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Congressman Paul Tonko joined Siena College President Fr. Kevin Mullen, O.F.M., Monday to announce that the college has been awarded a $2,042,457 grant from the National Science Foundation, which totals the largest federal grant in Siena’s history.

This grant, which was funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, allows Siena College to lead a collaborative research project known as PENGUIn. This project will collect data from observatories in Antarctica that will be used in conjunction with NASA satellites to reveal information about the sun and Earth’s upper atmosphere. This research could lead to advances in astronaut and aircraft safety and developments in “green” power. 
 
“The Recovery Act made an unprecedented investment in research and development to help foster the innovations of the future,” said Congressman Tonko. “Congratulations to Siena College and to the Science Department not just for being awarded this grant, but also for creating a culture that is advancing student skills, understanding, and opportunity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

“The fact that our college has been chosen as a leader for this project is a comment on the rigorous academic programs we provide,” said Siena College President Fr. Kevin Mullen, O.F.M.  “This grant is well-deserved recognition for our School of Science and its top-notch faculty, research, technology and academics. I am particularly excited about the opportunities our undergraduate students will have to work alongside renowned scientists on cutting edge research that could improve our quality of life.”

“Siena College will lead a consortium of scientists that will continue to develop and maintain a series of autonomous observatories in Antarctica that provide critical year-round ‘space weather’ data from the Earth’s harshest environment,” said Allan Weatherwax, Ph.D, Professor of Physics and Associate Dean of the School of Science.  “’Space weather’ generally refers to conditions on the Sun, in the solar wind, and within Earth's upper atmosphere that can influence the performance and reliability of space-borne and ground-based technological systems and can pose risks to astronauts and people onboard aircraft in polar-regions. Recently, data from these observatories were used in conjunction NASA satellites to reveal new information about the sudden release of energy that causes auroral displays. Related advances in extreme environment engineering will have major benefits for other research disciplines including the development of novel solar and wind energy systems.”

PENGUIn (Polar Experiment Network for Geospace Upper-atmosphere Investigations) is a collaboration that includes science and engineering teams from Siena, Dartmouth, Stanford, UC-Berkeley, The New Jersey Institute of Technology, the University of New Hampshire and Augsburg College.

This grant is part of $3 billion allocated to the National Science Foundation through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act targeted at scientific projects that will advance research and development in critical areas such as renewable energy development. 
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