National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

Communication for the Information Technology Age

August 2004

amesnews.arc.nasa.gov

NASA is working with two majorSilicon Valley corporations, SGI andIntel, to dramatically increase theagency's supercomputing capacity tomeet critical national goals. The threeorganizations have formed a uniquely

innovative partnership in which each iscontributing resources and capabilitiesto the joint collaboration.

As part of 'Project Columbia,' NASAwill integrate a cluster of 20 intercon-nected SGI® Altix® 512-processor sys-tems, for a total of 10,240 Itanium 2processors, to significantly increase theagency's capability and capacity throughcreation of 'the Space Exploration Simu-lator.' The new machine will be based atNASA Ames. It will provide an esti-mated ten-fold increase in NASA's cur-rent supercomputing capacity.

"NASA is excited to be working withindustry in an innovative way to allowthe agency to deploy a versatile capabil-ity in supercomputing," said NASA Ad-ministrator Sean O'Keefe. "This will en-able NASA to meet its immediate mis-sion-critical requirements for return toflight, while building a strong founda-tion for our space exploration visionand future missions," he added.

"NASA has a long history insupercomputing dating back to the ori-

gins of computational fluid dynamics inthe 1960s," said NASA Ames CenterDirector G. Scott Hubbard. "It is excit-ing to join with an industry team in thisinnovative venture that will change thevery way in which science and simula-

tion are performed by providing re-searchers with capabilities that, untilnow, they could only dream about," heremarked.

The primary purpose of Project Co-lumbia is to revitalize NASA'ssupercomputing capability through de-ployment of an integrated computing,visualization and data storage environ-ment tailored to the NASA mission. Spe-cifically, this project:

• Responds to the president's directive to federal agencies and to the Office of Science and Technology Policy's (OSTP) High-End Computing Revitalization Task Force; and• Addresses current supercomputer resource limitations that became apparent during the Columbia accident investigation and shuttle return-to-flight activities.The present collaboration builds

upon the highly successful partnershipthat developed the world's first 512-processor Linux server, the SGI Altix at

NASA Ames named 'Kalpana' after Co-lumbia astronaut and Ames alumnaKalpana Chawla.

Work using that supercomputer hasled to major advances in modeling of theshuttle, as well as in the Earth sciences inhigh-resolution modeling of the world'soceans. These advances demonstratedthe power of simulation to significantlyadvance NASA's goals. NASA's power-ful new supercomputer will allow theagency to continue this important workwhile simultaneously adding vital newprojects in the space and life sciences,exploration systems, mission safety andaeronautics.

"NASA's indomitable spirit of ex-ploration has led us to the moon, to thesurface of Mars and even to the rings ofSaturn," said SGI CEO Bob Bishop. "WithProject Columbia, NASA will not onlycarry mankind further into space, butinto new worlds of knowledge and un-derstanding. After two decades of col-laboration, NASA and SGI are on thecusp of a new age of scientific methodand scientific discovery," he added.

"The exploration of the universeremains one of man's greatest chal-lenges," said Intel Chief Executive Of-ficer Craig Barrett. "The Project Colum-bia supercomputer designed by NASA,SGI and Intel will enable the world'sbrightest designers and scientists to looka little deeper and reach a little farther intheir understanding of, and achieve-ments in, space."

In line with OSTP recommendations,a portion of the new system will be madeavailable on a broad basis to ensure thatthe nation's entire science and engineer-ing community has access to this highlyadvanced supercomputer architecture.

The system will be built and inte-grated over the next three months. Thefirst two nodes, in fact, were integratedJune 28 to 30 and became operational inearly July. This initial build doubled thecurrent capacity at NASA Ames, allow-ing NASA to resume work in the sci-ences, while still aggressively pursuingits engineering objectives in support ofthe space shuttle program's return toflight.

BY DAVID MORSE AND ANN SULLIVAN

Innovative partnership to revolutionize NASA supercomputing

Project Columbia will integrate 20 SGI® Altix® 512-processor systems to dramatically increaseNASA’s supercomputing capability.

Astrogram August 20042

Public Service Medal

James O. ArnoldClaire SmithJames R. TaftAngela E. Wray

Presidential rank and NASA honor awards presentedThe 2004 presidential rank and

NASA honor awards ceremony forNASA Ames was held in July.

Ames presented presidential rankand NASA honor awards to the 27 em-ployees who were selected for individualawards and to the managers of the 14groups, which were selected for theNASA Group Achievement Award. Thenames of the honorees are listed below.

Presidential Rank ofMeritorious Senior Professional

Heinz Erzberger

Presidential Rank ofMeritorious Executive

Clifford C. Imprescia (retired)J. Victor Lebacqz(presented at NASA Hqs)

Outstanding Leadership Medal

Terry T. AllardWalter F. BrooksDallas G. DeneryGreg A. JosselynChristopher P. McKayCarol J. RussoHarry N. SwensonPaul F. Wercinski

Exceptional EngineeringAchievement Medal

Warren J. Gore

Exceptional Achievement Medal

David B. AckardLisa Chu-ThielbarRobert B. CiottiBeverly L. DavisMejghan K. HaiderLynda L. HainesChristopher S. PotterApril E. RoncaLynn J. RothschildPaul Wilde

Exceptional Service Medal

Mary M. ConnorsWendy W. DolciJohn W. ParksDavid L. Peterson

Group Achievement Award

Airspace Concepts Evaluation Sys-tem (ACES) Development Group

Altix 512 Team

Carnegie Mellon University LeaseTeam

Data Assimilation Office (DAO)Transition Team

Hyperwall Team

Mars Exploration Rover (MER) In-formation Technology InfusionTeam

Partnership for the Advancement ofAgency Supercomputing Team

Personal Satellite Assistant, FirstGeneration Team

SAGE III Ozone Loss and Valida-tion Experiment Science Team

Shuttle Landing Facility SimulationTeam

Space Technology Center Develop-ment Team

STS-107 Simulation and AnalysisTeam

V-22 Tiltrotor Shipboard OperationsResearch Team

Virtual Airspace Simulation Tech-nologies Real Time DevelopmentTeam

The NASA Ames presidential rank and NASA honor award recipients for 2004 assemble on thestage at the recently held ceremony.

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3Astrogram August 2004

The Applied Information Technol-ogy Division (Code JT) is pleased tointroduce a new Web mail service tothe Ames user community. You cannow access your e-mail using a Webbrowser from anywhere. This 24-by-7secure Web-based e-mail service isavailable to all users who have an ac-tive ‘@mail.arc.nasa.gov’ e-mail ac-count.

This new Web mail service alsoallows you to set up your vacationmessage without going through the ITsupport center.

You may use your current e-mailaccount ID and password to log inyour Web mail account on the Website https://mail.arc.nasa.gov/ andcheck your Web mail now.

The Applied IT division also of-

Two major Bay area science facili-ties are now going to work together todevelop highly advanced medical im-aging technologies that could potentiallyrevolutionize patients' diagnostics andtreatment.

In July, NASA Ames’ BioVIS Tech-nology Center and Salinas Valley Me-morial Hospital (SVMH) announced anexciting new agreement to collaborateon enhancing the quality, accuracy andutility of medical imaging in animal andhuman models.

"Developing new, accurate medicalknowledge will enable us to create revo-lutionary, non-invasive ways to analyzeanimals and humans," said NASA AmesCenter Director G. Scott Hubbard.

BioVIS' researchers will use theirexpertise in the development of imageprocessing and 3-D modeling to develophigh-fidelity digital models of theanatomy and physiological functions ofanimals.

The standard medical scanning tech-niques used today to image internal or-gans, bones, blood flow and neural func-tion are magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) and computed tomography (CT)scans. MRI is an imaging technique usedto produce high-quality images of theinside of the human body. CT is theprocess of generating a composite im-age of internal body structures from x-rays taken from different angles. By com-bining the data from CT, MRI and ultra-sound, the newly developed AdvancedDigital Animal Physiology Testbed(ADAPT) will help scientists acquireknowledge of cardiovascular anatomyand function without harming an ani-mal.

"Once we’re able to fuse the differ-ent modalities into one image set, thenext logical step is to take that informa-tion and apply it to human health. Thatwill be a huge breakthrough in the fieldof diagnostic imaging," said ThomasBurnsides, director of diagnostic imag-ing at the Salinas Valley MemorialHealthcare System.

The hospital will provide NASA sci-entists with existing medical data andassist in evaluating the new imagingand segmentation process.

"We take two-dimensional imagesfrom MRIs and CT scans and combinethem into a three-dimensional model ofthe heart, for example," said NASAAmes' Xander Twombly, the technicallead for ADAPT. "The ADAPT systemalso will model 3-D structures as theydeform over time, allowing MRI and CTdata to be combined with 4-D cardiacultrasound. This will allow NASA togenerate a continuous time-step modelof the heart through a full beat cycle

based on a series of data provided by theSVMH."

All images provided by Salinas Val-ley Memorial to NASA will be frompatients who have consented to partici-pate in the research. The hospital thenwill remove the names from each imagesent to the BioVIScenter, so patientprivacy is furtherprotected.

"Developing asafer method tostudy animal andhuman anatomywithout subject-ing them to dan-gerous levels of ra-diation or mag-netic fields maybenefit scientificresearch and addimportant knowl-edge to helpNASA ensure thehealth of astro-nauts traveling inspace to otherplanets," said Di-rector of BioVISTechnology Cen-ter Dr. RichardBoyle.

"The biomedical modeling researchfunded through the Human ResearchInitiative is aimed at addressing the bio-astronautics critical path roadmap thatdefines questions that must be addressedfor humans to execute the new Visionfor Space Exploration," said ViktorStolc, chief of the Gravitational ResearchBranch in the Life Sciences Division.

"This mutually beneficial collabora-tion will accelerate technology develop-ment for our own exploration initiative,while allowing the medical communityto provide better health care on Earth,"said Lisa Lockyer, chief of the AmesTechnology Partnerships Division.

This agreement will be a valuableaddition to already established collabo-rations between NASA Ames and hos-pitals across the country includingStanford, John Hopkins, Beth IsraelMedical Center and the University ofCalifornia, San Francisco hospital.

NASA, Salinas Valley Memorial join to advance medical imaging

NASA Ames Center Director G. Scott Hubbard (left) shakes handswith the president and CEO of the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital,Sam W. Downing.

New Web mail service available at Ames

BY VICTORIA STEINER

fers the following services to Amesstaff:• The Ames internal homepage athttp://arcweb.arc.nasa.gov/• Ames software downloads at http://arclib.arc.nasa.gov/• Remote dialup and VPN at http://apptech.arc.nasa.gov/ras_vpn.asp•Web calendar (Oracle) at https://calendar.arc.nasa.gov/•Web site hosting at http://w e b . a r c . n a s a . g o v / s e r v i c e s -hosting.cfm

You also may be interested inNASA's new internal Web site at http://insidenasa.nasa.gov/

For more information, contact theIT support center (ITSC) at ext. 4-2000or e-mail at help@mail.arc.nasa.gov

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Astrogram August 20044

NASA Ames scientists have modi-fied a scientific Web site so the generalpublic can inspect big regions andsmaller details of Mars' surface, a planetwhose alien terrain is about the samearea as Earth's continents.

After adding 'computer tools' to the'Marsoweb' Internet site, scientists planto ask volunteers from the public tovirtually survey the vast red planet tolook for important geologic features hid-den in thousands of images of the sur-face. The Web site is located at: http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/landingsites/index.html

"The initial reason to createMarsoweb was to help scientists selectpotential Mars landing sites for the cur-rent Mars Exploration Rover (MER)mission," according to Virginia Gulick,a scientist from the SETI Institute inMountain View who works at NASAAmes. "The Web site was designed justfor Mars scientists so they could viewMars data easily," she added.

But when the first Mars ExplorationRover landed on Mars in January, thegeneral public discovered Marsoweb.More than a half million 'unique visi-tors' found the page, and the Web expe-rienced about 26.7 million 'hits' in Janu-ary.

"An interactive data map onMarsoweb allows users to view mostMars data including images, thermalinertia, geologic and topographical mapsand engineering data that includes rockabundance," Gulick said. Thermal iner-tia is a material's capacity to store heat(usually in daytime) and conduct heat(often at night). "The engineering datagive scientists an idea of how smooth orrocky the local surface is," Gulick ex-plained.

To examine a large number of dis-tinctive or interesting geologic featureson the red planet close up would take anarmy of people because Mars' land sur-face is so big. Such a multitude of explor-ers – modern equivalents of America'searly pioneers – may well survey detailsof Mars through personal computers.

Researchers hope that volunteerswill help with an upcoming Mars imag-ing experiment. NASA scientists aregetting ready for the High ResolutionImaging Science Experiment (HiRISE)that will fly on the Mars ReconnaissanceOrbiter (MRO) mission, slated for launchin August 2005. Gulick, co-investigatorand education and public outreach leadof the HiRISE team, said that theexperiment's super high-resolution cam-era will be able to capture images ofobjects on Mars' surface measuring abouta yard (one meter) wide.

User-friendly 'Web tools' soon willbe available to the science community

Each year, hundreds of future sci-entists, business leaders and research-ers join NASA to explore the world ofspace science. Students from highschool to post doctorate find challengesand gain valuable experience work-ing side-by-side with people on thecutting edge of discovery. The diver-sity of culture and age in current stu-dents reflects our changing society andbrings to NASA a variety of people. InJuly, Administrator O’Keefe held atelevised meeting with students fromall the NASA field centers.

The conference opened with avideo entitled ‘A Renewed Spirit ofDiscovery,’ followed by a few remarksfrom O’Keefe about maximizing theinterest of young people. He com-mented on the space shuttle return toflight, safety concerns, the completionof the International Space Station andreturn to the moon and later Mars,sending robot ‘trailblazers’ and hu-mans. “The vision is a journey, not arace,” said O’Keefe. “Our students willbe the ones to live it and to do it.”

He then took a seat in front of thestudents at NASA Headquarters andtook questions from students aroundthe country. Questions ranged frombudget issues, federal funding, andpossible privatization of NASA to theshuttle and changing culture. O’Keefestated that public interest level is highand more than 12 billion hits havebeen received at NASA.gov. He men-tioned that several requests for infor-mation (RFIs) are out to see who mightwant to run the agency’s various pro-

NASA invites public to explore 'red planet' via Internetand the public to view and analyzeHiRISE images beginning in November2006 and to submit image observationrequests, according to HiRISE scientists.If all goes according to plan, a requestform will be on the Internet for use byscientists and the public about the timeof the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiterlaunch in 2005. Marsoweb computer sci-entist Glenn Deardorff, Gulick and otherHiRISE team members are now design-ing Web-friendly software 'tools' to al-low the public to examine and evaluateHiRISE images.

"We will ask volunteers to help uscreate 'geologic feature' databases of

boulders, gullies, craters – any kind ofgeologic feature that may be of interest,"Gulick explained. "Scientists or studentscan use these data bases to propose theo-ries about Mars that could be proven byfuture exploration."

Preliminary details about Mars Re-connaissance Orbiter HiRISE's explora-tion of Mars are on the Web at: http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/hirise/

The current Marsoweb site includesanimated 'fly-throughs' of some Marslocations. The site also permits users tofine-tune Mars images for brightness,contrast and sharpness as well as makeother adjustments.

BY JOHN BLUCK

O’Keefe welcomes interns to NASAgrams. “But,” he said, “we are en-gaged in the kinds of things peopledon’t do.”

The administrator said that NASAis still working through the ColumbiaAccident Investigation Board (CAIB)report and that many safety issueshave been addressed or resolved.“What we do is dangerous,” he said.“However, we must satisfy NASAscientists to minimize risk, though itwill never be eliminated.”

From the students’ perspective,the agency is creating an educationalstrategy to inspire future generations.As for funding cuts, O’Keefe said theagency is in transformation, but it hasa unified goal and will work as anorganized unit to achieve it.

O’Keefe congratulated studentsfor choosing NASA and recognizingthe need for math, science, engineer-ing and technical management.O’Keefe said that students challengecolleagues while they realize their ownobjectives and dreams.

O’Keefe concluded with, “Howcan we inspire the current generationof scientists? We don’t need to; theyare already energized. Those worriedshould know it’s the nature of whatwe do. It’s always changing. If it wasstatic, unchanging, predictable, any-body could do it. If you like an atmo-sphere that is shifting, constantlychanging, this is the place. Welcometo NASA.”

BY OLA MARRA COOK

5Astrogram August 2004

Aug. 26 marked the anniversary ofthe day on which women gained theright to vote in 1920 with the passage ofthe 19th amendment to the Constitu-tion. The observance of Women’s Equal-ity Day not only commemorated thepassage of the 19th amendment, butalso calls attention to women’s continu-ing efforts toward full equality in theworkplace, government and society.

Studies have shown that companieswith a higher representation of womenin senior management positions finan-cially outperform companies with pro-portionally fewer women.

One such study conducted by Cata-lyst entitled ‘The Bottom Line: Connect-ing Corporate Performance and GenderDiversity’ measured performance byexamining return on equity and totalreturn to shareholders of 353 companieson the Fortune 500 list from 1996-2000.The result of the study indicated that

Women’s Equality Day: a look at equality at Ames“the companies with the highest repre-sentation of women on their senior man-

agement teams had a 35 percent higherreturn on equity and a 34 percent highertotal return to shareholders than com-panies with the lowest women’s repre-sentation.” Additional studies havefound that there is a strong correlation

between diversityin the workplaceand the monetarysuccess of the com-pany.

A review ofthe representationof women at Amesin SES and profes-sional positions isreflected in thesecharts. The EqualOpportunity Pro-

Each year, wildlife biologist ChrisAlderete conducts a census of the west-ern pond turtles inhabiting NASA Ames.The turtle is considered by the Califor-nia Department of Fish and Game to bea ‘species of special concern,’ whichmeans that its population numbers aredecreasing but that it does not haveformal legal protection.

The purpose of listing it in this cat-egory is to make people aware that thespecies numbers have declined signifi-cantly and conservation efforts are re-quired, even though the size of currentpopulations precludes it from beinglisted as an endangered species. Theexistence of the turtle at NASA Ames issignificant because they are reported asbeing extant, or locally extinct, in thesouth Bay area.

Western pond turtles have declinedin this area due to habitat alterationsassociated with human impacts such asstream channelization, pollution andstream maintenance. The results ofAlderete’s recently completed turtle sur-vey provides positive results that theNASA Ames turtle population is breed-

grams Office encourages all Ames em-ployees to reflect on the impact thesenumbers may have on the vision andmission of the center and NASA.

Western pond turtle survey results show improvementing. Since the first survey in 2002, thepopulation index at Ames has ranged

from two turtles to 16 turtles.The western pond turtle is the only

native aquatic turtle found in Califor-nia. Adults can be from five to eightinches in length and have a khaki-col-ored shell. The hatchling and juvenileturtles range in size from one to fourinches. Sexual maturity occurs betweenseven and 11 years of age. Female turtleslay an average of six eggs per nest andcan lay more than one clutch of eggs peryear. Females lay eggs on upland habi-tat and could be using levee tops atAmes. The turtle’s average lifespan is20-25 years, though they have beenknown to live over 50 years.

Originally, the study was conductedto support the Navy’s future clean-up ofthe Northern Channel Superfund site.Although NASA Ames is not respon-sible for protecting the turtles as part ofthe Navy’s effort, the EnvironmentalServices Office has chosen to implementa program to protect and enhance theturtle population prior to clean-up ac-tivities. This program is part of NASAAmes’ larger involvement in the Envi-

An approximately 40-year-old turtle inhabitingthe Ames golf course pond near Marriage Roadditch.

continued on page 11

BY THE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

PROGRAMS OFFICE

Astrogram August 20046

Guru P. Guruswamy of Code INAwas part of the Abrupt Wing Stall (AWS)group that received a ‘Turning Goals

into Reality (TGIR) 2004’ award pre-sented during a ceremony at NASA

Supercomputing contribution recognized through TGIR awardHeadquarters in July. The AWS teamwas comprised of members from NASALangley and NASA Ames, the NavalWarfare Center, the Airforce Academy,Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The cita-tion on the award states "2004 Partner-ship award for Exceptional Progress to-ward the Partnerships for National Se-curity Objective presented on July 14,2004 to the Abrupt Wing Stall (AWS)Team." Associate Administrator of theAerospace Enterprise Vic Lebacqz pre-sented the award on behalf of NASAAdministrator Sean O'Keefe.

As part of the AWS team,Guruswamy led the numerical simula-tion effort of AWS phenomenon for anF18E/F aircraft in collaboration withDavid Rodriguez (former NASA Ad-vanced Supercomputing (NAS) divisionsupport service contractor) and Profes-sor Max Platzer of the Naval Post Gradu-ate School. The flow phenomenon ofwing stall was accurately and success-fully simulated on a supercomputer atthe NAS facility by using HiMAP soft-ware (winner of the NASA 2002 Soft-ware Release Award).

HiMAP, soon to be ported to theColumbia project for large-scalemultidisciplinary simulations of NASAand DoD projects, was selected for theAWS project because of its unique un-steady aerodynamics and aeroelasticcapabilities for complex geometries.Solutions modeled the full F18E/F con-figuration of 108 blocks with a total gridsize of 15 million points. Using theunique load-balancing scheme availablein HiMAP, several cases were run on 64processors with a high-efficiency factor.

TGIR awards are presented byNASA Headquarters to recognize themost significant accomplishments to-ward achieving the agency's goals andobjectives.

Richard Madison, former Ames engineer, diesRichard Madison died suddenly on

July 3 after two months convalescingfrom heart valve replacement.

Madison was born in San Jose onJuly 27, 1925. He and his two brotherswere raised on a pear ranch living

through the great depression. Aftergraduating from high school, he set hissights on an engineering degree andgraduated in 1949 with a B.S. degree in

mechanical engineering with honorsfrom the University of California at Ber-keley.

After graduation, Madison beganhis 30-year career at NASA Ames. Hewas an early member of the design teamfor the unitary plan windtunnel system.Once the tunnels became operational hebecame a project engineer contributingnotably to the testing of the F-111 Aard-vark. The Unitary Tunnels providedaerodynamic testing for a myriad of fa-mous military aircraft including the SR71 Blackbird, B-58 Hustler, F-4H Phan-

Memorial service set for Byron Wood

Guru Guruswamy, winner of the TurningGoals into Reality (TGIR) 2004 award.

Richard C. Madison

A memorial service to celebrate thelife of Byron Wood will be held Sept. 9from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the EagleRoom in the NASA Ames ExhibitionHall (Bldg. 943). Wood, a former seniorresearch scientist with Ames’ Ecosys-tem Science and Technology Branch(Code SGE), passed away on Feb. 6 ofthis year.

A specialist in remote-sensing tech-nologies, Wood was instrumental in theformation of the Global Monitoring andHuman Health (GMHH) Program. Thisprogram, a collaboration between NASAAmes, U.C. Davis, the Mexican Ministryof Health and others, focused on usingNASA science and technologies to modelmosquito habitat distribution for use inmodels of malaria transmission risk. Thetechnologies and expertise that were de-

tom and the B-70 Valkyrie. Thesewindtunnels and their scientific contri-butions are preserved for posterity bythe National Park Service.

Madison retired from service in 1980.Friends and family will remember himas someone who could build or fix any-thing. He was generous with his timeand always willing to lend a hand. Hewill be greatly missed. He was pre-ceded in death by his wife of 49 years,June, and is survived by their daughterCarol.

veloped in the GMHH program led tothe formation of the Center for HealthApplications of Aerospace Related Tech-nologies (CHAART) at Ames.CHAART's purpose is to extend diseasemodeling to other vector-borne diseases,such as Lyme disease, leishmaniasis, fi-lariasis and schistosomiasis. AsCHAART director, he traveled to vari-ous ‘disease hot spots’ around the world,including Mali, Bangladesh, China, Peru,Australia and Brazil.

Wood established collaborationswith the World Bank, NOAA's Office ofGlobal Programs and the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention, as wellas a memorandum of understandingbetween Ames and the National Insti-tutes of Health. These joint projects en-

continued on page 13

7Astrogram August 2004

It's in the middle of the night andyou are on the corner of DeFrance andKing when flashing red lights appearbehind you. With the heightened secu-rity concerns as a result of 9/11, youwonder how the officer will react to you.

If you are a researcher working on alast-minute report for NASA Headquar-ters about your project's technologyreadiness level, everything will be fine.On the other hand, if you are an in-truder, be prepared to be apprehended,

Recently, NASA's Ames andKennedy Space Center began trainingtheir special agents, law enforcementand security personnel using the state-of-the-art Range 3000, use-of-force train-ing simulator.

"Training with the Range 3000 XP4begins with classroom theory andprogresses to interaction with real-lifescenarios that require appropriate reac-tions as the officer traverses the use-of-force continuum," said special agent DirkMeier.

The system comes with 600 pre-in-stalled scenarios that have a minimumof four possible outcomes depending onthe officer's reactions within the sce-nario. The result is a total of 2,400 differ-ent decision-making scenarios.

"The Range 3000 gives the trainerthe ability to change a scenario’s out-come while the officer is engaged in thescenario, such as changing the suspect’scompliance to the officer’s verbal com-mands," said Meier.

The system consists of a speciallymodified service weapon (handgun,shotgun or pepper spray) fitted with alaser, a large projection screen, sensorsand a scenario station for the trainer.Trainers say the Range 3000 is a vastimprovement over previous trainingsimulators that required the trainingweapon to be attached to a hose in orderto register shots, making the trainingless realistic.

To further increase realism, the sys-tem can be customized and allows usersto add Ames-specific scenarios. "The sys-tem permits you to make your own, site-specific training scenarios. This affordsthe student the opportunity to learn inhis/her own environment instead of us-ing a canned program," said RogerHigby, training specialist.

For team training, the Range 3000has the ability to register three differenttrainees. Each officer can take turns atpoint or at the rear, with all actionscaptured for evaluation, includingweapon accuracy.

"You can video tape the students asthey respond to the scenario beingplayed and critique their actions after-wards," said Higby. "This affords theinstructor the ability to go back and

NASA Ames’ security training goes high-techreview eachstudent’s re-sponse to thescenario andmake necessaryadjustments intheir training."

Each shiftsupervisor willeventually betaught how tooperate the sys-tem so they canrun their per-sonnel throughthe system on aroutine basis.This will keeptheir officers'skills at thehighest pos-sible level, especially in situations deal-ing with human life.

"I have been a firearms instructorfor over 30 years in both civilian lawenforcement and the military and thissystem is, without a doubt, the best seen

to date," said Higby.All Ames security and law enforce-

ment personnel are conducting trainingon a continuing basis on the new sys-tem.

Jeff Cuzzi gave a talk entitled ‘TheRings are the Things’ about the latestCassini-Huygens mission results on July14 to a packed auditorium of scientists

and interested Ames observers in Build-ing 245. Cuzzi serves as interdiscipli-nary scientist for rings on the Cassinimission, overseeing broad issues of ringscience goals and planning. He alsoworks with several of the instrumentteams designing and analyzing specificobservations.

Cuzzi discussed three recent Cassinifindings, which are intriguing scientists:

• Six months before arriving at Sat-urn, Cassini detected a large, puzzlingoxygen pulse in the region of the faint Ering that is associated with the small, icymoon Enceladus. The huge blast con-

Saturn's rings are the thingstained as much mass as all of Saturn'svisible E-ring particles and has sincedissipated;

• In early June, scientists observedthat Saturn's magnetic field showed arotation rate that was six minutes slowerthan it was when Voyager visited theplanet. This startling finding has re-searchers scrambling for answers -- it'snearly inconceivable that Saturn itselfcould have changed its rotation periodso much;

• A massive solitary crater, about1400 km in diameter, was observed onTitan, Saturn's bigest moon, with non-crater ‘flow’ features seen on the surfacein other regions:

Cuzzi and the Cassini team are an-ticipating a lot of ‘instant science,’ withyears of analysis ahead. Cuzzi's researchfocus is the color, composition and ori-gin of Saturn's rings, including howmeteoroid bombardment changes thecomposition of the rings over time by‘polluting’ them.

What's next for Cassini, Cuzzi said,is a close pass to Saturn in late Octoberand then, the long-awaited Huygensprobe descent into Titan, Saturn's larg-est moon and the only one in our solarsystem with an atmosphere. Titan islarger than the planet Mercury and mayhave lakes of liquid ethane and organicmaterial on its surface.

On Jan. 14, 2005, the probe will pen-etrate the moon's foggy atmosphere andtake measurements down to the sur-

Jeff Cuzzi at the recent ‘The Rings are theThings’ talk, discusses the recent Cassini Huygensmission results from July.

Lieutenant Rich Dixon, Protective Services Division, interacts with the state-of-the-art judgmental ‘use of force’ simulator currently being used at Ames.

BY JONAS DINO

continued on page 11

Astrogram August 20048

Young minds design for living in spaceGoing to space has been an adven-

ture only a select few have experienced,but students from around the world aredreaming of ways to change this.

Seeking to harness this creative en-ergy, NASA developed the annual SpaceSettlement Design Contest.

The contest builds upon the stu-dents' fascination with space and explo-

ration by challenging them to develop apermanent orbital space colony that isfully enclosed and self-sustaining. Stu-dents must account for the colony's ba-sics: design, resource management, en-vironmental controls, transportation,but also the inhabitants’ recreationalneeds.

In 2004, the contest received 122submissions from 444 students spon-sored by 29 teachers. Entries came fromGermany, India, Japan, Malaysia, Paki-stan, Romania and the United States,California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois,Missouri, New Hampshire, NewMexico, New York, Tennessee and Vir-ginia. The contest has grown consider-

ably since its in-ception in 1984.

"The contestis designed tospark a student'sinterest in mathand science andto develop theideas and skillsthat will make or-bital colonies apossibility," saidAl Globus, NASAscientist and afounding mem-ber of the contest.

Students ingrades six to 12-can enter into the

individual, team or large group catego-ries with the best of the category win-ners chosen as the grand prizewinner.

This year, the grand prizewinnerswere Flaviu Valentin Barsan, Andrei DanCostea and Carmen Maria Sigovan fromConstantza, Romania with their entry'LEDA.' The three are high school stu-

dents mentored by Ion Bararu.“The goals of NASA's Space Settle-

ment Design Contest are to spark a stu-dents interest in math, science and space-related disciplines as well as to inspirethe next generation of explorers. Thisyear's grand prize winners were par-ticularly impressive in this pursuit.Barsan, Costea and Sigovan enthusiasti-cally presented their design entitled'LEDA' to the assembled group of scien-tists, parents, students and instructorsin the Mars Theater in June. Their de-tailed Power Point presentation was wellreceived by the entire group includingmembers of the local media. The stu-dents were accompanied by their in-structor, Bararu, who should be com-mended for motivating and inspiringhis students in this international con-test,” stated Bryan Yager.

As part of the contest, the winnersare invited to NASA Ames to tour thecenter and meet the NASA experts. InJune, the grand prizewinners and 12other prize-winning students, from asfar away as Romania and India, visitedAmes.

During the visit, contest winnersstarted the day at the NASA ExplorationCenter and were greeted by the contest'sorganizers and were given presentationsby some of NASA's leading scientists inthe field of life sciences. Team LEDAthen presented their winning conceptfor an orbital space colony followed bya presentation by another Romania team,SEEDS. After a presentation about Marsand lunch, the winners visited severalAmes facilities including the 20-G cen-trifuge, FutureFlight Central,the Hyperwall and the NASsupercomputing facility.

The NASA Space Settlement De-sign Contest is administered by the Fun-damental Space Biology programfunded by NASA’s Office of Biologicaland Physical Research, investigates fun-damental biological processes throughspace flight and ground-based research.Bringing together state-of-the-art scienceand technology, the program seeks toanswer the most basic questions regard-ing the evolution, development andfunction of living systems.

To view the winning submissionsand more information about the SpaceSettlement Design Contest, visit: http://www.nas.nasa.gov/About/Educa-tion/SpaceSettlement/Contest/ For in-formation on the Fundamental SpaceBiology program visit: http://fundamentalbiology.arc.nasa.gov/ Forinformation on NASA’s Office of Bio-logical and Physical Research visit http://spaceresearch.nasa.gov/

BY JONAS DINO

From left to right: Dennis Cunningham, Karen Petraska, Steve Kyramarios, Alan Federman, MarkLeon and Edwin Sabathia present Ames Center Director G. Scott Hubbard with the FIRST RoboticsCompetition Chairman’s Award. Hubbard said that the success of programs like NASA's RoboticsEducation Project will ensure that the United States produces the required advanced degrees inrobotics engineering. "Winning the Chairman's Award is the greatest honor that any team in theFIRST Robotics Competition could hope to get. It's taken us six years to achieve it," said Mark Leon,education deputy chief. “The Chairman's Award is our team's greatest achievement. It recognizesthe efforts of our mentors and students to build our once smallest team in the nation into a teamthat is able to give back to the community," stated Chris Ishisoko, team president and current Amesintern.

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NASA wows Farnborough International Airshow visitors

After a 10-year absence, NASAreturned to the Farnborough Inter-national Airshow to a tumultouswelcome.

The NASA booth wsa staffedby personnel from Headquartersand across NASA’s field centers. Itfeatured the Vision for Space Ex-ploration and ‘OneNASA’ themes,including Ames’ Personal Explora-tion Rover and Personal SatelliteAssistant.

The NASA booth was the mostvisited exhibit at the airshow dur-ing its seven-day run.

Astrogram August 200410

“Having a passion for what you do, asense of mission that comes from the heart –gives you energy, drive, and enthusiasmthat is contagious and essential for leader-ship…”

– Senator Elizabeth DoleWhen my engineering position be-

came a casualty in the economic down-turn in 2001, I knew in my heart that Iyearned for the sense of passion andmission Senator Dole describes. The lossof my steady income and what had be-come a draining work schedule forcedme to reevaluate my goals and careerinterests. After working almost 10 yearsas an engineer, my career had reached aplateau. It was time for change and anew direction.

I have a bachelor of science degreein physics with electrical engineeringfrom the Massachusetts Institute of Tech-nology and have worked primarily inRF/microwave and medical linear ac-celerator technology. Since 2001, I havebeen seeking to supplement my techni-cal background by strengthening anddeveloping some skills that would bothbuild on my science and engineeringbackground but also be transferable intoeducation and business. With my phys-ics background, I have had the opportu-nity to gain some teaching experience inmathematics and science in the class-room and learning center settings. I havealso been taking statistics and financialaccounting courses at Foothill Commu-nity College. It was in this process thatI applied to the internship program atNASA Ames and was accepted as anintern in the Office of Technology Part-nerships (OTP).

