Center Spotlight

John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field

Nineteen hundred ninety-nine has been a year of esteemed recognition for NASA's John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field. Three individuals associated with the research facility were honored for their contributions in advancing the benefits of research in aeronautics and aerospace. George W. Lewis and John H. Glenn were recognized for their outstanding achievements in the May 7, 1999, renaming ceremony of the research center, formerly called the Lewis Research Center. George Lewis, who died in 1948, was represented by his grandson at the ceremony. On April 21, 1999, the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) named Glenn Research Center director Donald J. Campbell the Laboratory Director of the Year (1998) for Technology Transfer.

NASA's Glenn Research Center is located in Cleveland, Ohio

Director Campbell, Glenn's first African-American center director, was selected to receive the award in recognition of his successful efforts to broaden the commercialization of Glenn's technologies. Under Campbell's leadership, a number of distinguished technology transfer initiatives have flourished. Among these initiatives are Glenn's Commercial Technology Office (CTO) and the Lewis Incubator For Technology (LIFT), both established to help entrepreneurs and start-up companies gain financial and marketing assistance in commercializing NASA-developed technologies.

The Glenn Commercial Technology Office

Glenn has taken part in a number of research and development projects that have advanced technologies in our everyday lives. To further these advancements, Glenn created its CTO. The field center's CTO was introduced in 1995 as Glenn's main liaison to non-aerospace companies and external organizations involved in economic development, technology transfer, and commercialization. Glenn's technology transfer program contributes significantly to the ability of Northeast Ohio companies to compete in global markets.

Technology transfer provides area companies with innovative technologies and facilitates the solutions to real-world, commercial problems by Glenn scientists and engineers. The resulting benefit is the advancement or creation of products, processes, and services.

An example of Glenn's CTO efforts in technology transfer is the Embedded Web/Tempest Training Workshop and Developer's Kit, which offers a complete software system that can be adapted to let users control and monitor, via the Internet, devices with embedded microprocessors. Using various programming languages, the technology allows scientists to remotely control and monitor experiments on space missions, including those on the International Space Station. A wide variety of commercial applications for this technology are being realized. Companies can control equipment and machinery in remote manufacturing plants by connecting their machines to the Internet and feeding data directly into databases and analysis programs. Landlords can monitor the heat and use of office buildings from miles away. Stores and museums can control cameras to view special merchandise or displays. Among the benefits of this technology is the ability to improve products and services and to integrate production equipment with other corporate systems. The Embedded Web/Tempest project recently received the 1999 R&D 100 Award and was the 1998 NASA Software of the Year winner.

NASA has been involved in the development and commercial transfer of many of the revolutionary and evolutionary technologies that define this century. "Looking at the same time frame, it is unlikely that technology would have reached its current level of maturity without NASA," says Campbell. Glenn has helped hundreds of companies turn high-tech research into marketable products, and Glenn's CTO serves as the hub for making these achievements possible.

Director Donald J. Campbell, head of the Glenn Research Center, has been recognized for his outstanding efforts in transferring NASA technology.

The Glenn Research Center's LIFT Program

Glenn's LIFT program is a business incubator designed to nurture new and emerging businesses with the potential to incorporate technology developed by Glenn. LIFT offers high quality laboratory and office space at attractive rates, along with a wide variety of business and technical support services to increase the success of participating companies. Access to the outstanding technology and support resources of Glenn through actively developed links is one of the strongest benefits of the program.

Funded by NASA and the Ohio Department of Development, LIFT is a cooperative effort among Glenn, the Ohio Department of Development, Enterprise Development, Inc., the Great Lakes Industrial Technology Center (GLITeC), and BP America. Its primary objectives are to create new products, services, companies, and jobs in Ohio and to increase the commercial value of technology developed at Glenn.

LIFT's executive director, Wayne Zeman, explains, "The whole idea behind LIFT is to make it easier for the entrepreneur. LIFT is like a cocoon of technical and business support around start-ups." Glenn has documented thousands of technologies in areas such as high-performance materials, advanced communications systems, and cutting-edge electronic sensors available for use in "non-NASA" industries.

Glenn Research Center Partnerships for Technology Transfer

Glenn's newly created Garrett Morgan Commercialization Initiative is another example of the field center's efforts to establish effective technology transfer partnerships. The Garrett Morgan Commercialization Initiative, named after the African-American inventor and Cleveland resident responsible for the traffic signal and the safety helmet/gas mask, helps to increase the competitiveness of small and disadvantaged businesses in Ohio and the Great Lakes region through the use of NASA technologies. The program offers companies marketing assistance, technical expertise, and help in planning Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposals, among other services.

Glenn's partnership with NASA's Midwest Regional Technology Transfer Center and GLITeC plays a significant role in the successful transfer of NASA technology. GLITeC is charged with improving the competitiveness of industry through the efficient application of technology and related capabilities from Glenn and other federal laboratories.

