FPDS Query Library
About Us
Contact Us

Last Name

The last name of the NASA principal investigator recorded on the award. This is a text identifier for the individual, not a coded value or obligation amount.

Family: Award
Category: General
Data Type: string
Semantic Type: label
Mapping: flattened_fpds_xml_field
AI Confidence: high

Variable Overview

FPDS Query Variable
content__award__agencySpecificAwardElements__NASASpecificAwardElements__principalInvestigator__lastName
Title
Last Name
FPDS Path
award/agencySpecificAwardElements/NASASpecificAwardElements/principalInvestigator/lastName
Description
The last name of the NASA principal investigator recorded on the award. This is a text identifier for the individual, not a coded value or obligation amount.
Business Meaning
It identifies the lead individual associated with the NASA-specific award element, which can support award tracing, investigator-level reporting, and validation of research-related contracts or grants where a named principal investigator is required.
Example Value
sutton
Observed Non-Null Count
246,146

FPDS Compare

FPDS Query Variable
content__award__agencySpecificAwardElements__NASASpecificAwardElements__principalInvestigator__lastName
FPDS XML Path
award/agencySpecificAwardElements/NASASpecificAwardElements/principalInvestigator/lastName
Mapping Type
flattened_fpds_xml_field
Comparison Summary
FPDS Query flattens the original nested FPDS XML path 'award/agencySpecificAwardElements/NASASpecificAwardElements/principalInvestigator/lastName' into the SQL-ready variable 'content__award__agencySpecificAwardElements__NASASpecificAwardElements__principalInvestigator__lastName'.

Use Cases

  • Dictionary lookup and field explanation
  • SQL filtering and grouping
  • Analytical reporting and reusable query building

Common Usage

  • Identify the named principal investigator on NASA awards
  • Group or filter awards by investigator last name
  • Validate presence of required NASA-specific award metadata

Common Mistakes

  • Treating the last name as a unique person key
  • Assuming consistent spelling or case across records

Query Guidance

Select and filter this field as a string label, and normalize case or trim whitespace when comparing values. For person-level joins or de-duplication, do not rely on this column alone; combine it with other investigator fields and use exact-match logic only after standardization.

SQL Examples

Preview values

SELECT
    content__award__agencySpecificAwardElements__NASASpecificAwardElements__principalInvestigator__lastName AS last_name
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__award__agencySpecificAwardElements__NASASpecificAwardElements__principalInvestigator__lastName IS NOT NULL
LIMIT 25

Top values

SELECT
    content__award__agencySpecificAwardElements__NASASpecificAwardElements__principalInvestigator__lastName AS value,
    count() AS record_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__award__agencySpecificAwardElements__NASASpecificAwardElements__principalInvestigator__lastName IS NOT NULL
GROUP BY value
ORDER BY record_count DESC
LIMIT 25

Each dictionary item includes SQL-ready examples generated alongside the variable metadata, allowing immediate use in FPDS Query for filtering, aggregation, and analysis.