Engineers Pursue Flexible Electronics, Self-folding Structures and Controlled Photosynthesis on a Grand Scale

Collaborative engineering awards will explore new frontiers to advance health care, manufacturing and energy

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced 15 Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) grants for fiscal year 2012, awarding nearly $30 million to 68 investigators at 26 institutions.

During the next four years, teams of researchers will pursue transformative, fundamental research in three emerging areas: flexible electronic systems that can better interface with the body; design of self-folding materials and structures; and optimizing large-scale chemical production from photosynthesis. Results from this research promise to improve human health, engineering design and manufacturing, and energy sustainability.

Flexible bioelectronics systems

Four EFRI research teams will pursue biocompatible electronic systems that offer new capabilities for health care. Integrating microelectronics with conformable substrates, these flexible bioelectronics systems will interact seamlessly with the body to advance medical monitoring, detection and/or treatment in a patient-friendly form.

EFRI BioFlex researchers will investigate novel devices and flexible materials, interfaces between devices and biological materials, and approaches to systems integration. Successful new concepts will also meet the challenges of biocompatability, weight, power consumption, scalability and cost. The projects aim to transform cancer screening, wound healing and emergency identification of toxins and bacteria.

"These four projects could lead to significant improvements in patient care," said Usha Varshney, the coordinating EFRI program officer for BioFlex. "The teams will also contribute advanced scalability techniques so that, in the future, flexible bioelectronics systems can be widely available at low cost."

Origami design for self-assembling systems

A second set of EFRI research teams will explore the folding and unfolding of materials and structures to create self-assembling and multifunctional systems. The eight projects funded will build on principles and patterns from the art of origami in order to design structures that can transition between two and three dimensions. In the process, the researchers will also address challenges in modeling complex designs and behaviors, in shifting from small to large scales and in working with active, or "smart," materials.

Active materials can change their shape, size and/or physical properties with changes in temperature, pressure, electro-magnetic fields or other aspects of their environment. With such materials, the EFRI researchers plan to create entire structures and systems out of single pieces that are flexible, elastic and resilient. With new theory and understanding, the researchers aim to predict and even program the behavior and capabilities of the origami designs.

"Engineers, scientists, artists and mathematicians will pursue profound collaboration to discover how to design single structures that can collapse and deploy and even change functions as desired," said Clark Cooper, who coordinated the origami design awards with fellow program officer Christina Bloebaum. "These eight awards could initiate a transformation in design and manufacturing, impacting technologies as diverse as information storage, space structures and medical devices."

Photosynthetic biorefineries

A third set of EFRI research teams will investigate the large-scale use of micro-organisms that harness solar energy to produce chemicals and fuels from carbon dioxide. Some single-celled algae, for example, use photosynthesis to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide and water into lipids and hydrocarbons. However, the realization of photosynthetic "biorefineries" that could accomplish this process on an industrial scale must first overcome significant challenges, including low productivity, large-scale feasibility and environmental sustainability.

The researchers will investigate the optimization of micro-organisms themselves and their growing conditions to produce easily processed hydrocarbon chemicals in large quantities. The researchers also will explore ways to obtain a variety of value-added compounds, whether by using an array of micro-organisms or by combining biological processes with chemical catalysis. Each project will pursue efficiency and sustainability in a number of ways, for example, through the use of wastewater as a low-cost nutrient source for the micro-organisms. All three of the teams funded will be studying the photosynthetic biorefineries as large and complex systems.

"Having robust scaling and control principles using a systems approach is critical to making photosynthetic biorefineries of the future productive and efficient," said George Antos, the coordinating program officer for these EFRI projects. "Using photosynthetic biorefineries as a significant source of chemicals and fuels would not only reduce greenhouse gases, but it would enhance the nation's energy security, as these products are currently made mainly from petroleum. Oil from algae is a reality, however there is much fundamental science that needs to be done before a true industry is founded, and these EFRI researchers will help make that happen."

The fiscal 2012 EFRI topics were developed with strong input from the research community and in close collaboration between the NSF Directorate for Engineering and the NSF Directorates for Biological Sciences and Mathematical and Physical Sciences. NSF also coordinated closely with the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and the Department of Energy. AFOSR contributed to the funding of all origami design projects.

"Through their collaborations, the EFRI research teams will initiate new lines of inquiry and provide creative and exciting educational opportunities for young students," said Sohi Rastegar, director of the EFRI program. Beginning with the fiscal year 2012 awards, EFRI projects must provide more specific plans that enhance participation of underrepresented groups in the field of engineering and in engineering research.

