UF receives $2.5M for a new space institute

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A group of University of Florida faculty members are coming together to form the UF Space Mission Institute.

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The institute, managed by UF Research, will be a hub for scientists and scholars across the university.

$2.5 million has been granted to the space group through UF President Ben Sasse’s strategic funding initiative.

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“The Space Mission Institute will be an incredible resource for UF, and it will help us work closely with the brightest minds of our time to solve some of the world’s biggest problems,” Sasse said. “As the state of Florida’s flagship university, UF has an important role to play in this sector.”

The university said it has nationally recognized faculty leaders in all major space-related fields.

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UF said that the institute will also seek closer ties with the United States Space Force, seeking to fuse space science with defense goals and provide new opportunities for students in the Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

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