The opportunity to work at NASAAmes, as well as the way that my inter-ests have fit into the work that takesplace in the OTP, has been revitalizing.It is exciting to be working in an envi-ronment where the space program hasnot only inspired many to go to newheights in exploration and discovery,but has also given people a new aware-ness of the world, the cosmos, and evenour place in the universe. I hear thepassion people have in their work as Ilisten to a researcher who has spentyears working on the mission to Mars,to a scientist whose invention is beingused on the international space station,or to an astronaut who has returnedfrom a successful shuttle mission. Mywork at the OTP has exposed me tomany new and interesting technologies,and has also shown me different ways inwhich I can apply my previous workexperience. Currently, I’m learningabout the business side of technology asI work on projects that transfer and com-mercialize space-related technologies

into the American public through thepatenting and licensing processes. I’malso learning how to ‘harvest’ new in-ventions and technologies that havepotential commercial applications andto foster academic and commercial part-nerships in new leading fields such asnanotechnology, biotechnology and in-formation technology.

My interest in education has alsobeen stimulated through my internshipexperience. The fact that NASA has avested interest in education and is alsodeveloping a research park at MoffettField had also sparked my interest inapplying to the program. To supple-ment my internship stipend, I have alsobeen tutoring junior high and high schoolstudents in math and science. Therefore,it was validating to see math and scienceconcepts that I had recently been ex-plaining to my students being broughtto life in the Exploration Encounter. Inearly December 2003, I also had the op-portunity to serve as a volunteer in the‘Aero Expo IV: Centennial of Flight’event where over 4000 5th through 8thgrade students explored exhibits,viewed demonstrations and partici-

pated in hands-on educational activitiesrelated to aerospace technologies. I wasassigned to the ‘Smart Skies’ exhibitwhich used the distance-rate-time con-cepts students were learning in schoolas they participated in a hands-on simu-lated air-traffic control experience. Itwas a rewarding and enjoyable experi-ence.

Since the time my internship started,I also had applied to a master’s degreeprogram at Carnegie-Mellon West,which is also located at Moffett Field. Ihave now been accepted into the pro-gram in information technology andlearning sciences and am grateful to beable to go to graduate school at this time.I am also excited to be able to participatefirsthand in the academic partnershipsthat have been developing betweenAmes and some of the universities andlocal community colleges. I am gratefulfor my educational experience at NASAAmes. It has renewed my interests intechnology and education, provided meexperience in business, and given me anew vision as I launch into the next stepin my career.

The magic of co-op/internship-- how mine enhanced my career goals

BY LIANNE WONG

Left: Professor Larry Smarrpresented a director's colloquiumin August. His presentation wasentitled ‘The OptIPuter: UsingOptical Networks to Create aPlanetary-Scale Supercomputer.’

Professors give Ames colloquiumsRight: Steven Squyres,professor of astronomy atCornell University, presentsthe latest science results fromthe Spirit and Opportunityrovers on Mars during hisrecent colloquium at Ames.

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Under the Ames Safety Awards Pro-gram (ASAP) II, Ames recognized 40employees for their outstanding accom-plishments in improving health andsafety. ASAP II was established to rec-ognize employee actions, behavior and/or job performance that result in im-proved health and safety conditions atthe center.

There are four levels of awards, withtier four being the highest level ofachievement. The ASAP II board evalu-ates each nomination and selects the tierlevel that best represents the actions andaccomplishments of that nomination.

A group of nine individuals fromthe Bionetics Corporation received thistrimester’s highest team award. Theywere recognized for their effort in estab-lishing and maintaining a safe workingenvironment, commitment to continu-ous safety improvements, the accom-plishments of the Animal Care FacilitySafety Committee and over four years ofwork without a reportable mishap.

Tier Level 3 – Individual awards

Sergio Castellanos, Stuart Jaquez

Tier Level 2 – Individual awardsBryan Biegel, Joe Gippetti,Fred Jones, Nicholas Scott, JonTalbot

Tier Level 2 – Team awards

Improving the Safety in the Animal Care Facility:Edwin Agustin, Juan Calderon,Jose Casem, Danielle Galindo,David Garcia, Anthony Johnson,Raymond Montuya, CathyNguyen, Carolyn Reed

Tier Level 1 – Individual awards

Peteris Graube, Bill Lee,AC Mosher

Tier Level 1 – Team awards

Design and Constructionof Safety Upgrades to VariousBuildings:Szuchuan Chang, Victor Coquilla,William Lee, XinXin Nee,Raymond Schuler

Ames Safety Awards Program-- second trimester awards presented

Employee Involvement inImproving Safety in the Division:Desiree Barrientos, Lena Contreras,Dana Davidson, Myrna Espinosa,Mary Perez, Lita Que

Evacuation of N241 Basement:Lena Contreras, Dana Davidson,Kristie Dunbar, Lynette Forsman,Michael Forsman, LourdesHammett, Gail James,Diane Kanally, Mary Perez,Lita Que

Each of these employees and teamswas nominated by their colleagues fortheir outstanding actions and accom-plishments in improving health andsafety conditions at Ames.

Ralph Lewis of San Jose passedaway in May. Lewis was born in SaltLake City, Utah and lived in San Josefor 35 years. Lewis managed thetechnical information services branchat NASA Ames and later worked inthe same capacity for Lockheed. Inretirement, Lewis enjoyed dancing,writing and travel.

Lewis was widowed by his wifeof 48 years, Dorothy lewis, in 2000and was predeceased by his daugh-ter Amy Lynn Lewis in 2001. He issurvived by his daughter ShelleyBoose of San Jose and his son, MarkLewis of Phoenix. He leaves behindfive grandchildren, three sisters andnumerous nieces, nephews and cous-ins. He will be deeply missed.

Ralph W. Lewispasses away

ronmental Protection Agency’s NationalEnvironmental Performance Track(NEPT) program. NEPT is a voluntarypartnership comprised of public andprivate organizations designed to en-courage members to go beyond compli-ance with regulatory requirements toproactively implement beneficial envi-ronmental programs. Through this pro-gram, NASA Ames has committed toincrease western pond turtle habitat by:1) setting out basking logs on which theturtles can sun themselves; 2) conduct-ing habitat maintenance that includesmowing, creating pools and pulling cat-tails in the ditches; and, 3) providingprotection from ongoing activities.

NASA Ames plays an important rolein fostering western pond turtle growthin the Bay area. The NASA Ames habi-tat is unique in that it is the only westernpond turtle habitat in the area withpurely western pond turtles. In com-parison, other bodies of water in thislower river system, such as the SanTomas Aquino Creek, Guadalupe Riverand the Calabazas Creek, all have a com-bined population of the western pondturtle with the non-native red-earedslider species that is commonly found inpet stores. The red-eared slider is con-sidered detrimental to the western pondturtle because it will out compete thewestern pond turtle and further contrib-ute to its population decline.

Thanks to the knowledge obtainedthrough the surveys, Alderete forecaststhe continued growth of the westernpond turtle population at NASA Ames.

continued from page 5

BY STACY ST. LOUIS

Turtle survey

face. Huygens' descent will take aboutthree hours, give or take 30 minutes.Huygens was built by ESA, but the firststudies of Titan entry probes were doneat Ames in the 1970s and 1980s. Theprobe will collect aerosol and surfacedata, and Ames scientists Chris McKayand Bill Borucki will study those resultsas mission co-investigators.

Cassini will complete 74 orbits overits four-year nominal mission, changingits course by using 44 more close flybysof Titan - each 10 times closer than therecent first one - and using its telescopes,radar and other instruments to studyTitan's surface and atmosphere further.During the tour, the spacecraft will con-duct more than a dozen 1000-kilometerflybys of Saturn's icy satellites. DaleCruikshank of Ames, who specializes insatellite composition - in particular theirorganic molecules - will be closely in-volved in interpreting these results.

The Cassini mission has been ex-tended two additional years and, if allgoes well, will run through 2009. Theend-of-mission plan is for Cassini toultimately be pushed into Saturn, asGalileo dove into Jupiter's atmospherewhen its mission ended, or toward oneof the rings where it will collide andbecome just another ring particle.

Saturn’s ringscontinued from page 7

BY KATHLEEN BURTON

Astrogram August 200412

What do you get when you combinea dozen aircraft, three satellites, a coupleof balloons, a ship and a hundred scien-tists? You get a recipe for an historicevent.

In July, NASA Ames scientistskicked off INTEX-NA, the first of twomissions to collect and observe the move-ment of gases and aerosols across NorthAmerica to the Atlantic Ocean. INTEX-

NA stands for Intercontinental Chemi-cal Transport Experiment, NorthAmerica. The mission's main objectiveis to investigate the trans-oceanic trans-port of air pollutants from NorthAmerica to Europe and, later, from Asiato North America.

During the mission, NASA's DC-8and P3-B aircraft and 12 other planeswill fly from four locations across thecountry to monitor how trends in air-borne pollution affect global climate.The researchers also want to know howglobal conditions affect regional air qual-ity, understand the transport and chemi-cal changes of these gases over the At-lantic Ocean, and assess the global im-pact of this 'flow' on air quality andclimate

“This is a major NASA science cam-paign to understand the transport andtransformation of gases and aerosols ontranscontinental and intercontinentalscales and to investigate their impact onair quality and climate,” said HanwantSingh of Ames, lead project scientist.Ames leads and manages the field cam-paign.

The study is being conducted underan international umbrella calledICARTT, Intercontinental ChemicalTransport Experiment. NASA andNOAA scientists from the U. S. areclosely collaborating with those fromCanada, the United Kingdom, Germanyand France. Three NASA centers andsome dozen U. S. universities (includ-ing UC Irvine, UC Berkeley, and Caltechfrom California) are participating inINTEX-NA. The multi-agency missioninvolves satellites launched by NASA(Terra, Aqua, Aura) and the EuropeanSpace Agency (Envisat) and enhancedO3-sonde balloons that will measureatmospheric chemistry.

The field experiment is the first time

and museums as well as to professional,technical, civic and social organizations.Speakers also participate in conferences,workshops and lectures and staff NASAexhibits at local community events. Theonly ‘requirement’ to become a NASAspeaker is that you enjoy talking topeople and that you are willing to shareyour knowledge and passion for ourmission.

The NASA Ames Speakers Bureauneeds you. With the new school year infull swing and more NASA programsbecoming a matter of public interest, theneed for speakers has risen. The NASAAmes Speakers Bureau supports ourPublic Affairs Division, providing ser-vices to the 11 state regions of Alaska,Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho,Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Wash-ington and Wyoming.

To become a speaker, contact SheilaJohnson at ext. 4-5054 or Jennifer Kremerat ext. 4-3970. It's a call that can changeyour life, and that of your fellow citizensby inspiring the next generation ofexplorers…as only NASA can.

How to be an inspirationIn January 2004, President Bush an-

nounced to the world the new nationalVision for Space Exploration. NASAemployees have a huge responsibility tohelp let the world know who NASA is

and what NASA is trying to achieve.Many people are aware of NASA'scharge for space exploration, but theymay not understand the science andtechnology associated with it. Are theyconscious of how NASA improves thequality of our lives?

For several decades, the NASASpeakers Bureau has sought to sharehow the space program affects you, yourchildren and future generations. It iscomprised of NASA employees, con-tractors and retirees who volunteer toshare NASA's vision and goals with thecommunity. Speakers provide an in-valuable service to the public by pre-senting programs and information tothe educational community, libraries

that multiple aircraft will work togetherto maximize overall scientific output.The DC-8 aircraft is the principle NASAflying laboratory, and is equipped withhighly sensitive and sophisticated de-tection equipment supplied by NASAand INTEX-NA's university partners.The experiment, which will run in twophases, will provide the foundation forfuture international policies on pollu-tion control.

Concurrent scientific missions arebeing conducted from bases at DrydenFlight Research Center, at Mid Americanear St. Louis, MO and at Pease

Tradeport, Portsmouth, NH. The firstphase of the mission lasted from July 1to mid-August. A second phase of theexperiment, which focuses on the trans-port of Asian pollution into NorthAmerica, will be performed in the springof 2006. Additional specially equippedaircraft will launch from Mascuda, Ill.,St. Louis, Mo., and Pease Tradeport.The NASA aircraft will log approxi-mately 327 hours of flight time.Additional information on INTEX-NAis available on the Web at http://cloud1.arc.nasa.gov/intex-na/.

BY OLA MARRA COOK AND

KATHLEEN BURTON

NASA’s DC-8 which is used to monitorhow trends in airborne pollution affect theglobal climate.

Bike lockerannouncement

The Ames Commute AlternativesProgram (ACAP) is in the process ofrevamping bike lockers around cam-pus.

If you have a key to a bike lockerand have not been contacted by ACAPin the last two months reconfirmingyour use of the locker, then call Chris-tina Reed at ext. 4-6105.

If you have a key to a locker thatyou are no longer using, let herknow so that it can be reassigned.Your assistance with this effort is ap-preciated!

BY JENNIFER KREMERSpeaker Terry Pagaduan staffs the NASAexhibit at the Sunnyvale Arts and WineFestival in June 2004.

Ames launches airborne air pollution research monitor

13Astrogram August 2004

Erzberger granted highest AIAA award

Ken Silverman, NASA Ames’chief of security, ProtectiveServices, Code JP, (center) isseen here recently with GirlScout Troop 142 fromMountain View. Silvermanassisted the scouts inearning their 'Working itOut' patch by explaining tothem what his previousSecret Service and currentprotective services jobsentailed. Chief Silvermandescribed situations wherehe had to think of the bestway to come up with conflictresolutions to obtain thebest and safest outcomespossible for everyoneinvolved.

NASA's Heinz Erzberger was re-cently honored with the Reed Aeronau-tics Award. Named for Dr. SylvanusReed, an aeronautical engineer andfounding member of the organizationthat became the AIAA, the award is thehighest granted within the aeronauticalscience and engineering community.

"It is widely recognized that Dr.Erzberger's early research in trajectoryoptimization contributed directly to theevolution of flight management systemsused on most of today's commercialtransports," said Ames Center DirectorG. Scott Hubbard in Erzberger's letter ofnomination. While this was a consider-able accomplishment, Erzberger contin-ued in his quest to make air traffic con-trol efficient. To maximize efficiency, hereasoned, air traffic controllers ought tohave access to the same information onan aircraft's performance as pilots have.So Erzberger came up with the idea ofautomation aids, designed to quicklyprovide the controller with informationabout the aircraft's preferred trajectorybased on its performance characteris-tics. The goal was an increase in systemcapacity and reduction of both delaysand operating costs.

Erzberger turned his ideas to action,gathering a group of scientists and de-veloping a successful research team. "Hedeveloped the team by bringing togetherengineers, computer scientists and hu-man factors specialists, sharing his vi-sion, challenging the group, and thenmentoring them until they themselveshad become leaders. Several of theseindividuals have gone on to industryand academia to expand this new areaof engineering and assist in deploymentof the technology," said Hubbard. Andtogether, they created the CenterTRACON Automation System (CTAS).CTAS comprises a variety of specializedtools that the controllers can choose from

to solve problems that arise during vari-ous stages of flight. Realizing their goal,the CTAS has been credited with in-creasing the efficiency of air traffic con-trol through advanced computer intelli-gence.

While a great achievement, it meantnothing without the FAA's support.Erzberger is credited with mastermind-ing the strategy for FAA acceptance andimplementation. "After decades of fail-ures by others to automate air trafficcontrol functions, the system and ap-proach developed by Dr. Erzberger andhis group is the first to gain acceptanceby both controllers and the airlines,"said Hubbard. Erzberger's strategy wasto introduce his ideas and new technol-ogy in baby steps. He reasoned thatpresenting new concepts graduallywould make customers more receptiveto them in the long run. This thinkingpaid off, as the FAA soon opened itseyes to new ways of managing air traf-fic.

"The traffic management advisorand other CTAS tools are the corner-stone of the FAA's free-flight programand will provide the foundation for thefuture air transportation system. TheCTAS development has clearly posi-tioned NASA and in particular the AmesResearch Center as the world leader inair traffic management," said Hubbard.It is because of his successes that wehave the capability to meet increases indemand for air transportation today andin the future. Erzberger recently indi-cated that this technology has paved theway for an eventual doubling, or eventripling, of the capacity of airspace. It

seems everyone is interested inErzberger and his team. Invitations tospeak around the world and visitors toErzberger's office have poured in. “Hisapproach and ideas are being adoptedby much of the industry and are beingput into practice to improve capacity ata number of our airports,” said Hubbard.

"I have followed Heinz’s researchfrom its beginning. It is great to see thatthe significance of his work is beingrecognized. His vision and leadershiphave given birth to a new technologythat is indispensable to the future healthand growth of air transportation," saidDallas Denery, chief (acting), AviationSystems Division.

Heinz Erzberger

BY ALYSSA FRIEDLAND

Silverman helps scouts earn patch

abled NASA to demonstrate how re-mote sensing and geographic informa-tion system technologies could be inte-grated with other data and epidemio-logic factors to answer research ques-tions, aid with disease surveillance andfocus control activities. In recognitionof his endeavors, a center for imple-menting GIS technologies in the use ofdisease modeling has been establishedin Nigeria and dedicated to Wood.

All those who wish to attend areasked to RSVP to Honoris Ocasio athocasio@mail.arc.nasa.gov, ext. 4-2866,or with Gailynne Bouret atgbouret@mail.arc.nasa.gov, ext. 4-4187,no later than Sept. 2.