Rastegar continued, "If we want to have a competitive edge for achieving innovative outcomes, it is imperative to bring to the table ideas from creative individuals from all segments of society. EFRI teams are committed to working with undergraduate and high school students and with new partners, such as teachers and museums, to help more people engage in and appreciate the exciting possibilities from research."

EFRI, established by the NSF Directorate for Engineering in 2007, seeks high-risk, interdisciplinary research that has the potential to transform engineering and other fields. The grants demonstrate the EFRI goal to inspire and enable researchers to expand the limits of our knowledge

Project summaries

Summaries of the four EFRI projects on Flexible Bioelectronics (BioFlex) Systems are found on the EFRI BioFlex Awards page.

Summaries of the eight EFRI projects on Origami Design for Integration of Self-assembling Systems for Engineering Innovation (ODISSEI) are found on the EFRI ODISSEI Awards page.

Summaries of the three EFRI projects on Photosynthetic Biorefineries (PSBR) are found on the EFRI PSBR Awards page.

-NSF-

Here Comes the Sun: NASA Picks Solar Array System Development Proposals

David E. Steitz

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-1730

david.steitz@nasa.gov

 

Chris Rink

Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.

757-864-6786

chris.rink@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Space Technology Program has selected Deployable Space Systems (DSS) of Goleta, Calif. and ATK Space Systems Inc., of Commerce, Calif., for contract negotiation to develop advanced solar array systems. High-power solar electric propulsion, where the power is generated with advanced solar array systems, is a key capability required for extending human presence throughout the solar system.

The selected proposals offer innovative approaches to the development of next-generation, large-scale solar arrays and associated deployment mechanisms. These advanced solar arrays will drastically reduce weight and stowed volume when compared to current systems. They also will significantly improve efficiency and functionality of future systems that will produce hundreds of kilowatts of power. These advanced solar arrays could be used in future NASA human exploration and science missions, communications satellites and a majority of other future spacecraft applications.

"The technology embodied in these proposals will greatly advance the boundaries of NASA's science and exploration capabilities," said Michael Gazarik, director of NASA's Space Technology Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Our investment in this technology acknowledges that this technology is a priority for NASA's future missions, as reported recently by the National Research Council. Once matured through these ground tests, NASA hopes to test next generation solar array systems in space, opening the door for exploration of a near-Earth asteroid, Mars and beyond."

This solicitation involved a competitive selection process and covers two acquisition phases. Under Phase 1, Deployable Space Systems and ATK Space Systems will develop their solar array system technology during the next 18 months. With successful completion of Phase 1 the two companies, as well as other offerors who can demonstrate a comparable degree of technical maturity, will compete for a Phase 2 award to demonstrate their technologies in space. The intent of Phase 2 is to prove flight readiness through an in-space demonstration of an advanced, modular and extendable solar array system.

During Phase 1, Deployable Space Systems and ATK Space Systems also will design, analyze and test a scalable solar array system capable of generating more than 30kW of Power. In addition, the Phase 1 teams will identify the most critical technological risks of extending their concept to 250kW or greater power levels.

Phase 1 awards range between approximately $5 million and $7 million. NASA's Game Changing Development Program Office, located at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., sponsored this solicitation under Phase 1. NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland will manage the awarded contracts for the agency's Space Technology Program.

NASA's Space Technology Program is innovating, developing, testing, and flying hardware for use in NASA's future science and exploration missions. NASA's technology investments provide cutting-edge solutions for our nation's future.

For information about NASA's Game Changing Development Program, visit http://go.usa.gov/RPS.

For more information about NASA's Space Technology Program, visit http://www.nasa.gov/oct.

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Solar Power for Soldiers

The U.S. Army Reserve  officially opens it’s first fully functional solar powered training facility in Illinois.  The new Joliet U.S. Army Reserve training center will be home to 600 quartermaster and transportation personnel.  The $36 million, 60,000 square foot complex was built as a modernization effort and as a part of the Army Green Initiative .

NRL Researchers Discover New Solar Feature

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory have discovered a previously unreported solar feature – Coronal Cells – where high-temperature coronal emission is confined to discrete plumes that extend upward from unipolar concentrations of magnetic flux.

The NRL researchers think that future studies of these cellular regions will lead to an improved understanding of magnetic field line reconnection at the boundaries of coronal holes, and how these changes are transmitted outward into the solar wind. This research is published in the March 20 issue of the Astrophysical Journal.

NASA provided financial support through their Heliophysics Guest Investigator Program and their Living With a Star Program.

Drs. Neil Sheeley and Harry Warren, researchers in NRL’s Space Science Division, describe these Coronal Cells as appearing in discrete bundles “like candles on a birthday cake.” The researchers discovered the cells in ultraviolet emission lines formed at temperatures around one-million degrees Kelvin.

Although the researchers made their discovery using high-resolution images from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly aboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), they also observed the cells on ultraviolet images from STEREO-A and -B spacecraft recently, and from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) in 2000 near the previous sunspot maximum. In addition, they used Doppler images, constructed from the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on the Hinode spacecraft, to deduce that the outflow is faster at the centers of the cells than at their boundaries.

The researchers used time-lapse sequences of Fe XII 193 Å coronal images to follow these special regions as they were carried across the solar disk by the 27-day solar rotation.

Near disk center, the Coronal Cells looked like photospheric granules with bright centers and dark, narrow intercellular lanes. The cells appeared as long plumes of emission projecting toward the nearest solar limb. Moreover, simultaneous observations from the STEREO-B and SDO spacecraft, separated by about 90 degrees along Earth’s orbit around the Sun, showed the same plumes projecting in opposite directions.

Such stereoscopic views left no doubt that the Coronal Cells are columns of emission extending radially outward through the lower corona, like candles on a birthday cake.

The researchers addressed the question of how the Coronal Cells are lit and extinguished, and found that the visibility of the cells bears a close relation to the evolution of the adjacent coronal holes. The Coronal Cells appeared when the holes closed and disappeared when the holes opened.

This behavior suggested that coronal holes have the same cellular magnetic structure as the newly observed Coronal Cells, but that this structure is not visible until the encroachment of opposite-polarity flux causes some of the open magnetic flux in the holes to close. For coronal holes at the north and south poles of the Sun, this happens during the approach to sunspot maximum, which is the present time in our current 11-year sunspot cycle.

During the course of their research, Drs. Sheeley and Warren observed the occasional disappearance of cellular regions when solar filaments erupted alongside them. As the chromospheric ribbon swept across the region signaling the reconnection of the field lines that were opened during the eruption, the same cells reappeared immediately behind the ribbon.

This indicates that the plumes of material are established rapidly, in step with the reconnection of the associated magnetic fields.

The discovery of Coronal Cells has already increased our knowledge of coronal magnetic structure.

In the future, studies of the evolution of Coronal Cells may improve scientists’ understanding of magnetic field line reconnection at coronal-hole boundaries and its effects on the solar wind and Earth’s space weather.

NAS Jax Completes Rooftop Solar Power Generating System

By Clark Pierce, Editor, Jax Air News, Naval Air Station Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) -- Engineers and technicians gathered at Naval Air Station Jacksonville's Hangar 1122, May 1, to celebrate completion of the station's largest rooftop solar power generating system.

Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (Light) (HSL) 42, Executive Officer Cmdr. Derek Fleck, whose squadron is a tenant of the hangar, cut the ribbon at the ground-level DC inverter array.

"This system will contribute about 25 percent of the hangar's annual electricity consumption," said Lt. j.g. Luis Velazquez, construction manager of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast solar project. "A total of 2,534 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are installed on the roof of Hangar 1122 located near the St. Johns River seawall."

The $5.7 million project was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 and was completed ahead of schedule.

Fleck said he was honored to cut the ribbon for the project. "Our hangar's solar roof epitomizes the alternative energy commitment of SECNAV (Secretary of the Navy) Ray Mabus and CNO (Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan) Greenert - who are determined to change the way our Navy produces and procures energy."

William Allen is the field engineering manager for Atlantic Contingency Constructors of Norfolk, the contractor for the project.

"The PV panels convert sunlight into direct current (DC) voltage that is fed into combiner boxes from which electric cables run to the ground-level inverters. The inverters turn the DC into alternating current (AC), which then flows into the hangar's mechanical room where it's distributed through the base power grid," explained Allen.

"There are meters in the mechanical room that monitor how the inverters are performing. Hangar 1122 is also on the base central monitoring system in order to determine exactly how much power is being generated."

Velazquez concluded, "This project contributes to achieving the Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus' energy goal of increasing alternative energy afloat and ashore - and by 2020 - producing at least 50 percent of shore-based energy requirements from alternative sources."

The hangar is home to three MH-60R Seahawk helicopter squadrons (Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 70 "Spartans," HSM-74 "Swamp Fox," and HSL-42 "Proud Warriors") and the rooftop PV construction activity did not impact their operational readiness.