ORAU has a proud history of working with and supporting the first responders who play a critical role in the health and safety of citizens in every community across the United States. To improve our nation’s readiness, our emergency preparedness and response experts are helping our customers prepare for, respond to, and recover from pandemics, natural disasters, terrorism, and other unforeseen events.
ORAU is now accepting applications for its annual Education Grants program for 2026, offering grant funding for teachers in Anderson, Campbell, Morgan, Roane and Scott counties. Selected projects will be implemented during the 2026-2027 school year. Educators interested in applying for ORAU funding can complete and submit an online proposal. All proposals are due Friday, April 24, 2026.
Ricardo Branco, Ph.D., is a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His research focuses on the development of detectors that can detect infrared or thermal radiation from very cold bodies throughout the solar system – think Uranus or the moon. Capturing the infrared radiation allows scientists to detect the chemical composition and other aspects of the body they are studying. Branco is a native of Brazil who has been interested in science since childhood. As a kid Branco wanted to be a doctor but fell in love with physics in high school. The rest, as they say, is history. While he never dreamed he’d be at NASA, he is excited about his research and the potential it holds to be part of future NASA flagship missions to orbit Uranus.
For more than 80 years, ORAU has served as a trusted partner to our government customers, our university consortium members, and our local community. In this video, you can meet some of the people behind the ORAU name.