Woods memorial setcontinued from page 6

NASA photo by Astrid Terlep

Astrogram August 200414

Events Calendar

A statistical summary of activitiesof the Protective Services Division'sSecurity/Law Enforcement and Fire

Protective Services monthly activity

Security/Law Enforcement Activity Fire Protection Activity

Protection Services units for themonth of July 2004 is shown below.

The Ames Exchange is pleased toannounce the 8th Annual Chili Cook-Off to be held on Thursday, Oct. 7 from11 a.m. until 1p.m. This year’s theme is‘Mardi Gras.’

The chili cook-off has proven to bevery popular and successful in the past.It’s expected to be no different this year.

All Ames personnel are invited toform teams, try out their special chilirecipes, and compete for trophies in eachof the four categories: peoples choice,judges choice, five alarm and best pre-sentation.

The exchange will provide a total of$50 per officially-entered team (to amaximum of 20 teams) to help defraythe costs of preparing adequate sup-plies of your recipes to feed smallsamples to the potentially hundreds ofexpected attendees.

Teams are encouraged to exercisecreativity in recipes, presentation, con-diments, team naming and other, re-lated areas.

For information about entering thecontest and to submit the required pa-perwork, contact Julia Horner at:jhorner@mail.arc.nasa.gov or ext. 4-4017.

At this event, chili sampling is freefor all NASA employees, contractorsand other on-site personnel and visi-tors. Each taster will be given the chanceto cast his or her vote for the ‘peopleschoice’ award.

A select panel of judges will choosethe other categories. Trophies will bepresented to the winning team in eachcategory. Prizes are in the form of tro-phies only; there are no cash prizes forthis event.

The Silicon Valley AstronomyLecture Series presents Apollo 9 as-tronaut Russell Schweickart, giving anon-technical, illustrated talkon:‘Asteroid Deflection: Hopes andFears’

Date: Oct. 6Time: 7 p.m.Location: The Smithwick Theater

Foothill College, El Monte Road

and Freeway 280, in Los Altos HillsCost: Free and open to the public. Parking on campus costs $2.

The event is co-sponsored byNASA Ames, the Foothill CollegeAstronomy Program, the SETI Insti-tute and the Astronomical Society ofthe Pacific.

Schweickart, lunar module pilot

Schweickart to speak at Foothillon Apollo 9 and the first person to stepoutside a spacecraft without an um-bilical cord, also served as Commis-sioner of Energy for the state of Cali-fornia. He was the founder and presi-dent of the Association of Space Ex-plorers, the professional organizationof astronauts and cosmonauts.Schweickart is currently chairman ofthe board of the B612 Foundation,dedicated to protecting the future ofhumanity by developing and demon-strating ways to deflect asteroids thatare heading our way.

He will discuss what we knowabout the threat of cosmic rocks andthe various ways that have been sug-gested for saving the Earth from largeasteroid impacts, including bothnuclear and non-nuclear alternatives.

Come early as a full house is ex-pected for this very special program.Call the series hot-line at (650) 949-7888 for more information.

Chili cook-offset for Oct. 7

Ames Amateur Radio Club, third Thursday of eachmonth, 12 noon, N-T28 (across from N-255). POC:Michael Wright, KG6BFK, at ext. 4-6262.

Ames Ballroom Dance Club. Classes on Tuesdays.Beginning classes meet at 5:15 p.m. Higher-level classmeets at 5:50 p.m. Held in Bldg. 944, the Rec. Center.POC: Helen Hwang at helen.hwang@nasa.gov, ext. 4-1368.

Ames Bowling League, Palo Alto Bowl on Tuesdaynights. Seeking full-time bowlers and substitutes.Questions to sign up: Mike Liu at ext. 4-1132.

Ames Child Care Center Board of Directors Mtg,every other Thursday (check Web site for meeting dates:http://accc.arc.nasa.gov), 12 noon to 1:30 p.m., N-210,Rm. 205. POC: Cheryl Quinn, ext 4-5793.

Ames Contractor Council Mtg, first Wednesdayeach month, 11 a.m., N-200, Comm. Rm. POC: AnitaFogtman, ext. 4-4432.

Ames Diabetics (AAD), 1st & 3rd Weds, 12 noonto 1 p.m., at Ames Mega Bites, Sun room. Supportgroup discusses news affecting diabetics. POC: BobMohlenhoff, ext. 4-2523/e-mail at:bmohlenhoff@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

Ames Federal Employees Union (AFEU) Mtg,third Wednesday of ea. month, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., Bldg.221, Rm 104. Guests welcome. Info at: http://www.afeu.org. POC: Marianne Mosher, ext. 4-4055.

Ames Mac Support Group Mtg, third Tuesday ofea. month, 11:30 a.m.to 1 p.m., Bldg. N262, Rm 180.POC: Julie ext. 4-4694 or Tony ext. 4-0340.

Ames Model Aircraft Club, flying radio-controlledaircraft at the north end of Parsons Ave. on weekendmornings. POC: Mark Sumich, ext. 4-6193.

Ames Sailing Club Mtg, second Thursday of ea.month (Feb through Nov), from 11.30 a.m. -1 p.m. inthe special events room in the Ames Visitor Center in N-223. All are welcome. POC: Jeff Smith, ext. 4-2586.

Environmental, Health and Safety InformationForum, first Thursday of each month, 8:30 a.m. to 9:30

a.m., Bldg. 221/Rm 155. URL: http://q.arc.nasa.gov/qe/events/EHSseries/ POC: Stacy St. Louis at ext. 4-6810.

The Hispanic Advisory Committee forExcellence HACE Mtg, first Thurs of month in N255room 101C from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. POC: EricKristich at ext. 4-5137 and Mark Leon at ext. 4-6498.

Jetstream Toastmasters, Mondays, 12 p.m. to 1p.m., N-269/Rm.179. POC: Becky Brondos at ext. 4-1959, bbrondos@mail.arc.nasa.gov or Bob Hilton atext. 4-1783, bhilton@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

Nat'l Association of Retired Federal Employees,(NARFE). Former and current federal employees. Youronly contact with Congress. Join to protect yourfederal retirement. Chptr #50 meets the first Fri. ofeach month at HomeTown Buffet, 2670 El Camino (atKiely), S. Clara, 11 a.m. lunch. POC Earl Keener (408)241-4459 or NARFE 1-800-627-3394.

Native American Advisory Committee Mtg,fourth Tues each month, 12 noon to 1 p.m., Bldg. 19,Rm 1096. POC: Mike Liu at ext. 4-1132.

15Astrogram August 2004

Ames ClassifiedsAds for the next issue should be sent to

astrogram@mail.arc.nasa.gov and must be resubmitted foreach issue. Ads must involve personal needs or items; (nocommercial/third-party ads) and will run on a space-available basis only. First-time ads are given priority. Adsmust include home phone numbers; Ames extensions andemail addresses will be accepted for carpool and lost andfound ads only. Due to the volume of material received,we are unable to verify the accuracy of the statementsmade in the ads. Caveat emptor!

Housing

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Beyond GalileoBeyond GalileoBeyond GalileoBeyond GalileoBeyond Galileo N-235 (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)N-235 (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)N-235 (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)N-235 (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)N-235 (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)ext. 4-6873ext. 4-6873ext. 4-6873ext. 4-6873ext. 4-6873

Ask about NASA customized gifts for specialoccasions. Make your reservations for Chase Park

Mega Bites Mega Bites Mega Bites Mega Bites Mega Bites N-235 (6 a.m. to 2 p.m.)N-235 (6 a.m. to 2 p.m.)N-235 (6 a.m. to 2 p.m.)N-235 (6 a.m. to 2 p.m.)N-235 (6 a.m. to 2 p.m.)ext. 4-5969ext. 4-5969ext. 4-5969ext. 4-5969ext. 4-5969

Visitor Center Gift ShopVisitor Center Gift ShopVisitor Center Gift ShopVisitor Center Gift ShopVisitor Center Gift Shop N-943 N-943 N-943 N-943 N-943(10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) ext. 4-5412(10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) ext. 4-5412(10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) ext. 4-5412(10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) ext. 4-5412(10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) ext. 4-5412

NASA logo merchandise, souvenirs, toys, gifts andeducational items.

Open 7 days a week, 7:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. Ratesfrom $40 - $50.

Vacation OpportunitiesVacation OpportunitiesVacation OpportunitiesVacation OpportunitiesVacation Opportunities

Check web site for discounts to local attractions,http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov and click on tickets.

