Keith LeGrand, an assistant professor in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, will receive $450,000 for his research proposal, “Information-Driven Autonomous Cislunar Space Domain Awareness,” which was selected from more than 150 proposals.

Keith LeGrand, an assistant professor in Purdue University College of Engineering’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, has been selected for the 2025 Young Investigator Program award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

The goal of the highly competitive award is to foster creative basic research in science and engineering; enhance early career development of outstanding young investigators; and increase opportunities for the young investigator to recognize the Air Force mission and related challenges in science and engineering.

LeGrand will receive $450,000 for his research proposal, “Information-Driven Autonomous Cislunar Space Domain Awareness,” which was selected from more than 150 proposals.

The project will develop methods for how networked ground-based telescopes and space-based sensors can autonomously collect, assimilate, and disseminate information to improve space domain awareness and create a safe operating environment amid a dramatic rise in traffic from cislunar spaceflight activities.

“It is an incredible honor and privilege to be selected for this award,” LeGrand said. “The level of support and duration of this grant will enable my students and I to realize our most ambitious ideas to tackle fundamental challenges in cislunar space operations.”

LeGrand specializes in multi-object tracking, spacecraft navigation, space domain awareness and intelligent sensor control and tasking. He leads the Sensing, Controls, and Probabilistic Estimation (SCOPE) Group, where he researches space applications of autonomous technology.

LeGrand was hired in 2022 as part of the College of Engineering’s Cislunar Initiative, which aims to extend humanity’s reach throughout the solar system.