Category Archives: Science and Technology

Multiple media, Science and Technology, Space Systems

NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Symposium – videos

The  NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program provides modest grants to immodest proposals of leaps forward in all manner of marvelous technologies. NIAC held its latest symposium this past week and grantees gave reports on their projects: Stanford Hosts NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Symposium- NASA.

Videos of the talks, which includes several keynotes, have been posted online : NIAC2014 – Livestream. Since the videos typically combine two or three talks together, I went through the agenda shown below and inserted links to the video corresponding to a given group of speakers. I also embedded a sampling of three videos.

Presumably at some point the presentation files will be posted as well.

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Prof. Charbel Farhat, Jay Falker on NIAC2014 – Livestream
Prof. Charbel Farhat Chair of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Stanford University
Introduction & Overview

Jay Falker, NIAC Program Executive

Jamie Hyneman of Mythbuster and S. Pete Worden, NASA Ames on NIAC2014 – Livestream
Jamie Hyneman, Host & Executive Producer of Mythbusters
“Innovation, Explosives and the Benefit of Adolescent Behavior”

S. Pete Worden, Center Director, NASA Ames Research Center

Jamie Hyneman & Pete Worden
Watch live streaming video from niac2014 at livestream.com

Robert Winglee, David Wettergreen, Gary Hudson on NIAC2014 – Livestream
Robert Winglee, University of Washington, Seattle, 2013 Phase II Fellow
Sample Return Systems for Extreme Environments

David Wettergreen, Carnegie Mellon University, 2013 Phase II Fellow
Nomadic Exploration: Following routes of solar sustenance and temperate climate

Gary Hudson, Space Studies Institute
“A Matter of Some Gravity”

Robert Winglee,  David Wettergreen, & Gary Hudson
Watch live streaming video from niac2014 at livestream.com

S. J. Ben Woo, Christopher Walker, Adrian Stoica, Joshua Rovey on NIAC2014 – Livestream
S. J. Ben Yoo, University of California, Davis, 2013 Phase I Fellow
Low-Mass Planar Photonic Imaging Sensor

Christopher Walker, Univ. of Arizona, 2013 Phase I Fellow
10 meter Sub-Orbital Large Balloon Reflector (LBR)

Adrian Stoica, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2013 Phase I Fellow
Transformers For Extreme Environments

Joshua Rovey, University of Missouri, Rolla, 2013 Phase I Fellow
Plasmonic Force Propulsion Revolutionizes Nano/PicoSatellite Capability

Bong Wie, William Whittaker, Shayne Westover on NIAC2014 – Livestream
Bong Wie, Iowa State University, 2012 Phase II Fellow
An Innovative Solution to NASA’s NEO Impact Threat Mitigation Grand Challenge and Flight Validation Mission Architecture Development

William Whittaker, Astrobotic Technology, Inc., 2012 Phase II Fellow
Cavehopping Exploration of Planetary Skylights and Tunnels

Shayne Westover, NASA Johnson Space Center, 2012 Phase II Fellow
Radiation Protection and Architecture Utilizing High Temperature Superconducting Magnets

Wednesday, February 5

Jay Falker, Peter Norvig, Director of Research, Google on NIAC2014 -Livestream
Jay Falker, NIAC Program Executive

Peter Norvig, Director of Research, Google Inc.
Live and Learn: How Big Data and Machine Learning Power the Internet

Babak Saif, Vytas SunSpiral on NIAC2014 – Livestream
Babak Saif, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 2013 Phase II Fellow
A Gravitational Wave Detector Based on an Atom Interferometer

Vytas SunSpiral, NASA Ames Research Center, 2013 Phase II Fellow
Super Ball Bot – Structures for Planetary Landing and Exploration

Lynn Rothschild, Thomas Prettyman, Mark Moore, Anthony Longman on NIAC2014 – Livestream
Lynn Rothschild, NASA Ames Research Center, 2013 Phase I Fellow
Biomaterials out of thin air: in situ, on-demand printing of advanced biocomposites

