Registration Open: NASA Tech Days Coming to Cleveland Nov. 28-30

David E. Steitz

Headquarters, Washington      

202-358-1730

david.steitz@nasa.gov

 

Katherine Martin

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland

216-433-2406

katherine.martin@nasa.gov

 

WASHINGTON -- NASA Technology Days, a three-day public technology showcase, will take place at the Cleveland Public Auditorium and Conference Center Nov. 28-30. The space technology showcase will bring together stakeholders from industry, academia and the U.S. government to engage in strategy development, partnership building and methods of fostering technology transfer and innovation.

NASA Tech Days attendees will get a comprehensive overview of the agency's technology programs for space science, exploration and aeronautics, and discover innovative and advanced technologies that are stimulating the economy and sustaining our nation's global competitiveness. NASA's Tech Days are free and open to the public, but registration is required. To register, visit http://www.aiaa.org/nasatechdays.

Visitors will explore the NASA showcase, featuring mature NASA-funded technologies that can be transferred to aerospace, advanced energy, automotive, innovative manufacturing and human health industries. The demonstrations and exhibits will provide opportunities for networking, business development and forging of new relationships while attendees learn about leading technologies contributing to American economic growth and innovation.

Attendees also can attend presentations by NASA program executives about the agency's upcoming technology initiatives. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to discuss technology transfer and strategic partnerships with NASA officials.

NASA's Glenn Research Center of Cleveland, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., will be participating in the showcase, providing exhibits and information on how businesses can partner with NASA for technology development, transfer and innovation.

For more information about NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist and the agency's Space Technology Program, visit http://www.nasa.gov/oct.

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NASA Selects Teachers to Fly Student Experiments in Reduced Gravity Aircraft

Ann Marie Trotta

Headquarters, Washington     

202-358-1601

ann.marie.trotta@nasa.gov

 

Jeannette Owens

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland

216-433-2990

jeannette.p.owens@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- Teachers from six NASA Explorer Schools (NES) have been selected to receive the 2012 School Recognition Award for their contributions to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

The teachers selected are from Woodrow Wilson Middle School, Glendale, Calif.; Franke Park Elementary School, Fort Wayne, Ind.; Mountview Road School, Morris Plains, N.J.; Corpus Christi Catholic School, Chambersburg, Pa.; Fairport High School, Fairport N.Y.; and Forest Lake Elementary Technology Magnet School, Columbia, S.C.

In April 2013, three teachers from each school will travel to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. There they will have the opportunity to fly aboard the agency's reduced gravity aircraft and conduct experiments designed by their students. The experiments will examine the acceleration and inertia of objects, how fluids with different viscosities behave in microgravity, and how the absence of gravity affects mass and weight.

"Congratulations to the NES teachers selected for this innovative NASA experience. The reduced gravity flights allow teachers to conduct scientific investigations in a microgravity environment, similar to how experiments are conducted on the International Space Station," said Cecelia Fletcher, acting program manager for primary and secondary education at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This experiential learning opportunity helps to spread the excitement of STEM education with teachers and students throughout the NASA Explorer School network."

A team of NASA personnel reviewed many applications before selecting these six schools for their exemplary classroom practices and innovative uses of NES resources to engage a broad school population. These schools were chosen from more than 470 schools that are registered participants in the NASA Explorer Schools project.

The NASA Explorer Schools project is the classroom-based gateway for students in grades 4-12 that focuses on stimulating STEM education using agency content and themes.

For more information about the Explorer Schools Project, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

To watch a four-minute video that provides project information and shows previous winners aboard the reduced gravity aircraft, visit http://go.nasa.gov/SxR8KL.

For more information about NASA's education programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov/education.

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NASA Offers Opportunity to Use Communications Testbed on Space Station

Rachel Kraft

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-1100

rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov

 

Katherine K. Martin

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland

216-433-2406

katherine.martin@grc.nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- NASA is announcing opportunities for academia, industry and government agencies to develop and carry out research and technology demonstrations on the International Space Station using the newly installed Space Communications and Navigation (SCAN) testbed.

There are two announcements of opportunity. The SCAN Testbed Experiment Opportunity invites industry and other government agencies to enter into Space Act Agreements with NASA to use the space station's SCAN platform. The SCAN Testbed Cooperative Agreement Notice invites academia to develop proposals to use the orbiting laboratory's SCAN testbed research capabilities. NASA expects the first demonstrations by late 2013 or early 2014.

These opportunities will allow researchers to develop new software according to the Space Telecommunications Radio Standard (STRS) architecture for radios and reconfigure how radios communicate in space.

