accomplishments

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

G o d d a r d ’ s

Innovative Partnerships 

Program Office

Strategically Promoting NASA Goddard as a 

Technology Partner of Choice

2007
are we innova

How

tive?

Read on to find out.

c o n t e n t s

page 2 . . . . . Technology Infusion

page 14 . . . . . Technology Transfer

page 22 . . . . . IP Management

page 32 . . . . . Contact Us
a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s r e p o r t 2 0 0 7

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MakinG Goddard a TechnoloGY Partner of Choice

As chief of the Innovative Partnerships 

Program (IPP) Office at NASA Goddard 

Space Flight Center, I am tasked with ensuring that we live up to our name. Innovation 

was, is, and will remain key to NASA’s ability 

to research, invent, and explore. Innovation 

benefits NASA’s mission goals as well as those 

of our valued partners, and it helps to bolster 

economic security and the public good. 

As we enter the 50th year of NASA’s history, we recognize this long-honored tradition of innovation and are 

working to sharpen our focus even further. Just as NASA 

researchers were very strategic in their efforts to fulfill 

NASA’s exploration goals in the wake of the Sputnik 

launch, we in the IPP Office are strategically working to 

support NASA’s current objectives to return to the Moon, 

Mars, and beyond.

• We endeavor to be innovative in technology infusion

efforts—to help meet Goddard needs and NASA mission 

directorate goals, and to support the growth of growing 

businesses.

• We endeavor to be innovative in technology transfer

efforts—to better the regional and U.S. economies and to 

extend the application of Goddard technologies to uses 

that will serve the public good.

Nona Cheeks

• We endeavor to be innovative in intellectual 

property (IP) management—to protect 

Goddard’s IP and serve the interest and future 

research capabilities of Goddard scientists.

We endeavor to be innovative in all of these 

things by strategically positioning Goddard 

as a Technology Partner of Choice. Through 

innovative efforts to infuse technology into 

Goddard, manage Goddard’s IP, and transfer 

technology out of Goddard, we are strengthening relationships with Goddard innovators and managers; other 

NASA Centers; industry; academia; and other federal, 

state, and nongovernmental organizations—for the mutual 

benefit of all parties and ultimately to help NASA successfully achieve its mission goals more efficiently. 

We invite you to read this summary of the successes we’ve 

seen in fiscal year 2007 in transforming these ideas into 

innovation.

Nona Minnifield Cheeks

Chief

Innovative Partnerships Program Office

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

“We endeavor to be innovative by strategically 

positioning Goddard as a Technology Partner of 

Choice.”

— Nona Cheeks, Chief, Goddard’s IPP Office
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

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Innovative:

finding ways to help everyone win

NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

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At Goddard’s IPP Office, we understand the importance of infusing 

technology from industry, academic, and government sources into NASA 

missions to achieve the goal of returning to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. 

Forming partnerships in which both NASA and its collaborator have 

something valuable to contribute to address the other’s technology need 

allows both parties to use fewer resources to address their respective 

challenges. For NASA, this not only accelerates space mission research and 

development (R&D), but it also makes R&D more cost-efficient, which is a 

benefit for taxpayers.

Major aerospace companies already seek collaboration opportunities 

with NASA. Many times these arrangements fall under more traditional work-for-hire contractual arrangements. Goddard’s IPP Office targets 

the “unusual suspects”—that is, companies, university departments, and 

government labs that might not immediately recognize that they have 

something to offer NASA and vice versa. When these organizations have a 

need that overlaps with NASA’s needs, the IPP Office seeks a technology 

infusion partnership.

Through our SBIR/STTR program, new and expanded sources of funding 

for infusion research and other high-impact agreements, FY07 brought 

many successes for technology infusion at Goddard.

TechnoloGY Infusion
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

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AOS goes from Phase I to Phase III to benefit the 

Hubble Space Telescope

As FY07 came to a close, NASA was beginning its 

second Phase III SBIR contract with Advanced Optical 

Systems, Inc. (AOS) of Huntsville, AL. The company’s 

latest contract is designed to directly benefit the Hubble 

Space Telescope (HST) through the conceptualization and 

build of the “Hybrid Guidance Sensor III,” a system to 

aid satellite rendezvous and docking. The hybrid sensor 

combines AOS’s Ultor sensing technology (which was 

developed as part of an SBIR contract with the U.S. 

Navy), and Marshall Space Flight Center’s Advanced 

Video Guidance Sensor (AVGS). Ultor uses a camera and 

natural illumination (e.g., sun, stars, etc.), while AVGS 

illuminates with a laser and reflections off of targets. 

Combining the two technologies provides redundancy 

and therefore robustness and reliability to aid the critical 

docking process. 

• In Phase I, researchers establish the technical feasibility 

and merit of a proposed innovation.

• Proposals awarded contracts may proceed to Phase II, in 

which the bulk of the R&D efforts occur.

• In Phase III, the result of Phase II is infused into NASA 

programs, other government organizations, and/or the 

commercial marketplace.

At Goddard, FY07 brought with it many SBIR/STTR 

research contracts, several of which have successfully 

entered Phase III and are expected to directly benefit a 

NASA mission or need. 

For more information about the program details and phases, 

visit: http://sbir.gsfc.nasa.gov

innovative: Mining for funding and research expertise through SBIR and 

STTR programs

The Small Business Innovative Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs are 

designed to stimulate technological innovation in the private sector to meet federal research and development needs. 

The three-phase approach enables small businesses to develop a technology in response to a specific set of NASA 

mission-driven needs. 

More than 30 companies received 

SBIR/STTR funding in FY07, 

totaling $3.5M.

technology infusion

Hubble Space Telescope
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the prototype to measure the surface of NASA’s HighResolution X-Ray Explorer (HIREX) Pathfinder mirror. 

And multiple Phase II follow-on contracts are underway to 

further develop the capabilities of this technology. 

Meanwhile, commercialization talks are ongoing with an 

established manufacturer of large optics to develop and 

integrate the instrument into the company’s fabrication 

and metrology facilities. Through IPP funding, this 

agreement has addressed a NASA need while helping a 

small business develop a new product that has commercial 

as well as NASA potential, providing benefits to NASA, 

the company, and the U.S. economy.

Now in Phase III, NASA and AOS are in the process of 

testing the new system using facilities at Goddard and 

Marshall Space Flight Center. Testing is expected to 

be completed in early 2008, and researchers expect the 

technology to benefit not only the HST but other NASA 

missions requiring rendezvous and docking, such as 

ORION. And beyond NASA, applications exist within 

the Department of Defense (DoD), Navy, Army, and Air 

Force. Outside government and military applications, the 

technology may also be useful in helping to dock ships 

in ports, maintaining precise distances between ships for 

resupply operations, and other uses. 

SBIR contract with Bauer Associates yields 

improved nanoscale optical measurement 

techniques

Another SBIR Phase III agreement—this time with Bauer 

Associates, Inc. of Wellesley, MA—stands to benefit 

many NASA missions. The organization conceived of 

and proved the theory behind a new concept for optically 

measuring large mirror surfaces. During Phase II of the 

SBIR contract, researchers developed a working prototype 

instrument that utilizes a non-interferometric, optical 

technique for measuring absolute aspheric shape over 

the full surface of large mirrors to the nanometer level, 

without the need for known reference surfaces, simplifying R&D efforts. Moving into Phase III, Bauer worked 

with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory to use 

Hubble Space Telescope
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

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Benefits to NASA

NASA will benefit significantly from this 

partnership, which is contributing directly 

to NASA’s need to demonstrate a system 

that meets all cooling requirements for 

upcoming missions. The partnership 

work will:

• Enable Goddard to provide detectors and 

instruments for a wide range of future 

X-ray, submillimeter and IR missions

• Provide significant cost and schedule 

savings by reducing the cost and duration 

of flight electronics development

• Offer significant benefits to high-profile 

missions such as Constellation-X and to a 

Goddard X-ray instrument on the Japanese New X-ray 

Telescope (NeXT) mission

innovative: Combining resources to make great things possible through 

the IPP Partnership Seed Fund

The IPP at NASA Headquarters established the Partnership Seed Fund to address barriers and initiate cost-shared, 

joint-development partnerships, providing “bridge funding” to enable larger partnerships and development efforts. 

Each year, Goddard’s IPP Office coordinates and advises the proposal efforts for projects including partnerships with 

other government agencies, small and large businesses, universities, and other NASA Centers. In the sections that 

follow, we discuss the progress that was made in FY07 on Seed Funded projects, and introduce the new proposals that 

were selected for funding. 

2006 IPP Seed Fund recipients make great progress

Recipients of 2006 Seed Funding spanned a wide variety of research goals, from optics to exploration planning. 

The IPP Office managed the submission process for Goddard, developing an innovative process for reviewing many 

proposals and then selecting and aiding the development of the proposals submitted to NASA Headquarters. The 

Goddard recipients that received funding in 2006 have been hard at work on the jointly funded research that stands 

at the helm of benefiting many important NASA missions. These recipients made significant progress in FY07, as 

discussed in the stories that follow. 

Advancing and lowering the cost 

of NASA’s next-gen X-ray and IR 

telescopes 

A Seed Fund partnership among Goddard, 

Lake Shore Cryotronics, and Lockheed 

Martin (LM) is helping researchers 

advance the technology readiness level 

(TRL) of Goddard’s Continuous Adiabatic 

Demagnetization Refrigerator (CADR) 

through complementary design changes 

in control electronics and cryogenic 

components. These advancements will 

benefit future missions by enhancing the 

temperature stability of high-resolution 

X-ray and infrared (IR) telescopes that 

make observations with detectors cooled 

to ultra-low temperatures. Progress to 

date includes control voltage calculations and improved 

stability of the system. 

NASA Goddard researcher Peter 

Shirron is collaborating with Lake 

Shore Cryotronics and Lockheed 

Martin to advance his innovative 

adiabatic demagnetization 

refrigerator (CADR) technology.

technology infusion
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Benefits to NASA

The work will:

• Provide NASA with a new architecture for 

future large observatories in space

• Lower cost and risk while improving performance, significantly benefiting future missions 

that require large-format focal planes, in 

particular HST and the James Webb Space 

Telescope (JWST)

• Possibly benefit future NASA missions 

 requiring extreme spatial resolution with the 

largest feasible fields of view, including the Joint Dark 

Energy Mission (JDEM) and the Microlensing Planet 

Finder (MPF)

• Provide the credibility and technology readiness level 

(TRL) necessary to ensure low-risk implementation in 

these and other future missions

Lowering the cost and risk of 

the Hubble and James Webb 

Space Telescopes

Another IPP Seed Fund partnership 

with Teledyne Technologies is 

enabling the development and testing 

of new concepts for very large astronomical focal planes. The project aims 

to provide the extreme performance 

required for future NASA missions 

that call for large-format focal planes 

to cover the field of view, as well as 

precision guiding to support high 

spatial resolution to achieve very high signal-to-noise 

ratios for transient phenomena such as planet transits. 

To date, researchers have demonstrated simultaneous 

imaging and guiding of Teledyne’s sensor chip assembly 

and are working with the company to develop a new 

sensor chip assembly for testing that will be suitable for 

use in space astrophysics. 

The James Webb Space Telescope 

(pictured) may benefit from Seed 

Fund work with Teledyne.

Developing new remote sensing 

With support from the IPP Seed Fund, ITT Space 

Systems is working collaboratively with Goddard and 

Marshall Space Flight Centers to advance the TRL of a 

multi-core glass mirror architecture, helping to meet the 

needs of next-generation large space telescopes. Goddard 

researchers are conducting acoustic, vibration, and 

ambient-temperature figure testing of ITT Space Systems’ 

multi-core mirror architecture, and Marshall will carry out 

cold figure testing with facilities developed for the JWST 

program. To date, researchers have completed the design 

of a 2.8 kg mirror, which has passed preliminary acoustic 

testing at Goddard. A second mirror is currently being 

fabricated. Subsequent integrated structural modeling will 

enable a physical understanding of mirror performance. 

Benefits to NASA

A primary objective of the work is to enable ITT to 

provide mirrors for missions, such as the Single Aperture 

Far-Infrared (SAFIR) Observatory, more rapidly and at a 

much lower cost. NASA stands to benefit greatly through:

• Availability of more cost-effective remote sensing 

technologies that will help researchers better see, detect, 

and measure the Earth, Sun, solar system, and universe

• A higher level of technology readiness that will likely 

impact NASA, as well as other federal agencies (e.g., 

Department of Homeland Security, Defense Advanced 

Research Projects Agency) and commercial entities
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

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technology infusion

Integrating software to improve lunar images, 

data, and overall missions

An IPP Seed Fund partnership between Goddard and 

United Space Alliance (USA) was formed this year 

to integrate Goddard’s Integrated Lunar Information 

Architecture for Decision Support (ILIADS) lunar 

Geospatial Information System (GIS) software tools 

with USA’s QuestusTM, a crew-centric management and 

planning applications suite specifically developed for 

space mission operations. Research aims to help lunar 

exploration engineers, scientists, mission operations 

personnel, and exploration crews sift through and 

extract meaningful information from environmental and 

situational data from multiple sources, in order to make 

the most effective decisions to drive exploration. To 

this end, researchers are constructing a comprehensive 

planning and decision support capability that can be 

used for near-term Lunar Precursor and Robotic Program 

(LPRP) exploration mission formulation studies, and to 

conduct real-time and safe crew-centric lunar sorties in 

the long term. To date, researchers have demonstrated 

the capabilities of the integrated software, have begun 

defining and implementing interface control documents, 

and are developing a model.

(Editor’s Note: A separate project with USA has also received 

Seed Funding for 2008. See the story on page 11 for details.)

ILIADS

2006 IPP Seed Fund recipients make great progress (continued)

“I don’t think this partnership could have happened 

without the support of Goddard’s Innovative 

Partnerships Program Office and the Agency’s new 

Seed Fund. I am so pleased to see NASA putting 

real resources toward initiating partnerships. 

There will be very real benefits to specific NASA 

objectives in terms of both cost and capabilities.”

— Julia Loftis, Goddard Innovator

Benefits to NASA

The ILIADS–Questus integration will:

• Provide access to lunar environment and mission 

information that can be easily retrieved, visualized, 

and correlated

• Benefit the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), 

enabling NASA to capture and utilize lunar data/images 

with much greater resolution than ever before

• Serve as a potential revenue stream for NASA as 

commercial opportunities for lunar exploration arise
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Lowering the cost and risk of avionics systems 

for NASA missions

Researchers from Goddard and the Air Force Research 

Laboratory (AFRL) will use Seed Funding to develop 

a spacecraft global positioning system (GPS) receiver 

with a SpaceWire-based plug-and-play (PnP) interface 

that will be applicable for multiple missions and provide 

NASA insight into building a PnP spacecraft. Reusable 

components like this receiver can dramatically reduce 

design time and costs for spacecraft construction. In order 

for this to be realized, the avionics computer interface 

must be standardized to its highest functional layers. To 

this end, researchers plan to modify the hardware for 

Goddard’s Navigator spacecraft GPS receiver to include 

a SpaceWire application-specific integrated circuit 

(ASIC) that will enable standardization of the interface 

and compatibility with all other SpaceWire-based 

architectures. The researchers plan to deliver a receiver 

that would be ready for testing in September 2008, and 

for integration on NASA’s planned AFRL PnP satellite 

technology demonstration flight to be launched one 

year later. 

Seed Fund recipients chosen for 2008

The IPP Office again coordinated proposal efforts for the Center in FY07, yielding five winning proposals. Principal 

investigators for these projects are looking toward highly innovative goals for their funded research in 2008.

Enabling autonomous and computationally 

intensive capabilities for NASA missions 

Building upon an $18M DoD investment, a Seed Fund 

collaboration among Goddard, NASA’s Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory (JPL), and Coherent Logix of Austin, TX 

will enable researchers to radiation-harden a highperformance, low-power processor that can enable or 

enhance computationally intensive NASA spaceflight 

capabilities. The performance and power efficiency of the 

resulting device is expected to be significantly superior to 

current state-of-the-art spaceflight processors. Goddard 

researchers expect that the radiation-tolerant version of 

the processor resulting from this collaboration will be 

critical to achieving NASA’s performance goals for many 

spaceflight capabilities currently in development, such 

as autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology 

(ALHAT), rover stereo vision and path planning (i.e., 

autonomous surface mobility), autonomous rendezvous 

and capture (AR&C), and adaptable communications 

systems.

“All five Goddard proposals that were awarded Seed Funding this year are bringing in outside funds 

to develop innovations that will ultimately provide very real benefits to NASA missions while lowering 

costs. Fueling more discovery by combining shared research interests with our partners is something 

we can all be happy about.” 

— Nona Cheeks, Chief, Goddard’s IPP Office
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

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Helping NASA better understand unknown 

planetary bodies and their potential risks

to Earth

Small, primitive bodies in the solar system remain one 

of the least characterized aspects of our neighborhood in 

space. Of particular scientific significance is the internal 

structure of the vast, uncharted population of all primitive 

objects in our solar system, including cometary nuclei, 

asteroids, and related near-Earth objects (NEOs). Detailed 

3D characterization of the shallow interior structure 

of primitive objects is one of the only approaches for 

quantifying the mechanics of impact events (including 

potential Earth impact) involving such objects. 

To meet this need, researchers from Goddard, Penetradar 

Corporation, and Ohio State University will use IPP 

Seed Funding to develop a lightweight, low-mass, lowfrequency, high-bandwidth, and high-resolution inverse 

synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) instrument for subsurface 

3D imaging of the interior structure of critical bodies of 

the solar system. The instrument concept development is 

ideally suited for NASA reconnaissance missions to such 

primitive objects as part of emerging priorities within 

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, and is also relevant 

to scientific issues within Earth system science and for 

enabling human exploration of the Moon and Mars. In 

addition, the instrument can be used for NASA’s NEO 

program to characterize asteroids and comets that could 

be a threat to Earth.

Improving mapping techniques for topography 

and NASA exploration of icy moons

With support from the Seed Fund, researchers at Goddard 

and Fibertek, Inc. of Herndon, VA plan to accelerate 

development of a next-generation mapping technology, 

leading to an engineered aircraft mapping lidar system by 

2009. The planned innovation will be capable of mapping 

using multiple laser beams, building on NASA’s rich heritage in laser altimeter topographic mapping. The project 

will help meet the Science Mission Directorate’s need for 

new remote sensing technologies to better see, detect, and 

measure the Earth and the solar system and will enable 

high-resolution mapping of the Earth’s land topography, 

vegetation structure, and ice sheet elevation change. 

The advancement will benefit several NASA missions, 

including the National Lidar Mapping Initiative (NLMI), 

Lidar Surface Topography (LIST) mission, ICESat-II 

mission, and planetary missions to the icy moons (Europa, 

Enceladus) of the outer planets. The technology will 

enable NASA to build instruments for these missions 

with greater spatial coverage and range resolution while 

substantially reducing the mass, size, power consumption, 

complexity, risk, and cost of the laser transmitter.

Seed Funding may help improve next-generation topography 

techniques.

technology infusion

Recently awarded Seed Funding will help researchers understand the 

potential implications of near-Earth objects.

Seed Fund recipients chosen for 2008 (continued)
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Helping NASA ensure crew health and safety 

during hazardous space weather events

Of paramount importance to NASA space and lunar 

exploration missions is the health and safety of crew 

members. Yet current methods provide minimal real-time 

response and predictive capabilities for adverse space 

weather conditions. Such “solar particle events” can 

subject the crew to potentially lethal radiation doses and 

impair critical systems (e.g., life support, communications, 

power). Key data about such events must be integrated 

into situational awareness/mission operations tools so 

that timely mitigation plans can be implemented for crew, 

vehicles, and surface assets. To this end, researchers at 

Goddard and United Space Alliance (USA) are receiving 

Seed Funding to develop prototype software tools and 

spatio-temporal visualizations that will import space 

weather and radiation science data directly into operational tools for the pre-mission planning and real-time 

execution phases of exploration programs. The planned 

innovation will provide early identification of adverse 

weather events and will provide NASA’s Space Operations 

Mission Directorate the ability to account for such events 

during mission planning/scheduling as well as to react 

during real-time execution. This includes providing lead 

time to direct exploration crews to the closest radiationhardened safe haven and implementing plans to protect 

lunar outpost infrastructure.

(Editor’s Note: A separate project with USA also received 2007 

Seed Funding. See the story on page 8 for details.)

Astronaut safety is a key goal of a Seed Funded partnership with 

United Space Alliance.

“I’d like to express my sincere thanks and 

appreciation to [the IPP Office] for your 

outstanding support throughout the latest 

IPP Seed Fund proposal preparation process. 

Your comments, feedback, suggested edits, 

etc. were highly valued and, in my opinion, 

significantly contributed to a terrific proposal.” 

— Stephen Talabac, Goddard Innovator
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

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radioactive damage during long spaceflight missions—the technology will 

enable their blood to be monitored over 

a long period of time.

This partnership among NCI, UMCP, 

and NASA is just one example of how 

the IPP Office is helping make crossgovernmental collaboration not just a 

possibility but a reality.

DIA and Goddard facilitate 

technical exchange

The IPP Office also works to put 

agreements in place now that anticipate 

NASA’s future needs. A prime 

example of this proactive strategy is 

a new MOU with the U.S. Defense 

Intelligence Agency (DIA) that 

will promote cross-agency technology infusion for mutual benefit. The agreement creates 

a Technical Exchange Group (TEG) between the two 

organizations that will meet biannually with the goal of 

sharing new technology developments, plans, and future 

aerospace and defense mission needs and requirements 

in order to identify potential areas of technical exchange, 

infusion, and partnerships. As part of the agreement, 

the DIA will work to advocate appropriate infusion of 

Goddard-developed technologies throughout the defense 

intelligence community.

Goddard and the National 

Cancer Institute help ensure 

astronaut health

One highly successful FY07 example 

of utilizing other government resources 

to infuse technology that helps address 

NASA needs is an agreement among 

Goddard, the National Cancer Institute 

(NCI), and the University of Maryland 

College Park (UMCP). This three-way 

memorandum of understanding (MOU) 

aims to develop an advanced nanobiosensor that enables fully electronic cancer 

mutation detection. Not only would 

this nanoscale field-effect transistor 

(nanoFET) replace the current and highly 

time-intensive fluorescence technique for 

DNA analysis, but it also would enable a 

miniaturized, simplified, low-power, and 

potentially handheld diagnostic device that could be part 

of a medical toolkit in space exploration missions.

The collaboration will help transfer the cancer science 

and engineering discovery and development ultimately 

to a comprehensive device whose output is the predicted 

diagnosis/prognosis/detection of cancer.

For astronauts and patients here on Earth, these advances 

are expected to enable scientists to locate biomarkers in 

individuals’ genetic makeups to predict a susceptibility 

to cancer. Specific to astronauts—who are susceptible to 

innovative: Leveraging other government agencies and resources for 

NASA needs

The IPP Office provides opportunities for Goddard researchers to find outside sources of funding and research through 

other government agencies—helping Goddard achieve NASA’s mission needs more efficiently and cost effectively.

Goddard civil servants and contractors can search the online Other Government Agency (OGA) Reference page on the 

IPP Office Web site (http://ipp.gsfc.nasa.gov/) to help identify relevant labs and points of contact at other government 

organizations. Developed in FY07, this resource enables Goddard researchers to establish relationships with government 

organizations for technology infusion and future funding opportunities. The document covers many technology 

areas, including:

• Space and near-space sensors and systems • Strategic and tactical networks • Informational assurance 

The IPP Office’s professional staff provides assistance with proposals and submissions wherever possible, often helping 

to pinpoint areas where the same submission materials may be used for multiple sources of funding. 

Astronauts in space may be better 

protected against adverse health 

phenomena thanks to joint research 

between Goddard, the National Cancer 

Institute, and the University of Maryland 

College Park. 

technology infusion
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innovative: Finding infusion partnerships that directly impact NASA 

missions or needs

NASA missions further gained benefits gleaned from many infusion agreements with other non-NASA organizations in FY07. Contractual agreements with external organizations may be in the form of a Space Act Agreement 

(SAA), Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), Interagency Agreement, or Memorandum of 

Understanding (MOU). Whatever form they take, these agreements are designed to directly benefit NASA mission or 

research needs. 

The table below summarizes other infusion agreements signed in FY07. These agreements are identified as infusion because of the many benefits 

they offer NASA mission needs, but they also offer technology transfer benefits to partner organizations, building mutually beneficial relationships 

that help support complementary goals.

 Company / Organization Technology Infusion Benefits for NASA Missions Impacted

 3 separate agreements: Cryogenic High-Accuracy NASA will obtain new refractive All NASA missions operating

 University of Oxford, Refraction Measuring index data to improve optical at cryogenic temperatures can 

 University of California System (CHARMS) Facility designs for cryogenic operation benefit from the measurement 

 Observatories, and without investing research findings. In particular, the 

 The Aerospace Company funds, and also will receive JWST and Kepler Photometer

financial reimbursement for use missions have benefited from

of the facility. CHARMS measurements.

 Ball Aerospace Digital Signal Processor NASA may be able to integrate Any future mission requiring 

(DSP) cluster, optics Ball’s algorithms into optical image-processing systems 

image processing systems for may benefit.

future missions.

 Hampton University Handheld Sun Photometer The agreement meets a NASA The collaboratively created 

mission need and may provide photometer will benefit the

royalties if/when NASA patents CALIPSO and GLOBE 

the technology. projects. 

 LogicNets Artificially intelligent robotic NASA will have the potential to Any NASA planetary explorasystem define and test many important tion mission may potentially

exploration scenarios using the benefit.

proposed robotic test system, 

including exploration and monitoring of land and water surfaces as 

well as planetary exploration. 

 Lockheed Martin “Navigator” GPS receiver The work aims to reduce risk GOES-R and other missions 

for NASA missions requiring may benefit from the GPS

onboard navigation using GPS in capabilities provided.

geo-stationary orbit.
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

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Innovative:

finding uses for new tecnologies 

in our own backyard — and beyond

NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

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TechnoloGY Transfer

The primary goal of the technology transfer process at Goddard is 

to encourage innovative, broad utilization of Goddard-developed 

technologies in the American industrial and academic communities 

as well as to facilitate Goddard’s use of technologies and expertise 

outside of NASA. NASA has been committed to technology transfer 

since its founding. In fact, the concept of transferring technology out 

of the Agency was part of the original legislation that created NASA. 

One of the provisions of the National Aeronautics and Space Act 

of 1958 was “to provide for the widest practicable and appropriate 

dissemination of information concerning its activities and results 

thereof.” Goddard’s IPP Office continues to make the concept 

of technology transfer a consistent part of innovation within the 

Agency—and FY07 delivered many successes that speak to 

this achievement.
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

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innovative: Meeting mutual needs and goals through 

Technology Transfer Agreements

The following table summarizes the technology transfer agreements signed in FY07. While these innovative agreements represent technologies 

and/or Goddard expertise being transferred to external organizations, most also include infusion-type benefits that will directly impact NASA 

needs—now or in the future.

Company/

 Organization Goddard Technology Partner Benefits NASA Missions Impacted

 BCG Wireless Hilbert-Huang Competitive advantage will NASA missions utilizing radiometers, 

Transform (HHT) be achieved through HHT’s telescopes, and satellites may 

capability in improving signal benefit from enhanced RF 

reception for radio frequency capabilities.

(RF) devices. 

 BAE Systems SpaceWire Link and BAE will achieve competitive In addition to reimbursement, NASA

Switch advantage through building a will be able to procure BAE’s new 

new computer board with SpaceWire-based computer board at a 

native SpaceWire Link and lower cost than building similar 

Switch functionality. technology in-house or retrofitting 

existing computers, benefiting 

many missions such as JWST.

 Three separate Single-Walled Carbon The companies will be able to In addition to royalty revenue, NASA

agreements: E-City Nanotube (SWCNT) offer high-quality SWCNTs can support mission needs with 

Nanotechnologies, manufacturing at a very competitive price, royalties received by the license and 

American GFM, process helping to support their growing will be able to procure SWCNTs 

and Nanotailor businesses. from the company for its own 

research at a low price.

 Enduro Medical Cable-Compliant Joint With an expanded license, While no specific missions are impacted, 

Technology (CCJ) Mechanism Enduro will be able to develop an NASA can fund infusion efforts to 

equine version of its successful benefit future missions with royalties

Secure Ambulation Module (SAM) received from the license.

rehabilitation walker. 

 Emergent Space Goddard’s Formation- Emergent saves start-up and Facility usage fees paid will help 

 Technologies, Inc. Flying Test Bed GPS development costs by using maintain the facility to ensure

Test and Simulation NASA’s facilities rather than availability for future NASA mission 

Facility investing the large amount of needs.

capital required to develop 

comparable facilities. 

 U.S. Department Burst Alert Telescope The agreement allows for The agreement will support future

of Energy (BAT) engineering test testing of BAT’s effectiveness proposals for work in optimizing 

unit in detecting Gamma-rays in the technology specifically for 

homeland security applications. homeland security operations.

SEGMA, LLC KAELO Software Collaboration will be directed In addition to reimbursement, NASA 

toward applying an intelligent can apply lessons learned to the 

robotic system to an automated Exploration Technology Development 

corporate governance rating system, Program, helping researchers 

enabling SEGMA to use NASA understand the roles of autonomous

expertise in building a business systems on the Moon.

intelligence tool. 

technoloGY transfer
a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s r e p o r t 2 0 0 7

17

meet NASA mission needs. The IPP Office innovates by 

taking a personal, hands-on approach to such agreements 

by assigning each potential partner a Technology Transfer 

Manager who can help all parties determine the best type 

of agreement to meet the needs of both organizations 

through mutually agreeable terms, timelines, and logistics. 

The results? Highly efficient innovation for NASA and for 

our partners.

The U.S. Congress and the NASA Administrator have 

placed great emphasis on transferring NASA-developed 

technology and expertise to U.S. industry to increase U.S. 

industrial competitiveness, create jobs, and improve the 

balance of trade. But technology transfer is not a one-way 

street. The IPP Office at Goddard actively seeks innovative agreements that transfer technology to valued partner 

organizations, while also yielding infusion benefits to 

innovative: A personal route to a two-way street

innovative: Learning from the past to look toward the future

The IPP Office is always seeking to improve processes, strengthen relationships, and foster the continued success of 

established technology transfer agreements. In looking to the future, we evaluate the successes of past years to determine 

strategies to ensure that Goddard continues to be a Technology Partner of Choice.

Finding novel approaches to international 

agreements

While international agreements provide a great opportunity to gain global cooperation in achieving NASA’s vision 

for space exploration, they also present distinct challenges 

due to their unique requirements compared with domestic 

agreements. For example, international agreements require 

that at least 50% of the product or technology in question 

be manufactured in the U.S. This requirement may automatically disqualify some potential agreements that would 

involve technologies built abroad. Because of this, an 

unfortunate status quo of assuming that “it just can’t be 

done” often prevents international agreements from even 

being considered within some organizations, says the IPP 

Office’s Ted Mecum. “At Goddard’s IPP Office, we don’t 

want to assume these agreements are just impossible. We 

want to understand the requirements of the agreement 

and very clearly understand the international guidelines. 

Then we can make intelligent choices about whether the 

agreement makes sense and how to make it happen.”

The IPP Office has handled one international agreement through to signing in FY07 and is managing a 

second agreement in negotiations. Both agreements 

involve Goddard’s Cryogenic High Accuracy Refraction 

Measurement System (CHARMS) facility, enabling the 

IPP Office to meet international agreement requirements 

because the technology in question involved testing at a 

NASA (domestic) facility. By very clearly understanding 

the guidelines for international agreements, the IPP Office 

is making inroads in identifying innovative approaches to 

international agreements. Moving forward, the IPP Office 

is developing best practices surrounding international 

agreements—helping to turn challenges into opportunities 

for innovation.

The IPP Office is working to strengthen past

partnerships, build strong relationships in the present, 

and improve processes moving into the future.
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

18

aerospace company in the U.S. has evaluated Goddard’s 

technology. And three major corporations—Aeroflex, 

Harris, and BAE Systems—

all signed reimbursable 

Space Act Agreements 

(SAAs) in FY06 or 07, soliciting Goddard’s expertise in 

integrating the technology 

into their avionics electronic 

products. Their products will 

contain native SpaceWire 

functionality, giving them 

a competitive edge, while 

NASA missions will 

benefit from the increased 

availability of SpaceWirebased electronics. Finally, 

the aerospace industry as a 

whole will benefit from the 

increased acceptance of the SpaceWire standard, which 

provides for compatibility and efficient reuse of avionics 

components—saving all aerospace organizations valuable 

time and resources.

Goddard’s SpaceWire implementation sparks 

industry-wide interest

FY07 brought with it several 

technology transfer agreements 

related to Goddard’s Link and Switch 

implementation of the international 

SpaceWire protocol, which is a set 

of serial links that describe a space 

computer network used to transfer 

information defined in packets. 

Developed by innovator Glenn Rakow, 

Goddard’s Link and Switch provides 

several additional features that 

improve the reliability and usability 

of the SpaceWire standard for spaceflight applications. Researchers and 

IPP Office staff knew that it would 

generate much interest in the aerospace 

community if they could make information about the innovation widely available. Their efforts 

began in 2006 when they developed a strategy to make the 

technology available free of charge via Software Usage 

Agreements (SUAs). As a result, nearly every major U.S. 

The SpaceWire Link & Switch promises to advance 

and streamline electronics systems across the 

aerospace industry.

innovative: Finding multiple avenues for single innovations

The IPP Office strives to find as many avenues of technology transfer as possible for each Goddard innovation. In FY07, 

several technologies were the subject of multiple success stories due to broad applicability of the innovation; support 

and enthusiasm from innovators who took active roles in the technology transfer and partnering processes; and diligent, 

aggressive work from IPP Office staff who cultivated multiple partner relationships.

“The more companies we can work with to integrate 

SpaceWire into more aerospace applications, the 

better for NASA, for the SpaceWire protocol, and for 

the industry overall.”

—Ted Mecum, NASA Goddard’s Innovative 

Partnerships Program Office

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Patented nanotechnology supports multiple 

new businesses

Although carbon nanotubes were 

discovered 15 years ago, their use 

has been limited due to the complex, dangerous, and expensive 

methods required for their production. However, Goddard scientists 

developed a simpler, safer, and 

much less expensive manufacturing process for single-walled 

carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The 

key innovation in this process was 

its ability to produce bundles of 

SWCNTs without using a metal 

catalyst, dramatically reducing 

pre- and post-production costs 

while generating higher yields 

and greater purity.

These significant benefits caught the attention of several 

small and growing nanotechnology companies in FY07. 

“By bringing costs down while pushing quality up, we 

Goddard’s process 

for manufacturing 

SWCNTs (pictured) is 

spurring interest among 

many nanotechnology 

companies.

“By bringing costs down while pushing quality 

up, we can help the industry increase adoption 

of this valuable technology.” 

— Ramon Perales, President, Nanotailor, Inc.

can help the industry increase adoption of this valuable 

technology,” said Ramon Perales, president of Nanotailor, 

Inc.—one of three companies that licensed Goddard’s 

SWCNT manufacturing process this year. Like Nanotailor, 

the other two companies—E-City Nanotechnologies and 

American GFM—licensed the technology to take advantage of the competitive differentiation that Goddard’s 

method offers. These three licenses are added to the 

license signed in FY06 with Idaho Space Materials, 

bringing the SWCNT manufacturing process license 

count to four. And as more companies begin developing 

high-quality, affordable SWCNTs, industries ranging from 

medical to microelectronics will benefit from increased 

availability of this important nanotechnology.
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

20

innovative: Maintaining strong relationships to yield ongoing technology 

transfer successes

Seeking new partnerships and negotiating multiple agreements for Goddard technologies are important components of 

an overall strategy of increasing the value of our innovations within and beyond the space program. Another important 

component is the continued nurturing of successful relationships in order to yield repeat agreements or successes now 

and in the future. The IPP Office’s personal approach to technology transfer agreements enables many partnerships to 

grow over time with continued benefits for both NASA and our partners.

designAmerica and 

Commercial ASIST—an 

important and continuing 

tech transfer success story 

During the 1990s, designAmerica 

participated with Goddard in the 

development of the Advanced 

System for Integration and 

Spacecraft Test (ASIST) technology. ASIST is a real-time 

command and control system 

for spacecraft development, 

integration, and operations. 

designAmerica licensed ASIST 

from Goddard in October 2003, 

making it available as a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) product.

Today, ASIST has become the ground system of choice for 

successful satellite and instrument projects. Building on 

the dedication and hard work of the designAmerica team 

and the foresight and support of Goddard’s IPP Office 

throughout the licensing process, ASIST is well on its way 

to becoming the commercial success that was originally 

envisioned in its early days. For example, Northrop 

Grumman has chosen designAmerica and ASIST to be 

its basic rapid development component for its in-house 

project flight software development and avionics integration and test labs. This work benefits a range of satellites 

that the company is developing in-house, including NASA 

missions such as the Lunar Crater 

Observation and Sensing Satellite 

(LCROSS). With ASIST at the core 

of its development suite, Northrop 

Grumman has demonstrated 

impressive gains in automated 

development and testing. In this 

way, they have streamlined satellite 

development, and saved substantial 

mission dollars. 

In addition, designAmerica and 

ASIST were recently selected by 

Lockheed Martin to be the inhouse integration and test (I&T) 

and mission operations system at 

its satellite production facility in 

Denver. For this project, ASIST 

will be both the development and the operations system 

for the RQ36 asteroid-rendezvous Discovery mission 

OSIRIS and the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution 

(MAVEN) mission for NASA, with a demonstrated cost 

savings of well over $3M for the ground system element.

NASA’s licensing efforts and its continued interest in the 

designAmerica relationship is clearly reaping benefits and 

success for both organizations today—almost five years 

after the initial license was signed.

(Editor’s Note: Sections of this story were adapted from text 

written by Thomas J. Green, president, designAmerica.)

ASIST will be both the development and the operations 

system for the RQ36 asteroid-rendezvous Discovery 

mission OSIRIS (pictured).

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21

imitates hip joint movement. In 2003, Goddard licensed 

the technology to Enduro, which used the CCJ to develop 

the Secure Ambulation Mode (SAM) walker. The SAM 

rehabilitative devices have shown remarkable success, all 

documented and promoted by the IPP Office through Web 

feature articles, printed success stories, support at NASA 

events, and press releases.

After establishing the device’s use and benefits for human 

rehabilitation, Enduro engineers engaged in discussions 

with doctors at nationally renowned veterinary hospitals. 

Interest among this community was high and convinced 

Enduro that the CCJ-based technology could also be 

incorporated into a rehabilitative device designed specifically for horses. Having kept in close contact with the IPP 

Office, Enduro found a second license agreement to be a 

natural extension of an already-strong relationship. So in 

February 2007, Enduro secured a new field-of-use license 

from Goddard to develop SAM-Equine. The company 

has developed a prototype of an equine version, and is 

currently testing the device on live horses.

From human to animal rehabilitation: 

a long-term prognosis for the strength of the 

Enduro relationship

What began as hinge 

technology for robots 

and sounding rockets 

used in the space 

program has become 

a revolutionary rehabilitative device with 

a growing list of 

applications—thanks 

to the strength of the 

relationship between 

Goddard’s IPP Office 

and Enduro Medical 

Technology.

In the 1980s, NASA 

required a technology 

that would facilitate 

mechanical isolation 

of sounding rocket 

assemblies as well as provide compliance for robots to 

grip or join objects. As part of this robotics research, the 

late James Kerley developed the cable-compliant joint 

(CCJ) technology, which provided customizable structural 

connections and selective, subtle cushioning, twisting, and 

alignment in six directions, allowing contact surfaces to 

be joined together. 

Not only did the technology meet NASA’s requirements, but it was readily clear that the subtle movement 

the technology facilitated could easily be extended to 

other applications. In the 1990s, researchers at Goddard 

integrated the CCJ technology into a patented walker 

that supports the pelvis and provides compliance that 

SAM-Equine is now being tested for use in horse rehabilitation.

SAM (pictured) helps patients with a 

variety of injuries and diseases relearn 

to walk and perform physical therapy 

exercises.

“We’re already seeing tremendous success using SAM for physical therapy 

with humans. Now with SAM-Equine, we’re looking at one of the biggest 

advancements to date in horse medicine and rehabilitation.”

— Ken Messier, President, Enduro Medical Technology
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

22

Innovative:

supporting and protecting our 

most valuable assets

NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

22
a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s r e p o r t 2 0 0 7

23

Intellectual ProPertY ManaGement

Using best practices in intellectual property (IP) management, 

Goddard’s IPP Office is helping to increase the value of Goddard 

technologies within and beyond NASA. IP management is a crucial 

component of the innovative partnerships picture, helping to:

• Promote Goddard technologies throughout other NASA Centers, 

industry, academia, and other government organizations

• Increase the value of Goddard’s IP through the identification of 

applications for Goddard innovations beyond the space program

• Protect Goddard’s financial and IP interest through the 

diligent procurement of patent and copyright protection for 

Goddard innovations

• Strengthen Goddard’s strategic position through activities 

that highlight our technological capabilities and enhance our 

innovative reputation

These goals resulted in considerable accomplishments in FY07, with 

many successes in IP protection, awards, patents, new technology 

metrics, and more.
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

24

Reaching out to 

innovators: Door to door, 

training, publications, 

and more

In FY07, the IPP Office began 

a strong push to encourage 

increased filing of NTRs in 

order to strengthen the value 

of more Goddard technologies 

than ever. Through a door-todoor approach, IPP Office staff 

members extended guidance and encouragement in person 

to help innovators understand the value of technology 

reporting and to answer any questions about the process. 

They also encouraged use of the online technology 

reporting system, eNTRe (http://entre.nasa.gov), to 

streamline the reporting process for increased efficiency. 

innovative: Encouraging new technology reporting to assess it, protect it, 

and promote it

The IPP Office works hard to help increase the value of 

Goddard’s IP through a variety of activities. But we rely on 

Goddard innovators to report new technologies so that these 

valuable activities can be set in motion. Through NASA’s 

invention disclosure form (NASA Form 1679), innovators can 

identify and document new innovations. Once a New Technology Report (NTR) has been submitted, the IPP Office 

assigns each innovation a Technology Transfer Manager who makes plans to:

• Review the technology in order to identify applications within and beyond NASA

• Work with a Goddard patent attorney to secure the appropriate patent, copyright, or other IP protection

• Identify potential partners and develop marketing plans and strategies to increase awareness of the technology in a 

manner that protects Goddard’s interests

intellectual ProPertY manaGement

In addition to the door-to-door approach, the IPP 

Office has expanded its Tech Transfer Training course. 

Innovators can attend the in-person training at Goddard 

held once per quarter. In addition, a course specifically 

covering the ins and outs of software reporting has been 

added. Looking forward, the IPP Office also plans to host 

training sessions at Wallops as well.

The Tech Transfer Training course gives civil servants, contractors, and program/project managers critical 

information about the partnering process.

eNTRe provides an online method of reporting new technologies.
a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s r e p o r t 2 0 0 7

25

innovative: Recognizing innovator efforts in tech transfer with the 

James Kerley Award

Named for an innovator and teacher with a 32-year tenure at Goddard and an exceptional commitment to technology 

transfer, the annual James Kerley Award recognizes a Goddard innovator with outstanding support for technology 

transfer and new technology reporting. 

(Editor’s Note: Read the story about Kerley’s CCJ technology continuing to revolutionize rehabilitation with SAM on page 21.) 

Glenn Rakow

This year, the award was given to Glenn Rakow for his 

work related to the SpaceWire protocol for data transmission in flight electronics. “Mr. Rakow was a natural 

choice as NASA’s SpaceWire Representative. But he has 

taken that role far beyond expectations,” said former 

Goddard Deputy Director Mike Ryschkewitsch, who 

presented Rakow with the award at the IPP Office’s 

annual NTR Program. “Mr. Rakow has worked extensively with the IPP Office to help get his innovative 

SpaceWire-based designs and his expertise into 

industry.... His commitment to technology transfer 

is clear: from filing NTRs for several technologies to 

identifying industry partners to supporting more than five 

Space Act Agreements.” The IPP Office congratulates 

Glenn Rakow on his extraordinary efforts to help further 

technology transfer at Goddard. 

(Editor’s Note: Find more information about Goddard’s 

SpaceWire agreements for FY07 on page 18.)

“Working with the IPP Office has ... helped us gain 

a lot of exposure that we might not otherwise have 

gotten, through various stories, press releases, 

events, and just general publicity about what Goddard 

is doing with SpaceWire. Those efforts have definitely 

been extremely helpful. As an innovator, half the 

battle is won through education and communication, 

and the IPP Office is great at facilitating both. They 

help ‘grease the skids’ in a lot of respects and help 

our efforts gain more credibility both within and 

outside of NASA.”

— Glenn Rakow, Goddard Innovator
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

26

innovative: Promoting technologies and partnerships through publications 

and media

Complementary to the training and NTR reporting efforts, the IPP Office has established 

high-quality, valuable publications and media to promote new technologies both within 

and beyond NASA, as well as to showcase the value and outcomes of new and ongoing 

partnerships. These publications and media take the form of:

• Goddard Tech Transfer News, the IPP 

Office’s quarterly magazine, which 

showcases notable innovators, newly 

reported technologies, awards, events, 

and more

• Table tents placed in the Goddard and 

Wallops cafeterias, highlighting the 

value of reporting technologies, facts 

about the technology transfer process, 

advice from innovators, and more

• Regular articles appearing in Goddard 

View, highlighting recent partnerships and 

notable technologies, as well as the new NTR 

Quiz, which offers Goddard personnel insight 

into the facts behind Goddard’s technology 

transfer process

• The IPP and OGA Web sites, offering information about key Goddard technologies, easily 

accessed and searchable by potential partners 

looking for innovations that meet their needs

• Partnership success stories, available in print and on 

the IPP Web site, showcasing infusion and technology 

transfer partnerships

• Press releases written by the IPP Office and issued by 

Goddard’s Public Affairs Office, which have gained 

national media coverage for Goddard technologies

• Technology submissions to the monthly publication 

NASA Tech Briefs

Table tents in the Goddard and 

Wallops cafeterias highlight 

technology and partnership 

news.

Goddard Tech Transfer News is 

published quarterly and features 

notable innovators, partnership 

news, awards, events, and more.

IPP Office stories often 

appear in publications such as 

Goddard View and NASA Tech 

Briefs.

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Goddard technology receives an R&D 100 Award

Called the “Oscars of invention” by the Chicago Tribune, 

this annual award from R&D Magazine recognizes the 

100 most innovative and technologically significant new 

products on the market. For the second year in a row, a 

Goddard technology has received an R&D 100 Award—

this time for the Adaptive Sensor Fleet (ASF) technology.

The revolutionary ASF software architecture employs a 

unique, simple interface to remotely control vehicles (such 

as boats, satellites, rovers, robots, etc.) to work collaboratively in support of many scientific goals. The technology 

has already made significant inroads into oceanographic 

and simulated planetary research—and its breadth of 

capabilities has the potential to benefit science missions 

ranging from oil-spill detection to search-and-rescue 

operations.

Jeff Hosler (pictured here with colleague Troy Ames) manipulates 

a rover on Goddard’s MERS terrain using the award-winning ASF 

technology. John Moisan (not pictured) is also part of the innovation 

team behind ASF.

innovative: Gaining recognition and prestige for Goddard and its 

IP through awards

Awards play an important part of the IPP Office’s strategy to recognize and promote the value of Goddard’s IP, helping 

the agency gain credibility as a Technology Partner of Choice. The IPP Office provides Goddard innovators support for 

award nominations and application processes. FY07 was a very successful year for awards at Goddard.

Goddard technology named Nano 50 Award 

winner

Goddard’s “Method for Manufacturing High-Quality 

Carbon Nanotubes” has been named a winner in the 

third annual Nano 50 Awards in the technology category. 

Presented by Nanotech Briefs magazine—the monthly 

digital publication from the publishers of NASA Tech 

Briefs—the Nano 50 recognizes the top 50 technologies, 

products, and innovators that have significantly 

impacted, or are expected to impact, the state of the art in 

nanotechnology. The winners of the Nano 50 Awards are 

the “best of the best”—the innovative people and designs 

that will move nanotechnology into key mainstream 

markets. This technology has gained much recognition 

in FY07 not only through awards, but also through three 

license agreements. 

(Editor’s Note: For more information about this award-winning 

technology, see the story on page 19.)

Innovator Jeannette Benavides accepted the Nano 50 Award on 

Goddard’s behalf. 
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

28

innovative: Attending events to strengthen the value of Goddard technologies

IPP Office staff and Goddard innovators attended a large number of events in FY07, helping to further the message 

that Goddard is a Technology Partner of Choice. Attendance at aerospace and other industry events, technology 

showcases, and symposia offers the opportunity to communicate this message to potential partners and collaborators, to 

receive valuable feedback from peers, and to learn about new ideas and new technologies that may benefit 

NASA mission needs. 

Ted Mecum (left) and Bill Saettel (from Glenn’s IPP Office) talk with an 

attendee at Sensors World.

Goddard researchers Julia Loftis and Jeff Hosler attended the National Space 

Symposium in Colorado.

Goddard’s IPP Office presented 12 technologies at 

the TEDCO showcase. 

“The IAC provides us an 

ideal opportunity to identify 

partners to meet NASA 

infusion needs, to network 

with potential future 

collaborators and to learn 

new business processes 

and tactics.”

—Nona Cheeks, referring to the 

2007 International Astronautical 

Congress, one of many events 

attended by IPP Office staff in FY07.

intellectual ProPertY manaGement
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29

The following table summarizes the IPP Office’s participation in events in FY07, as well as successful outcomes.

 Event, Location, Dates Description Outcomes

 58th International Hosted by the Indian Space Research IPP Office Chief Nona Cheeks co-chaired a session

 Astronautical Congress Organisation (ISRO) and Astronautical entitled, “Innovating through Technology: Spin-In 

 (IAC), September 24-28, Society of India (ASI), the event’s theme and Spin-Off.” The session provided a global

 2007, Hyderabad, India was “Touching Humanity: Space for perspective on best practices for technology 

Improving Quality of Life.” The week-long transfer and the facilitation of innovative

event hosted space professionals, partnerships.

journalists, and students from all areas 

of the globe. 

 MIT Enterprise Forum’s Focused on the hottest mobile technologies Goddard innovator Stephanie Getty was one of 

 (MITEF’s) from university and federal labs throughout only six innovators selected by MITEF to present 

3rd annual Technology Maryland and Virginia, this year’s event at the event. Her patent-pending NanoCompass 

Transfer Lab, offered technologists an opportunity to technology—a lightweight, low-power 

May 22, 2007 receive valuable critiques, suggestions, magnetometer—was well-received by the panel of 

Arlington, VA and comments to help further the experts who provided Getty with feedback related to 

commercial viability of their innovations. cost-competitiveness, finding approachable markets,

It also offered the MITEF audience (which and narrowing applications.

included venture capitalists, private 

investors, local companies, and entrepreneurs) exposure to new, cutting-edge 

technologies coming out of area labs. 

 Society for the Advance- This annual event boasted nearly 300 IPP Director Douglas Comstock was invited to 

 ment of Material and exhibitors and was attended by nearly present the keynote address, highlighting the role of

 Process Engineering 4,000 members of the materials science the IPP and technology transfer partnerships in

 (SAMPE) 2007 Confer- community. achieving NASA’s strategic goals. Goddard

ence, June 3-7, 2007 innovators Stephanie Getty and Betsy Pugel were

 Baltimore, MD also invited to present information about their 

technologies.

 2nd Annual NASA Day The all-day event was open to members of The IPP Office was the only mission support office 

 on the Hill, June 20, 2007 Congress, their staff, and the general invited to share the day with the Mission Directorates.

 Capitol Hill, Washington, public and featured interactive exhibits, The IPP presented a memorable and popular display

 D.C. targeted handouts, and speakers and staff highlighting the importance of pursuing partnerships

from across the Agency to educate with the emerging commercial space sector and 

attendees and the press about current demonstrating how NASA’s research today will

NASA operations and the importance of affect life tomorrow. As a result of this success, 

NASA to local communities. the IPP has been invited to be a part of future Day 

on the Hill events.

 NASA Goddard Space More than 200 representatives of The showcase featured presentations on a dozen 

 Flight Center Technology companies, universities, and government technologies and two state-of-the-art facilities by 

 Partnering Opportunities organizations from around the corner and leading Goddard researchers. The long-term success

 Showcase, October 12, around the world attended this showcase of the event is hinted at in the many leads for 

 2006, Greenbelt, MD to find out how Goddard’s latest innovations potential partnerships between Goddard and 

could help advance their own R&D, public showcase attendees. IPP is working with Goddard

services, or commercial product lines. researchers to develop these leads into successful 

The event was made possible by a partner- partnerships.

ship agreement signed in FY06 between 

Goddard and the Maryland Technology 

Development Corporation (TEDCO). 
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

30

innovative: Finding novel approaches to extend Goddard’s 

innovations further

In late 2007, the IPP Office began discussions regarding license agreements for multiple technologies with Ocean Tomo, 

an IP consulting firm that exposes technologies to the marketplace through live IP auctions. At press time, the company 

was in the process of evaluating several Goddard technologies for possible license and subsequent auction.

“Through this auctioning process we’re able to 

leverage an innovative way of bringing these 

technologies into the stream of commerce.” 

– Bryan Geurts, Goddard Chief Patent Counsel

The IPP Office is interested in this innovative approach 

to marketing technologies as a means to efficiently and 

effectively gain broader market exposure in an historically 

insulated IP market where transactions have been 

conducted privately, with no public discussion with respect 

to buyers, sellers, or price. “The single biggest advantage 

of this potential licensing deal with Ocean Tomo is that we 

will be able to gain more value from NASA technologies 

that have not been successfully licensed in the traditional 

sense but still have a tremendous amount of value,” said 

Bryan Geurts, chief patent counsel for Goddard. “Through 

this auctioning process we’re able to leverage an innovative way of bringing these technologies into the stream 

of commerce.” According to Ocean Tomo, IP owners 

such as Goddard benefit from the live auction format by 

capitalizing on the press garnered by the auction itself, 

an established centralized marketplace, and a competitive 

bidding environment. 

If the license agreements with Ocean Tomo prove 

successful, Goddard will likely continue an ongoing 

partnership well into the future, says Geurts. “I absolutely 

see a bright future for making this a part of our day-today tech transfer process.”

An anticipated agreement will enable live IT auctions of promising 

Goddard technologies.

intellectual ProPertY manaGement
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Patent Applications 

Filed

Blocking Contacts for 

N-Type Cadmium Zinc 

Telluride 

Conformal Gripper

Dual Order Common 

Path Spectrometer 

Flexure Based Linear 

and Rotary Bearings 

Instrument and Method 

For X-Ray Diffraction, 

Fluorescence, and 

Crystal Texture Analysis 

Without Sample 

Preparation 

Method and Associated 

Apparatus for 

Capturing, Servicing, 

and De-Orbiting 

Earth Satellites 

Using Robotics (four 

applications) 

Microsphere Fiber Laser 

System 

Miniaturized Double 

Latching Solenoid Valve 

Nanowire Device and 

Method of Making a 

Nanowire Device 

Otoacoustic Protection 

in Biologically-Inspired 

Systems 

Polarization-Preserving 

Waveguide Filter and 

Transformer 

Robotic Arm with 

Compact High Power 

Joint Technology 

Specular Coatings for 

Composite Structures 

Strain-based Carbon 

Nanotube Magnetometer

System and Method for 

Determining Stability of 

a Neural System 

Systems and Method for 

Delivery of Information 

Systems, Methods and 

Apparatus for D-Dimensional Formulation 

and Implementation of 

Recursive Hierarchical 

Segmentation

Systems, Methods, and 

Apparatus of a Low 

Conductance Silicon 

Micro-leak for Mass 

Spectrometer Inlet

Provisional Patent 

Applications Filed

Airborne Lidar for 

National Lidar Mapping 

Initiative 

Analog Radio 

Interference 

Suppression System 

Directed Flux Motor 

Utilizing Concentric 

Magnets and Interwoven 

Flux Channels 

Extreme Ultraviolet 

(EUV) Detectors Based 

Upon Aluminum Nitride 

(AIN) Wide Bandgap 

Semiconductors 

Field Reactive 

Amplification Controlling 

Total Adhesion Loading 

(FRACTAL) 

Improved, FlexureBased Linear Bearing 

Low Conductance 

Silicon Micro-leak for 

Mass Spectrometer Inlet 

Magnetorheological 

Fluid-Based Conformal 

Gripper 

Method for NonDestructive Evaluation 

of Thermal Protection 

System Materials and 

Other Materials via 

Ultraviolet Spectroscopy 

Space Operations 

Learning Center Web 

Site 

Systems, Methods, and 

Apparatus of a Space 

Communication File 

Transfer System 

Patents Received

U.S. Patent No. 

7,145,739: Lightweight 

Optical Mirrors Formed 

in Single Crystal 

Substrate 

U.S. Patent No. 

7,240,879: Method and 

Associated Apparatus 

for Capturing, Servicing, 

and De-Orbiting Earth 

Satellites Using Robotics 

U.S. Patent No. 

7,207,245: ScrewLocking Wrench 

U.S. Patent No. 

7,255,483: Thrust Rollers 
NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

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NASA Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program Office

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phone:301.286.5810

fax:301.286.0301

e-mail:techtransfer@gsfc.nasa.gov

web:http://ipp.gsfc.nasa.gov

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NP-2008-3-009-GSFC