Information about products, services andopportunities provided to the employee and contractorcommunity by the Ames Exchange Council. Visit theweb site at: http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov

NASA LodgeNASA LodgeNASA LodgeNASA LodgeNASA Lodge (N-19) 603-7100 (N-19) 603-7100 (N-19) 603-7100 (N-19) 603-7100 (N-19) 603-7100

Tickets, etc...Tickets, etc...Tickets, etc...Tickets, etc...Tickets, etc...(N-235, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)(N-235, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)(N-235, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)(N-235, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)(N-235, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)ext. 4-6873ext. 4-6873ext. 4-6873ext. 4-6873ext. 4-6873

See daily menu at: http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov

To hear the centerwide statusrecording, call (650) 604-9999 forinformation announcements andemergency instructions for Amesemployees. You can also listen to1700 KHz AM radio for the sameinformation.

Ames emergencyannouncements

Lake Tahoe-Squaw Valley Townhse, 3bd/2ba,balcony view, horseback riding, hiking, biking, golf,river rafting, tennis, ice skating, Equipped and more.Summer rates. Call (650) 968-4155,DBMcKellar@aol.com

South Lake Tahoe cottage w/wood fireplace,hot tub. Rates $50 to $130 per night. Call (650)967-7659 or (650) 704-7732.

Vacation rental, Bass Lake, 4 mls south ofYosemite. 3bd/1.5 ba, TV, VCR, MW, frplc, BBQ,priv. boat dock. Sleeps 8. $1,050/wk. Call (559)642-3600 or (650) 390-9668.

Big Sur vacation rental, secluded 4bd/2bahouse in canyon setting. Fully eqpd kitchen. Accessto priv. beach. Tub in patio gdn. Halfway betweenCarmel and Big Sur. $175/night for 2; $225 for 4and $250 for more, plus $150 cleaning dep. Call(650) 328-4427.

Tahoe Donner vacation home, 2 bd/2ba. trees,deck, sun, fun. Access to pools, spa, golf, horsebackriding, $280 wkend, $650 week. Call (408) 739-9134.

Pine Mountain Lake vacation home. Access togolf, tennis, lake, swimming, horseback riding, walkto beach. Three bedrooms/sleeps 10. $100/night.Call (408) 799-4052 or (831) 623-4054.

Incline Village: Forest Pines, Lake Tahoe condo,3 bd/2ba, sleeps 8. Fireplace, TV/VCR/DVD, MW,W/D, jacuzzi, sauna, pool. Walk to Lake, close to skiareas. Visit Web page for pictures: http://www.ACruiseStore.com. $120/night low season,$155/night high season (holidays higher) plus $156cleaning fee and 12% Nevada room tax. Charlie(650) 355-1873.

Disneyland area vacation rental home, 2 bd/1ba. Nearing completion completely remodeled w/new furniture. Sleeps 6 (queen bed, bunk beds,sleeper sofa). Air hockey and football tables.Introductory rate $600/wk, once completed rate willbe $1000/wk. Security deposit and $100 cleaningfee required. Call (925) 846-2781.

Ski Park City Utah, NASA Ski Week XIV, Feb 5 -12, 2005. Space is limited. For more info, e-mailSteve at e-mail exnasa@sbcglobal.net or call (408)432-0135.

MiscellaneousAmes Cat Network needs help finding homes for cats

trapped on Moffett Field. They range from feral toabandoned/lost pets. They’ve been tested, altered andinoculated. Call Iris at ext. 4-5824 if you or someone youknow are interested in fostering or adopting a cat.

Queen oak bedroom set (platform bed w/ storage,bookshelf headboard, 2 attached nightstands, 9-drawerdresser, trifold mirror) plus mattress. Excellent condition.$650. Call (650) 494-7050.

Recliner-rocker chair. Light skygrey, all leather, $100.Shirley (408) 234-0025 (cell).

Credenza, 20in x 30in x 46in, beautiful honey-laquerfinish, excellent condition, $350. Call (650) 473-0604.

2000 Yamaha Waverunner. 1200 cc 155 HP. Only45 hours of operation. Like new with new trailer, cover,etc. Steve (650) 224-0679.

Dell Dimension Windows 98 computer system,including: 450 MHz Pentium II, 128 MB RAM, 2x14 GBHDs, CD reader/burner, 17" monitor, graphics and soundcards, speakers, MSOffice S/W. $50 takes it all. Tom (408)446-3922.

Ready-to-fly, Xtra Easy 2 (XE2) gas model airplane.Flown twice; never wrecked! Includes airplane and allequipment needed to fly it: 5 channel multi-datacomputer controller; manual fuel pump; 1.2v NiCad glowplug battery with AC adapter; 12v power starter; 12vbattery battery and charger; field box for equipment/toolstorage. Best offer. Call (408) 422-1572.

2bd/1ba house at186 S. Pastoria Ave, Sunnyvale.Lndry, yard, recent remodel, gardener. Near downtown, 5miles from Ames. Outdoor pets only. $1,600 per mo. Call(408) 746-8260.

2bd/1ba apt in four-plex for rent in Sunnyvale near ElCamino and Wolfe. Includes one car garage plus oneparking space, patio/balcony, updated kitchen w/walk-inpantry and dining area, pool privileges. $1,200 per mo.Call (408) 732-0829 or (408) 720-9879.

San Jose condo, 2 bd/2ba. Attached sgl car garage,fireplace, W/D, pool, D/W. Rent $1,350 plus $1,350 dep.Will consider small pet, w/add’l dep. Nice, quiet complex.Immediately available. Call (831) 333-9627.

Room for rent in Los Altos. Furnished room w/sharedbathrm in v. nice Los Altos home. Home owner is a 60+woman. Female renter only between ages of 18-30. Useof kitchen, W/D allowed. Utils inc. $550 per mo. Avail.now. Stacy (408) 378-8123.

Room for rent in quiet Los Altos close to Ames. Sharewith professional males/females. Large luxury house andyard w/gardener. W/D, N/S, no pets. Available now.$575/mo + dep. and 1/4 utils. Call (650) 964-2913.

All Ames employees are invited to submitarticles relating to Ames projects and activities forpublication in the Astrogram. When submittingstories or ads for publication, submit your mate-rial, along with any questions, in MS word by e-mail to: astrogram@mail.arc.nasa.gov on or be-fore the deadline.

Astrogram deadlinesDeadline: Publication:Sept. 9 Oct 2004Oct. 7 Nov 2004

Safety Data Civil Contractors

ServantsNot recordablefirst aid cases 1 2

Recordable nolost time cases 1 1

Lost time cases* 0 1

Restricted duty days 0 2

Lost work days 0 0

Data above is as of 07/27/04. Maybe subject to slight adjustment in theevent of a new case or new inform-ation regarding an existing case.

Note: Under new OSHA rules, lost timeis defined as lost work days, restrictedduty or job transfer.

Astrogram August 200416

National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration

Ames Research CenterMoffett Field, CA 94035-1000

Official BusinessPenalty for Private Use

PLEASE RECYCLEPrinted on recycled and recyclable paper with vegetable-based ink.

FIRST CLASS MAILPOSTAGE & FEES PAID

NASAPermit No. G-27

The Ames Astrogram is an official publication ofAmes Research Center, National Aeronautics andSpace Administration.

Editor-in-Chief..............................David Morse

Managing Editor..........................Ann Sullivan

Editor, Layout and Design...........Astrid Terlep

You can reach the Astrogram Office at:astrogram@mail.arc.nasa.gov or by phone at(650) 604-3347.

Question:What is ‘publicly available’? What

does ‘public domain’ mean?

Answer:The Export Administration Regula-

tions (EAR) define ‘publicly availableinformation’ as ‘information that is gen-erally accessible to the interested publicin any form and, therefore, not subject tothe EAR.’

‘Publicly available technology andsoftware’ is defined as ‘that technologyand software that are already publishedor will be published; arise during orresult from fundamental research; areeducational; or are included in certainpatent applications.’

The International Traffic in ArmsRegulations (ITAR) definition of ‘publicdomain’ is long so it is summarized here

The ‘Art of Leadership Mastery’ cohort group par-ticipants recently completed their nine-month program.Here are the participants in the above photograph. Theyended their program with a graduation ceremony, withAmes Center Director G. Scott Hubbard presenting eachgraduate with a certificate of mastery.

The Human Resources Development Branch cur-rently has a list of those who are intersted in applyingfor the program that begins this September. If interestedin the program, e-mail Janice Shook atjschook@mail.arc.nasa.gov

‘Art of Leadership Mastery’ group participants graduate

Ask the ‘export expert’as ‘information which is published andwhich is generally accessible or avail-able to the public: through sales at newsstands and bookstores; through sub-scriptions which are available withoutrestriction; at public libraries; throughpatents; through unlimited distributionat a conference which is generally acces-sible to the public in the US; throughfundamental research in science and en-gineering at accredited institutions ofhigher learning in the US where theresulting information is ordinarily pub-lished and shared broadly in the scien-tific community.’

Do you have a question for the ex-port expert? If so, send it to KimberlyWall at kwall@mail.arc.nasa.gov. And,visit the Internet at http://jp.arc.nasa.gov/EC/EC.html.

Sept. 8, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., B255