDITIONS; AND UNLOCKS THE POWER OF ISOTOPE BIOGEOCHEMISTRY ON THE SURFACE OF AN ICY WORLD WITH THE BASELINE HIGH-RESOLUTION CONFIGURATION. MASS SIZE POWER AND DATA RESOURCES WILL ULTIMATELY LIMIT THE SCIENCE THAT CAN BE ACHIEVED BY ANY OCA ONBOARD EUROPA LANDER. THE MASPEX-ORCA INVESTIGATION DEFINES BASELINE AND THRESHOLD CONFIGURATIONS BASED ON THE GUIDANCE OF THE EUROPA LANDER STUDY 2016 REPORT AND 2018 EUROPA LANDER ARCHITECTURE UPDATE. EACH CONFIGURATION FEATURES A HIGH TECHNOLOGY READINESS LEVEL (TRL) MASS SPECTROMETER EITHER MASPEX (BASELINE FROM SWRI) OR NEUTRAL GAS MASS SPECTROMETER (NGMS THRESHOLD FROM UNIVERSITY OF BERN) COUPLED TO STATE-OF-THE-ART MICROFLUIDICS AND A MICRODEVICE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL GAS CHROMATOGRAPH (GC-GC). THE THRESHOLD INVESTIGATION SELECTS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY OBJECTIVES FROM THE SDT REPORT THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED USING A MEDIUM RESOLUTION MASS SPECTROMETER. HOWEVER ACCESS TO HIGH-PRECISION ISOTOPIC RATIOS (BASELINE INVESTIGATION) OPENS A MUCH WIDER WINDOW INTO THE POSSIBLE BIOLOGICAL ORIGINS OF MOLECULAR SPECIES INCLUDING CUTTING-EDGE POSITION-SPECIFIC ISOTOPIC ANALYSES. OUR PROGRAM LEVERAGES THE HIGH MATURITY OF THESE MASS SPECTROMETERS APPLIES THEM TO THE RESOURCE-INTENSIVE ENVIRONMENT AND COMBINES THEM WITH DEVELOPING TECHNOLOGIES TO SEARCH FOR BIOSIGNATURES AT EUROPA S SURFACE. THE CAPABILITIES OF BOTH GC-GC-MS SYSTEMS (INCLUDING MASS RANGE MASS RESOLUTION COMPOUND SEPARATION AND DETECTION LIMITS) TO MEET THE PROJECTED PERFORMANCE FOR ANALYZING BIOMOLECULES HABITABILITY INDICATORS AND A RANGE OF OTHER MOLECULES ARE VERIFIED BY TESTING IN YEAR 1 (Y1). ON A PARALLEL TRACK IN Y1 JHU-APL DEVELOPS A ROBOTIC MICROFLUIDICS SAMPLE PREPARATION SYSTEM. INDIVIDUAL ENGINEERING TASKS ARE ALSO COMPLETED TO ADVANCE THE TRL OF THE GC-GC AND TO MODIFY MASPEX AND NGMS TO ENSURE COMPATIBILITY WITH THE CONSTRAINTS OF A LANDED MISSION ON EUROPA. COLLABORATION WITH THE PRE-PROJECT TEAM AND OTHER INSTRUMENT TEAMS MATURES SPACECRAFT ACCOMMODATION. AN EVALUATION OF THE PERFORMANCE VERSUS RESOURCE TRADE SPACE FROM THE Y1 STUDY LEADS TO THE SELECTION OF A SYSTEM DESIGN THAT FORMS THE BASIS OF THE EUROPA LANDER OCA INSTRUMENT. THIS INSTRUMENT IS TECHNICALLY MATURED AND TESTED AS AN END-TO-END SYSTEM IN Y2. THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENTS ARE IMPORTANT FOR MASPEX-ORCA TO REACH TRL 6 BY 2021-2022 FOR A 2026-2027 EARLIEST FLIGHT OPPORTUNITY.$3,036,934
· FY2020 · National Aeronautics and Space Administration
OPTIMIZING THE CSP TOWER AIR BRAYTON CYCLE SYSTEM TO MEET THE SUNSHOT OBJECTIVES$3,019,423
· FY2012 · Department of Energy