Universities Space Research Association Supporting Arecibo Observatory After Hurricane Maria

COLUMBIA, Md., Nov. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Universities Space Research Association, (USRA) one of the entities that manages Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, today announced actions it has undertaken to support Observatory staff as they recover from hurricane Maria.

USRA donated from its corporate resources twenty 2000w portable generators to USRA staff who were in the greatest need for electricity at their homes. These generators were shipped from Columbia, MD to Puerto Rico.

USRA also set up a "gofundme" site for donations to help ALL staff at the Observatory.  USRA collected approximately $40K and a committee was set up to evaluate applications and distribute the funds.  It received 75 applications and ALL employees who were in need, irrespective of their employers, applied for these funds.

Jeff Isaacson, President and CEO, USRA, who was at Arecibo recently, stated, "I am proud of the staff at Arecibo Observatory who did everything in their power to prepare for the hurricane and then work diligently to recover from the damage and get basic operations at the Observatory back on line."  

About USRA

Founded in 1969, under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences at the request of the U.S. Government, the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) is a nonprofit corporation chartered to advance space-related science, technology and engineering.  USRA operates scientific institutes and facilities, and conducts other major research and educational programs, under Federal funding.  USRA engages the university community and employs in-house scientific leadership, innovative research and development, and project management expertise.  More information about USRA is available at www.usra.edu.

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SOURCE Universities Space Research Association

Related Links

http://www.usra.edu