An example of Glenn's innovative efforts with GLITeC is the Glennan Microsystems Initiative, named after a former president of Case Western Reserve University and the first NASA administrator. The Glennan Microsystems Initiative is a NASA-financed project to advance the revolutionary new technology known as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), the development of which involves miniaturized electrical and mechanical devices, such as sensors, motors, gears, valves, and microprocessors that work together to perform a task. The devices could be used to improve high-speed optical switches, create more efficient fuel atomizers, control air pressure in "smart tires," or even create better barcode scanners.

Glenn Technology Transfer Successes

Glenn's technology transfer successes are continually contributing to the improvement of all aspects of society. From cleaner and more efficient transit buses to art restoration and improvements in the understanding of diabetes, Glenn is dedicated to furthering the successful transfer, use, and commercialization of NASA technology to benefit the general public.

Glenn has managed a project to develop a transit bus, known as the Hybrid Electric Transit Bus, which uses a natural gas turbine to produce electricity. The electricity generated, in turn, powers a variable-speed drive train. Lincoln Electric, Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical, Bowling Green State University, and the Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) have also participated in the project. This hybrid bus could double the fuel economy of inner city buses, while reducing exhaust emissions, lowering noise, and reducing maintenance costs. The state-of-the-art bus promises emissions measuring one-tenth of Environmental Protection Agency standards. Unlike conventional buses that waste fuel while idling in
traffic, the Hybrid Electric Transit Bus continues to run at near peak efficiency while stopped. The power is stored and used when the bus needs a boost, such as when climbing steep hills.

Under the direction of Glenn research, the Hybrid Electric Transit Bus promises cleaner emissions and greater efficiency in power use.

Glenn's technological expertise has also gone into helping the sailing team America True gain a significant technological advantage over the competition. America True formed an alliance with Glenn for its race for the America's Cup, sailing's oldest trophy. The race will begin in February 2000 in Auckland, New Zealand. Engineers at Glenn supported the America True design team. An official Space Act Agreement summarized the partnership, calling for research consultation on sail and mast design. Using high-fidelity computational analysis tools, currently in use by Glenn for propulsion applications, designers analytically tested the performance qualities of different sail and mast designs to select the optimal shapes and material configurations for the racing boat. The similarity between Glenn's jet engine performance simulations and the capabilities required for advanced boat engineers enables America True to benefit from NASA's experiences.

Glenn's technological developments have also extended into the creation of better televisions. A high-temperature, high-voltage, semiconductor called Silicon Carbide (SiC), developed by Glenn and delivering three times the power of conventional silicon devices, is helping to accelerate the use of high-definition television (HDTV). It also promises to bring cinema-quality pictures and compact disc sound to the United States and abroad during the 21^st century.

Another transferred NASA technology is one that was originally developed for space propulsion and simulation of the space environment. The technology, known as atomic oxygen, has made it possible to alter the surface of many materials through texturing, including artistic paintings. The process involves texturing or removal of organic layers with a low-energy beam of oxygen atoms. If the organic layer is on paint or another surface that is less reactive, the organic layer can be removed, without harming the underlying paint. Glenn has aided the Cleveland Museum of Art in some of its preservation and restoration efforts through this unique atomic oxygen technique.

Glenn worked with the Cleveland Museum of Art on another research effort involving the examination of an ancient Egyptian art collection. The researchers wanted to determine how ancient craftsman mixed materials to create Egyptian Blue, the world's first synthetic pigment. Small samples taken from experimental reproductions were viewed with a scanning electron microscope, which magnified the samples by many thousands.

Another Glenn technology can be attributed to helping in the research and understanding of diabetes. A researcher at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF) developed a sensor pad for measuring the friction and pressure forces under a person's foot when walking. Glenn's Interactive Data Display System (IDDS), which allows data to be shown in 2-D and 3-D images, was installed at the CCF to be used in conjunction with this sensor pad. Using NASA's IDDS technology along with the sensor pad, data are mapped onto a grid with the outline of the patient's foot mapped over the data, assisting in visualizing the risk factors related to diabetic foot ulcerations. Glenn's IDDS is assisting the CCF in understanding a problem that accounts for 20 percent of all hospital admissions for diabetic patients. The information the sensor pad and the IDDS provide is contributing to the improvement and understanding of the factors that lead to skin breakdown and ultimately a reduction of the quality of life for diabetic patients.

Glenn's atomic oxygen technology has been used by the Cleveland Art Museum to restore works of art.

Glenn Education Initiatives

Glenn is involved in a number of educational partnerships. The objectives of these partnerships involve sparking the interests of elementary, middle, and high school students. Glenn's aim is to get students involved and interested in the disciplines of mathematics and science, in an effort to help encourage the continued success of the country's advancements in engineering, aeronautics, and aerospace.

Each year, Director Campbell has been instrumental in providing hands-on educational experience to African-American and Hispanic students through the Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Aerospace Academy (SEMAA), a collaborative effort between Glenn and Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio. Because of the program's success, SEMAA has become a model for a national education system, replicated in Dayton, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; St. Louis, Missouri; and Washington, D.C.

The Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is continuing its efforts to extend the reach of NASA technology in both the private sector and education. Through establishing partnerships with commercial development organizations and educational institutions and programs, Glenn is taking great strides to make NASA technology available for the benefit of everyone.

Glenn's Interactive Data Display System has been used in the study of diabetes-related problems.