Researchers are trying to land their projects among the stars.
About 65 researchers registered to attend the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space event to promote space-based research on Thursday.
The center currently in charge of managing the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory hosted the event in coordination with the UF Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research.
Rob Ferl, director of the UF Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research, said the event was the space center’s first time at UF.
“If you want to do stuff on the space station, they are the people who can get you there,” he said. “This is an organization that wants to hear from students. It’s a unique way to get experiments into orbit.”
Inside the UF Cancer & Genetics Research Complex, the space advancement center provided a presentation and Q-and-A on how to facilitate research at the international space laboratory.
Participants then broke off into groups to discuss their ideas for research experiments in space.
“We got some really important information on the capabilities and types of experiments you can perform and the partnerships that can be made,” he said.
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 2/7/2014 under the headline "At UF, researchers take one small step closer to space"]