Thomas Prettyman, Planetary Science Institute, 2013 Phase I Fellow
Deep Mapping of Small Solar System Bodies with Galactic Cosmic Ray Secondary Particle Showers

Mark Moore, NASA Langley Research Center, 2013 Phase I Fellow
Eternal Flight as the Solution for ‘X’

Anthony Longman, Anthony P. Longman, 2013 Phase I Fellow
Growth Adapted Tensegrity Structures – A New Calculus for the Space Economy

Berok Khoshnevis, John Slough, Kendra Short, Joe Ritter on NIAC2014 –  Livestream
Berok Khoshnevis, University of Southern California, 2012 Phase II Fellow
ISRU-Based Robotic Construction Technologies for Lunar and Martian Infrastructures

John Slough, MSNW LLC, 2012 Phase II Fellow
The Fusion Driven Rocket: Nuclear Propulsion through Direct Conversion of Fusion Energy

Kendra Short, NASA JPL, 2012 Phase II Fellow
Printable Spacecraft: Flexible Electronic Platforms for NASA Missions

Joe Ritter, Neoteric Physics, Inc., 2012 Phase II Fellow
OCCAMS: Optically Controlled and Corrected Active Meta-material Space Structures

Berok Khoshnevis, John Slough, Kendra Short, & Joe Ritter
Watch live streaming video from niac2014 at livestream.com

Thursday, February 6

Jay Falker, Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute on NIAC2014 – Livestream
NIAC Phase II Q&A and Other Topics
Jay Falker, NIAC Program Executive

Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute
“Finding Cosmic Company: A Transformative Event of the 21st Century”

Robert Hoyt, Young K. Bae on NIAC2014 – Livestream
Robert Hoyt, Tethers, Unlimited, Inc., 2013 Phase II Fellow
SpiderFab: Architecture for On-Orbit Construction of Kilometer-Scale Apertures

Young K. Bae, Y.K. Bae Corporation, 2013 Phase II Fellow
Propellant-less Spacecraft Formation-Flying and Maneuvering with Photonic Laser Thrusters

Nathan Jerred, Hamid Hemmati, John Bradford, Rob Adams on NIAC2014 – Livestream
Nathan Jerred, Universities Space Research Association, 2013 Phase I Fellow
Dual-mode Propulsion System Enabling CubeSat Exploration of the Solar System

Hamid Hemmati, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2013 Phase I Fellow
Two-Dimensional Planetary Surface Landers

John Bradford, SpaceWorks Engineering, 2013 Phase I Fellow
Torpor Inducing Transfer Habitat For Human Stasis To Mars

Rob Adams, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, 2013 Phase I Fellow
Pulsed Fission-Fusion (PuFF) Propulsion System

David Miller, Dmitry Strekalov, Kevin Duda on NIAC2014 – Livestream
David Miller, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012 Phase II Fellow
High-Temperature Superconductors as Electromagnetic Deployment and Support Structures

Dmitry Strekalov, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2012 Phase II Fellow
Ghost Imaging of Space Objects

Kevin Duda, The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., 2012 Phase II Fellow
Variable Vector Countermeasure Suit (V2Suit) for Space Habitation and Exploration

Living in Space, Science and Technology

Video: A test of diet to prevent bone loss in micro-g

This video presents an interesting discussion of a test of whether nutrition can affect the bone density of crew members of the ISS:

Space Station Live commentator Pat Ryan conducts an interview with Dr. Scott M. Smith, the principal investigator of the Pro K experiment. The experiment is NASA’s first evaluation of a dietary countermeasure to lessen bone loss of astronauts. Pro K proposes that a flight diet with a decreased ratio of animal protein to potassium will lead to decreased loss of bone mineral. Read more…

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sta…

Science and Technology, Space participation

The Citizens Science Center

Chandra Clarke points me to her site dedicated to public participatory science programs, news and information :  Citizen Science Center – You can do science too.

She has also written a book about the subject : Be the Change: Saving the World with Citizen Science.

