NASA Postdoc Program
About the NASA Postdoctoral Program, Support Contractors, Key NASA Personnel
Application link for prospective fellows https://npp.orau.org/
For more than 17 years, the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) at NASA Headquarters has collaborated with 1) other Mission Directorates (Aeronautics, Space Technology, etc.); 2) Headquarters’ Offices; 3) NASA Centers; 4) the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL); and 5) beyond-NASA, non-federal organizations, to monitor contractors, i.e., Universities Space Research Association (USRA) or Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), who support the day-to-day operations for the NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP).
NASA periodically competes NPP support, and the most recent Request for Proposals, Source Selection Statement, etc., for solicitation number: 80HQTR20R0013 entitled “Final RFP NASA Postdoctoral Program-2 (NPP-2)” may be downloaded from SAM.gov. The NPP contract provides: 1) Materials, facilities, supplies, administrative support, programmatic support, and expertise necessary to promote and administer the NASA Postdoctoral Research Program (NPRP) and the NASA Postdoctoral Management Program (NPMP); 2) Foreign National employment expertise; 3) Online Web services creation, improvement, and design; 4) Development and maintenance of online applications; 5) In depth participant tracking and accounting; and 6) Administration of an efficient, professional, and fair selection process.
As stated in the NPP-2’s Statement of Work, one goal of the NPP is to “identify and continue the career development of promising STEM researchers in disciplines of interest to NASA, so that a pool of highly skilled professionals is available to fill the future workforce needs of NASA government, industry, academia, and related not-for-profit institutions.” As a long-running public program, NPP also supports or reflects the focus of the NASA’s Strategic Plans (NSP). Like the NPP contract, NSPs periodically are refreshed. NASA released a 2022 Strategic Plan in March 2022 that aligns agency priorities and activities, including NPP, around these four themes:
- DISCOVER references NASA’s enduring purpose of scientific discovery.
- EXPLORE references NASA’s push to expand the boundaries of human presence in space.
- INNOVATE references NASA’s broad mandate to promote the technologies of tomorrow.
- ADVANCE references the capabilities, workforce, and facilities that allow NASA to achieve our Mission.
While NASA announced the selection of a new, i.e., NPP-2 contractor, the correct effective date for the new contract with ORAU is January 30, 2022. A transition period with the prior contractor (USRA), i.e., NPP-1, has ended. USRA no longer supports current and prospective Fellows. Please visit the NPP-2 website hosted by ORAU for details about program eligibility, future application deadlines, etc.
Emails for Key NASA Personnel NPP-2
- Program Manager: erica.j.alston@nasa.gov
- COR for NPP-2: laura.lorenzoni@nasa.gov
- CO for NPP-2: brandon.m.lentz@nasa.gov
Other Key NASA Points of Contact
Listed Alphabetically by Name of the Center, Host Site, Funding Program, or Mission Directorate
Centers, Host Sites#, Funding | Representative Name | Affiliate (if any) |
Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD)^ |
| |
Ames Research Center (ARC) | ||
Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) | Vacant |
|
Astrobiology Program^ | ||
Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) ^ | ||
Glenn Research Center (GRC) | ||
Goddard Space Flight Center (includes the Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the Wallops Flight Facility) (GSFC) | ||
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)# | ||
Johnson Space Center (JSC) |
| |
Kennedy Space Center (KSC) | ||
Langley Research Center (LaRC) | ||
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) | ||
Science Mission Directorate @HQ (SMD)^ | ||
Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI)^ | ||
Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD)^ | ||
Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD)^ | ||
Stennis Space Center (SSC) | Vacant |
|
A NPP Fellow is not an employee of any listed Mission Directorate, Center or other NASA-funder or Host Site. The NPP fellow is affiliated with, but not employed, by the NPP contractor. Affiliation with the NPP contractor enables the Fellow to serve as a research guest at a NASA site or at another site designated by a funding program, e.g. Astrobiology. The contractor provides Fellows, with stipend, health insurance, travel, and professional development opportunities.