Experiments will provide waveforms and software components to the STRS waveform repository and enable future hardware platforms to use common reusable software modules. These new capabilities could enable greater scientific return from future NASA missions.

The SCAN testbed is a communications, navigation and networking demonstration platform based on the STRS. The experimental platform began its initial checkout activities on the space station Aug. 13 and will operate for as long as three years.

NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland leads the SCAN testbed multi-center team, which includes the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.; and Johnson Space Center in Houston. General Dynamics of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Harris Corp. of Melbourne, Fla., developed software-defined radios under cooperative agreements with NASA. The testbed is managed by the SCAN Program Office within the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

For the SCAN Testbed Cooperative Agreement Notice and Experiment Opportunity, visit http://go.nasa.gov/QLp37U.

For more information about the SCAN testbed, visit http://go.nasa.gov/QdpciB.

For more information about the International Space Station research and technology, visit http://www.nasa.gov/station.

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Ohio Workshop Seeks Ideas For Manufacturing Innovation Network

David E. Steitz

Headquarters, Washington                                   

202-358-1730

david.steitz@nasa.gov

 

Lori Rachul

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland

216-433-8806

lori.j.rachul@nasa.gov

 

Mark Bello

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Md.

301-975-3776

mark.bello@nist.gov

 

WASHINGTON -- NASA and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) are sponsoring the second in a series of regional public workshops to gather ideas and suggestions on the design of the proposed National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI). The workshop will be held July 9 at the Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.

"Designing for Impact II: Workshop on Building the NNMI" is a partnership between the interagency Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office in Gaithersburg, Md., and local Cleveland organizations that include NASA's Glenn Research Center, Cuyahoga Community College and Case Western Reserve University. Confirmed workshop speakers are NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver, NIST Director Patrick Gallagher and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown. Invited speakers include congressional, state and local leaders.

Conceived to address strategic gaps in U.S. manufacturing innovation, the NNMI is envisioned as a network of up to 15 regional hubs -- Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation -- that will connect research discoveries and budding ideas for tomorrow's technologies and products with current U.S. manufacturers and startup firms of tomorrow. The network is proposed as a public and private collaboration in the President's FY 2013 budget.

These regional collaborations will bring together industry, universities and community colleges, federal agencies and states to accelerate innovation by investing in industrially relevant manufacturing technologies with broad applications. They also will support education and training of an advanced manufacturing work force.

Workshop participants will learn about the principles and concepts behind the NNMI and participate in interactive sessions designed to solicit ideas on how best to structure the network and the institutes.

Facilitated interactive discussions will focus on four areas key to the success of the institutes:

-- Technologies with broad impact

-- Institute structure and governance

-- Strategies for sustainable institute operations

-- Education and work force development

This event builds on the first regional workshop on designing and building the innovation network, held in Troy, N.Y., April 25. In addition, the Ohio workshop will explore manufacturing-related interests and needs specific to the region.

The workshops are organized by the newly created interagency Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office, which is charged with coordinating federal resources and programs to enhance technology transfer to U.S. manufacturers. The workshops are hosted by NIST. Core partner agencies include NASA, the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.

The workshop will be held at Corporate College East, which is part of Cuyahoga Community College. Advance sign-up is required. Registration closes July 2. Attendees are charged a fee to cover food and beverage expenses. Space is limited and event sign-up will be on a first-come, first-served basis, with no more than four representatives from the same organization. For more details on the workshop and to sign up for the event, visit http://manufacturing.gov/amp/event_070912.html.

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit

http://www.nasa.gov.

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Educators Selected For NASA Explorer Schools Summer Workshops

Ann Marie Trotta

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-1601

ann.marie.trotta@nasa.gov

 

Jeannette Owens

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland

216-433-2990

jeannette.p.owens@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected 50 elementary, middle and high school educators from across the nation to work side by side with agency scientists and engineers to learn research techniques and identify connections to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

The educators were chosen for these workshops because they demonstrated exemplary classroom practices and innovative use of NASA Explorer Schools (NES) resources to engage students in STEM activities. They will participate in one of four workshops that will take place between June 18 and July 26 at various NASA centers. This year's workshops are Extreme Green at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; Airborne Research Experience at Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif.; There is More to Light than Meets the Eye at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; and Atmospheric Science at Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.

The NES project invests in STEM educator development to help teachers inspire and engage the future scientists, engineers and technicians that NASA needs to continue its missions. The program offers a variety of educational assets, including classroom videos, educational concept lessons, professional development activities and live video chats.

For a complete list of the NES teacher participants, visit http://go.nasa.gov/Lt3Pr8.

For more information about NASA Explorer Schools program, visit http://explorerschools.nasa.gov.

For more information about NASA education programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov/education.

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