Science and Technology

Sci-Tech: Totipotent stem cells derived from adult cells in new simple technique

I don’t post many items about biology but this developments sounds quite significant if it holds up:

The research will now be subject to yet more scrutiny as other teams try to replicate it. Cracks may yet appear. But right now it looks like that rarity: an actual breakthrough.

If so, the implications are huge. First and foremost, it promises an almost ridiculously simple route to regenerative medicine. There is a lot of work still to do, and many potential pitfalls before it could be applied to human patients, but in principle almost any illness caused by damaged or ageing tissue – heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and dozens of others – could be fixed this way.

That’s an exciting prospect, but as so often with stem cells, ethical concerns are lurking.

Science and Technology

Sci-Tech: Investment group buys rights to Andrea Rossi’s E-Cat Technology

An affiliate of the reputable Cherokee investment group of North Carolina has bought the rights to Andrea Rossi’s nickel/hydrogen energy devices, which are based on an unexplained LENR (Low Energy Nuclear Reactions)/Cold Fusion process. The Industrial Heat, LLC  announcement is shown below. They were convinced of the validity of large net energy production from Rossi’s devices by the study released last spring by a group from Uppsala University in Sweden and the Univ. of Bologna in Italy  (see the post here and the comments), as well as by tests of their own personnel and an independent expert. (The Uppsala/Bologna group said last year that they would begin a longer investigation in the fall so they are probably to ones doing a study that Rossi says is underway now.)

Here is some background to Cherokee and the Industrial Heat companies: Confirmed: Raleigh’s Cherokee buys into controversial nuclear tech device – Triangle Business Journal.

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Industrial Heat Has Acquired Andrea Rossi’s E-Cat Technology

RESEARCH TRIANGLE, N.C., Jan. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Industrial Heat, LLC announced today that it has acquired the rights to Andrea Rossi’s Italian low energy nuclear reaction (LENR) technology, the Energy Catalyzer (E-Cat).  A primary goal of the company is to make the technology widely available, because of its potential impact on air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels and biomass.

“The world needs a new, clean and efficient energy source. Such a technology would raise the standard of living in developing countries and reduce the environmental impact of producing energy,” said JT Vaughn speaking on behalf of Industrial Heat (IH).

Mr. Vaughn confirmed IH acquired the intellectual property and licensing rights to Rossi’s LENR device after an independent committee of European scientists conducted two multi-day tests at Rossi’s facilities in Italy.

The published report by the European committee concluded, “Even by the most conservative assumptions as to the errors in the measurements, the result is still one order of magnitude greater than conventional energy sources” [referring to energy output per unit of mass]. The report is available online at http://arxiv.org/abs/1305.3913. In addition, performance validation tests were conducted in the presence of IH personnel and certified by an independent expert.

Since acquiring Rossi’s technology, IH has engaged in a broad-based effort to protect it by preparing numerous patent applications related to the core technology as well as associated designs and uses.

Tom Darden, who co-founded Cherokee Investment Partners, a series of private equity funds specializing in cleaning up pollution, is a founding investor in Industrial Heat. He is one of a small group of like-minded investors who are supporting this technology because it could significantly address a number of social and environmental challenges. They have committed to make it broadly available because of its potential for impact.  IH is considering partnerships with industry participants, universities and NGO’s to ensure the technology is developed in a thoughtful and responsible manner.

JT Vaughn manages Industrial Heat. He is the founder of Cherokee McDonough Challenge, an accelerator for environmental startups, and a leader in the startup community in the Research Triangle.

Companies or organizations interested in partnering with Industrial Heat should reach out to JT Vaughn at info@industrialheat.co.

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There was a week long symposium last summer at the University of Missouri on LENR. Videos of the presentations are available here. Here is one of Dr. Robert Duncan who organized the conference. He first got involved in this area when the CBS 60 Minutes program asked him to give an independent review of some cold fusion projects that they were reporting on. He was so intrigued by what he saw that he began his own research into the field and founded an institute at UM to sponsor such research.

And here is a recent interview with Mike McKubre of the SRI  (a huge R&D organization funded by several utilities) who has been working on cold fusion since the Pons/Fleishman days: