National Aeronautics and Space Administration

A Publication of NASA Research Park Spring 2015

NRP POST The

Selection of NASA Ames Research Center Deputy Center Director: A Message from 

Eugene Tu, Center Director

It is with great pleasure that I announce 

the selection of Dr. Thomas A. Edwards 

as the NASA Ames Research Center 

Deputy Center Director effective 

Monday, May 18, 2015. I am very 

excited to have Tom join me in this 

new capacity as we take our center 

into the future.

Dr. Edwards began his career with 

NASA in 1983, and has served in a 

variety of research and managerial 

assignments in fields including computational fluid dynamics, aircraft 

design, aerothermodynamics, information technology 

and aviation operations. He is a graduate of Princeton 

University, with Master’s and PhD degrees in aeronautics 

and astronautics from Stanford University. As a Sloan Fellow, 

he holds a Master of Science in Management from the 

Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Dr. Edwards was recently the Director of Aeronautics at 

NASA Ames Research Center, with responsibility for research 

in aviation operations, flight vehicle technology and design 

and fundamental aerodynamics. He was responsible for 

the operation of national flight simulation and wind tunnel 

facilities. Dr. Edwards also is a Fellow of the American Institute 

of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Dr. Thomas A 

Edwards, New Deputy Center Director. 

Photo credit: NASA

Messages from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden

Please Welcome Deputy Administrator 

Dava Newman

NASA Deputy Administrator Dr. Dava Newman walks to a meeting with NASA 

Administrator Charles Bolden, on Monday, May 18, 2015, her first day on the 

job at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

Please join me in welcoming Deputy Administrator Dava Newman 

to NASA! Dr. Newman took her Oath of Office on Friday, and today 

is her first full day on the job.

On a personal note, I have known and admired Dava for several 

decades. Her talents and skills as an educator and technological 

innovator will bring a new energy to our NASA leadership team, 

and I’m ecstatic to have her on board.

I am pleased to announce the 

selection of Dr. Eugene L. Tu as the next 

Director of NASA’s Ames Research 

Center at Moffett Field, California. The 

appointment is effective immediately.

Dr. Eugene L. Tu, the new Director of Ames 

Research Center. Photo Credit: NASA, 

Dominic Hart.

Continued on page 9

Continued on page 5

Announcement of New 

Center Director
2 www.nasa.gov

NRP Post

IN THIS ISSUE

1 | Messages from Charles Bolden

Please Welcome Deputy Administrator 

Dava Newman & Announcement of New 

Ames Center Director 

 1 | Messages from Center Director

Selection of NASA Ames Research Center 

Deputy Center Director

2 | New Partners

NRP Welcomes 

2 | NASA Research Park

NASA Research Park Wins Bright 

Idea Award

3 | SETI Institute

Pascal Lee Wins Children’s Book Prize

4 | Moon Express

An Audacious Plan to Mine the 

Surface of the Moon

6 | Rhombus Power Inc.

Frost & Sullivan Recognizes Rhombus as 

New Product Innovation Leader

6 | Rhombus Power Inc.

Mercury Headed to International 

Space Station

7 | NASA Research Park

NRP & DOC work together for 

National Event

8 | Singularity University

24-year-old Wins India’s First Smart 

City Contest; Winning Entry Focuses on 

Pollution Free Cities for India

10 | Singularity University 

Google Pledges $3M to put Students 

through Singularity University Program

10 | Photozig

PepBlast Motion Pictures, the Slide Show 

Maker with Music, is Launched

11| Vasper

Liquid Cooling Technology Increases 

Exercise Efficiency

12 | RMV Technology Group LLC

NRP Research Center Veteran Owned 

Company Receives SBA Business Award & 

NIPHLE Packaging Engineering Award

13| Scanadu

Scanadu Raises $35 Million From Fosun, 

Tencent for Its Health Scanner

13| Made In Space

Made in Space, Now Taking Orders

14 | skyTran

skyTranTM, Inc., Entered into an 

Agreement with Sustainable Systems 

of Colorado

15 | NeuroVigil

NeuroVigil Closes 2nd Finiancial Round

16 | NeuroVigil

Neurotech Goes Global: Tens of 

Thousands of Brains Coming Online

NRP WELCOMES

Alidyne

Location: Building 19 Floor 2, Room 2006

Commencement: 15th March, 2015

Alidyne’s mission focus is embedded systems, signal processing/

design, modeling environments and spaces and spacecraft design 

engineering. It’s R&D efforts at Ames will be applicable to small 

spacecraft, cube sats, ISS payload support and robotic sensing 

design. Alidyne has been an R&D partner of NASA through its 

support of ISS missions since 2011 and will continue to further 

partnership opportunities.

Teton Aerospace, LLC

Location: Building 19 Floor 1, Room 1070C

Commencement: 1st April, 2015

Prof Bob Twiggs, Co-Founder and President and a professor of 

Astronautical Engineering at Morehead SU, helped develop the original concepts for the CricketSat, CanSat, CubeSat and the PocketQube 

for educational applications for use in Space, and was selected by 

Space News in 2010 as one of the 10 space professionals “That made 

a difference in space”. Teton Aerospace’ vision is to demonstrate 

a new more flexible, low cost, rapid development methodology for 

space scientists and spacecraft engineers. They plan to capitalize 

on the 3D printing experience, the long term accomplishments with 

the development, launch and operation of CubeSats and the new 

FemtoSat flight demonstration using PocketQubes.

TETON

Bright Idea Award Seal. Photo Credit: Charles S. Clark, Government Executive

NASA Research Park Wins Bright Idea Award 

Source: Charles S. Clark, Government Executive

19th February 2015 

The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, recognized NASA Research Park 

as part of the 2015 Bright Ideas program. They described NASA Research Park as 

a world-class, shared-use research & development and education campus for 

industry, academia, non-profits, and government, a center for innovation and 

entrepreneurship with a unique community of scientists, engineers, students and 

educators with a shared mission.
www.nasa.gov/researchpark 3

NRP Post

Pascal Lee Wins Children’s Book Prize

By: Seth Shostak

23rd January 2015

It’s his first time out of the gate writing 

a book, but Pascal Lee, a SETI Institute researcher who studies Mars, has 

taken first place.

Lee has been designated a winner 

of the American Association for the 

Advancement of Science/Subaru 

Science Books and Film Prize for Excellence in Children’s Books. Entitled 

Mission: Mars, Lee’s short tome not 

only conveys fascinating facts about 

the Red Planet, but by describing 

the nuts and bolts of future human 

expeditions shows middle school 

students that science is not a subject 

to be feared, but is understandable 

and compelling.

The ability of books to stimulate interests in young people is well known to 

Lee: “When I was growing up, humans 

were walking on the Moon. I picked up 

every book I could find that showed 

the insides of spacecraft and the workings of spacesuits,” he says. Lee went 

on to elaborate his childhood interest 

with a research career focused on the 

history of water on the Red Planet and 

its two small moons.

Beyond fostering an interest in the 

sciences, Lee speculates that some 

of the readers of his book may be 

among the first humans to actually 

explore Mars.

Pascal Lee, a planetary scientist at the SETI Institute located in NASA Research Park 

authored the award winning children’s book ‘Mission: Mars’. Photo credit: SETI

Continued on page 7

The Prize was awarded on February 14, 

at the Association’s Annual Meeting in 

San Jose, California.

Human journeys to Mars could become 

a reality in the 2030s, says NASA. Consequently, some of today’s kids already 

have their eyes set on becoming tomorrow’s Mars explorers. To help them 

prepare for this epic voyage, SETI Institute scientist Pascal Lee has written 

Mission: Mars, a nonfiction children’s 

book that reads like a training manual. 

The AAAS is the world’s largest general 

scientific society and the publisher 

of the renowned journal Science. Its 

annual Science Books & Films (SB&F) 

prize, co-sponsored by Subaru of 

America, Inc., celebrates outstanding works that foster an understanding 

and appreciation of science in young 

readers. Mission: Mars earned the top 

prize in the Middle Grades category.

Published by Scholastic, Mission: 

Mars is geared for kids ages 8 to 13. 

Besides being scientifically probing and 

technically rigorous, the book is written 

in lively language and is richly illustrated. The book also draws on ongoing 

research at NASA and elsewhere 

to make human missions to Mars a 

reality, including Lee’s own efforts 

at the SETI Institute and at NASA’s 

Ames Research Center in Mountain 

View, California.

Pascal Lee was born in Hong Kong 

and grew up in France. He studied 

physics and geology at the University 

of Paris, and got his doctorate in astronomy and space sciences from Cornell 

University. He joined the NASA Ames 

Research Center in 1997, and then 

the SETI Institute in 2000. Lee’s research 

focuses on Mars, especially the history 

of water on that planet. He also studies 

Mars’ moons, which are featured in his 

book. An expert on polar regions that 

can serve as Mars analogs, Lee has 

led over 30 expeditions to the Arctic 

and Antarctica.

Mission: Mars is Lee’s first book. “I 

wanted to write a book that would 

inspire the kids of today to join humanity’s next giant leap in space. Above 

all, I wanted them to not fear science, 

but embrace it”, said Lee.
4 www.nasa.gov

NRP Post

An Audacious Plan to Mine the Surface of the Moon

By: Dominic Basulto

19th March 2015

The MX-1 lunar lander is the centerpiece of a plan by Moon Express to 

mine the surface of the moon. 

Sometime in late 2016, a small robotic 

spacecraft the size of a coffee table 

will attempt to soft land on the surface 

of the moon. If it does so successfully, 

the new MX-1 lunar lander spacecraft 

from Moon Express would not only win 

the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE 

— it would also help to usher in a new 

era of commercial space exploration.

Soft-landing on the moon is a feat 

that has only been accomplished 

before by three superpowers – the 

United States, Russia and China. The 

notion that a team of approximately 

40 employees at a Silicon Valley startup that was founded only in August 

2010 could pull off the same feat is 

audacious in and of itself. Thanks to 

a unique public-private partnership 

with NASA, Moon Express has access 

to NASA engineering expertise as well 

as access to launch facilities at the 

Kennedy Space Center.

But the real audacity is what happens 

next – and that’s the strategy that 

Moon Express has for mining the 

surface of the moon. As Naveen Jain, 

co-founder and chairman of Moon 

Express, told me in a phone interview, 

thanks to initiatives such as NASA’s 

Moon Mineralogy Mapper mission, 

“We have mapped every inch of the 

moon, both topographically and mineralogically.” As a result, Moon Express 

has already outlined four categories 

of resources that might be mined in 

the future – platinum group metals, 

rare earth elements, helium-3, and, 

yes, moon rocks.

Of these, the biggest opportunity by 

far is helium-3, which occurs on Earth 

in only minuscule amounts. On the 

moon, it’s a whole different story — 

since Helium-3 results from solar radiation, and the moon does not have 

an earth-like atmosphere to block this 

radiation, it’s actually thought to be 

plentiful on the surface of the moon.

As Jain explains, the ability to mine 

Helium-3 could have a tremendous 

future impact on both the Earth and 

its environment. Helium-3 is a clean, 

non-radioactive energy source that 

could potentially power nuclear 

fusion reactors. Theoretically, a relatively small amount could produce 

enough clean fuel to power entire 

industries, if not the entire planet. It’s 

for this reason that the Chinese have 

also announced plans to mine Helium3 on the moon.

Another big opportunity on the moon 

is water, what Jain refers to as the “oil 

of the space economy.” Finding water 

on the moon would be big — and not 

just for the obvious reasons. Once you 

have water (H2O), you also have hydrogen and oxygen, and that means 

you have a hydrogen fuel source for 

rockets and oxygen to breathe. It also 

makes it more likely that the moon 

would eventually become a way 

station of sorts for further interplanetary exploration, or even a giant “gas 

station” in outer space.

In thinking about how to commercialize the moon, Moon Express uses the 

analogy of the moon as the “8th continent of Earth.” Once you start to think 

of the moon as part of the Earth’s ecosystem, rather than a standalone object 

in outer space, the mind-set changes.

Here’s an example of that mind-set 

change: What do you see when you 

look up at the moon at night? Most 

people see a barren, pockmarked 

surface with zero economic potential. 

However, Jain views the moon as an 

“aggretgator of asteroids” – a source 

of rare minerals brought by interplanetary asteroids to the moon’s surface.

Once we land on the moon again, it 

will be easier to do it over and over 

again. Jain uses the example of the 

4-minute mile – an athletic feat that 

was once thought to be impossible. 

But once the 4-minute mile mark was 

broken by Roger Bannister in 1954, it 

only took 46 days for another runner 

to break that mark.

In the same way, once we prove 

that a small company can get to the 

moon without the need for hundreds 

of millions of dollars in government 

financing, it could open the door for 

other companies — including other 

companies in the Google Lunar X 

PRIZE competition — also to aim for 

the moon. As Jain told me, “We are 

really at a cusp right now, space is 

going to become accessible for the 

first time. Exponential technologies are 

The MX-1 lunar lander is the centerpiece of a plan by Moon Express to mine the surface of 

the moon. Photo Credit: Moon Express

Continued on page 5
www.nasa.gov/researchpark 5

NRP Post

all coming together now.”

As an illustration of how the pace of 

technological change is democratizing the space exploration industry, Jain 

applies his own background as a successful serial Internet entrepreneur. He 

likens the task of getting to the moon 

and back as similar to the task of laying 

fiber for the Internet to get everyone 

connected. Using this framework, he 

describes Moon Express as solving the 

“last-mile problem” – actually landing 

on the surface of the moon.

And it’s here that Jain again uses 

an Internet-era analogy to explain 

what could happen next. Moon 

Express refers to itself as the “iPhone of 

space,” and what Jain says this means 

is that the company is going to open 

up the whole “space app” ecosystem once it lands on the moon. Not 

literally, but figuratively, of course. One 

example might be the pharmaceutical industry, which could develop new 

compounds (i.e. medical “apps”) from 

minerals found on the moon.

To make all this possible, of course, 

there’s got to be not just cutting-edge 

technology and the right partnerships, 

but also the right legal and regulatory 

framework in place to make all this 

possible. The 1967 UN Outer Space 

Treaty was largely created to prevent 

nations and corporations from commercializing interstellar bodies in some 

kind of Dune-inspired spice war to 

monetize the solar system’s resources.

That being said, Jain points to the 

recent FAA ruling on “commercial 

non-interference” for space exploration as a potential breakthrough for 

commercial mining of the moon. He 

notes that the 1967 UN Outer Space 

Treaty never specifically banned commercial activities, and points to the 

example of the Law of the Sea as a 

better template for how to govern 

commercial activities on the moon. 

The FAA “commercial non-interference” rule, he says, could pave the 

way for companies to mark off their 

territory on the moon, even if they 

don’t actually have ownership of the 

lunar surface.

However, even if the regulatory issues 

are addressed, there’s still extensive 

disagreement in the scientific community about the precise economic 

potential of the moon. Take helium-3, 

for example. There could be enough 

helium-3 to power the earth for 10,000 

years. Or there might not be enough 

to ever make commercial mining 

profitable, even if the entire lunar 

surface were being mined. The same 

argument could be made about any 

of the other rare earth minerals that 

have been cited for reasons to mine 

the moon.

Moon Express’ MTV-1X test vehicle 

performed a tethered flight test at 

the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s 

Moon Express’ MTV-1X test vehicle performed a tethered flight test at the Shuttle Landing 

Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo Credit: Moon Express

Moon Express, continued from page 4 Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

While early Moon Express tests have 

been hopeful – and the company is 

gearing up for another test soon from 

Cape Canaveral – there’s still a long 

way to go. A YouTube video of an 

MX-1 prototype lander preparing for a 

test in December 2014 looks more like 

a university science experiment than 

the start of a bold new era in commercial space exploration. (In the video, 

the MX-1 lunar module hangs tethered 

by a rope from a giant green crane 

in what looks like a giant parking lot).

For now, though, Moon Express 

remains one of the contenders to 

win the $30 million Google Lunar 

X PRIZE sometime by the end of 

2016. In doing so, it could become 

a pioneering company in how we 

think about commercializing the 

moon. Just as there are now massive 

multinational corporations engaged 

in the extraction and delivery of 

Earth’s natural resources, there could 

one day be massive interplanetary 

corporations engaged in the extraction and delivery of the moon’s 

natural resources.

This is an exciting time for NASA as 

we continue to make extraordinary strides on our Journey to Mars, 

extend humanity’s reach into our 

solar system and the universe and 

strengthen America’s leadership 

here on Earth.

I know that Dr. Newman is looking 

forward to working with you as 

we continue to reach new 

heights. Again, please join me 

in welcoming her to the NASA 

Family.

Please Welcome Deputy Administrator Dava Newman, continued from 

page 1 
6 www.nasa.gov

NRP Post

Mercury Headed to the International Space Station

Source: PR Newswire

16th April 2015

A Physics and Astronomy group from the University of Nebraska (Lincoln) has teamed with Rhombus Power Inc. for 

measuring the solar neutron flux at the International Space 

Station. This UNL team has won a two-year NASA grant to 

further research the generation of electric power using 

neutrons for future deep space flights.

The primary objective of this project is to develop power 

sources called neutron-voltaics, a type of “solar cell” that 

works with neutrons that are easily made in space. Such 

power sources are needed for satellites that go deep into 

space far beyond the realm of our solar system in regions 

where solar panels do not work. 

The Mercury platform is uniquely suited for real-time measurement of the solar neutron flux background at the 

International Space Station because of its ease-of-use, 

reliability and accuracy,” said Prof. Axel Enders who leads 

the UNL team. “This measurement will help us understand 

how our materials experience fatigue in a space environment because of exposure to cosmic radiation and various 

radiations in space,” he said. 

Rhombus founder and CEO, Dr. Anshu Roy, said, “We 

are pleased to offer our award-winning Mercury platform to the University of Nebraska team and NASA for this 

exciting mission.”

Frost & Sullivan Recognizes Rhombus as New Product Innovation Leader

Source: PR Newswire

17th February 2015

Frost & Sullivan has recognized 

Rhombus Power Inc. as the 2015 New 

Product Innovation Leader of the 

Radiation Detection Instrumentation 

Industry. Rhombus’s Mercury platform 

for radiation detection is accurate, 

modular, reliable, scalable, low 

maintenance and packaged into 

a cost-effective solution—all factors 

that led Frost & Sullivan to conclude 

that Mercury is the Most Innovative 

Radiation Detection Product of 2015. 

“The flagship Mercury platform and 

the latest Mercury range of subatomic 

particle detectors stand out among 

the radiation detection instruments 

available today,” said Frost & Sullivan 

Research Analyst Kiran Unni. “With 

the strong overall performance of its 

Mercury platform, Rhombus Power 

Inc. has earned Frost & Sullivan’s 2015 

New Product Innovation Award in the 

radiation detection instrumentation 

market.” 

Frost & Sullivan has recognized 

Rhombus with this award based on 

independent primary and secondary 

research across the entire value chain 

of products in the radiation detection 

industry. 

“We thank Frost & Sullivan for this recognition. We will continue to innovate 

and develop easy-to-use, accurate, 

scalable, rugged and reliable nuclear 

detection solutions for the security, 

defense and intelligence markets,” 

said Rhombus founder and CEO Dr. 

Anshu Roy. “It is also exciting to see 

strong demand for our platform in the 

commercial nuclear power, neutron 

radiography and non-destructive 

testing markets.”

Rhombus’ Mercury platform awarded Most Innovative Radiation Detection Product of 2015. 

Photo Credit: Rhombus Power

Rhombus’ Mercury uniquely suited for real-time measurement of 

the solar neutron flux is being sent to the International Space 

Station. Photo Credit: Rhombus Power
www.nasa.gov/researchpark 7

NRP Post

One of Lee’s childhood heroes, Apollo 

11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, praises Mission: 

Mars, saying “Pascal Lee is a true 

pioneer of Mars exploration. This book 

makes me want to put on a spacesuit 

and go to Mars!” 

From Ear

October 20, 2009 

Building 943, Eagle 

NASA Ames Resea

7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Free/Open to the P

Dr. Pascal Lee

Chairman, Mars Institut

Planetary Scientist, SET

Steps Towar

Dr. Lee will discuss h

exploration of the Mo

on sea-ice along the 

Pascal Lee is co-founder and chairman of 

the Mars Institute, a planetary scientist at 

the SETI Institute. Photo credit: NASA

SETI Continued from page 3 

NASA Research Park and Department of Commerce work 

together for National Event

9th February 2015

“Outer space is closer to Silicon Valley 

than Los Angeles, but it is harder 

to get to. We can’t do it alone,” 

said Dr. Rebecca Spyke Keiser, 

NASA’s Associate Deputy Administrator for Strategy and Policy, as 

she encouraged greater private 

sector collaboration at the Discover 

Global Markets: Sustainable 

Solutions conference. 

The U.S. Commercial Service, an 

agency of the International Trade 

Administration within the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), in 

cooperation with NASA, hosted 

Discover Global Markets: Sustainable 

Solutions, a three day business conference in Silicon Valley, California, 

on February 9 – 11, 2015. The conference focused on opportunities for U.S. 

companies to meet global demand for 

sustainable solutions, and addressed 

the link between advanced research 

and innovation, global business and 

planetary sustainability. Joanne Vliet, 

Director, Silicon Valley U.S. Export Assistance Center DOC and the NASA 

Research Park Director Michael 

Marlaire developed the partnership 

between the U.S. Commercial Service 

and NASA over the course of nearly 

a year of planning and networking 

the two federal agencies. Over the 

previous years, the two had developed 

a number of international visits to the 

NRP highlighting NRP partners and new 

job creation. 

The 300 conference attendees had the 

opportunity to meet one-on-one with 

U.S. commercial diplomats from more 

than 20 countries to obtain real-time 

market insight and identify potential 

export opportunities for sustainable 

technologies and services. Attendees 

also had the chance to participate in 

18 panel discussions led by more than 

80 industry leaders on topics including 

advanced transportation, smart grid, 

water and land use and green regulations. NASA experts presented two 

keynote addresses and led a panel 

discussion session. 

Mr. Antwaun Griffin, Deputy Assistant 

Secretary for U.S. Operations, U.S. 

Commercial, oversees the Discover 

Global Markets conference series and 

said, “We are thrilled at NASA’s participation in the conference. The Ames 

Research Center is a leader in world 

class research and development and 

it is fascinating to learn how NASA’s 

technological innovations are being 

developed into commercial applications.”

Director of the International Space 

Station, Dr. Sam Scimemi, Director of 

NASA’s Ames Research Center, Dr. Pete 

Worden, and Dr. Spyke Keiser shared 

their insights and experiences on how 

NASA collaborates with U.S. industry to 

drive innovation. Dr. Worden explained 

that NASA is called to meet the challenges of environmental change, and 

to improve life on Earth by partnering with other federal government 

agencies, local governments, universities, international agencies, and others 

to provide science data products 

Panelist discussing issues related to developing space to sustain humanity. Photo Credit: 

Rhombus Power

and applications that enable policy, 

business, and management decisions.

Dr. Scimemi called on private industry to 

engage more fully with NASA and said 

that there are partnership opportunities 

for the commercialization of the Space 

Station. “NASA has paved the way to 

lower Earth orbit and now it is time for 

the private sector to take the lead as 

NASA shifts its sights to Mars,” he said.

The Commercial Service is organizing 

two additional Discover Global Markets 

conferences in 2015. Discover Global 

Markets: E-Commerce Strategies for 

Exporters will be held in Dallas/Ft. Worth, 

Texas on October 8-9, 2015. Discover 

Global Markets: Pacific Rim Consumers 

will be held in Orange County, California 

on October 29-30, 2015. To learn more 

about the Discover Global Markets conference series, please visit www.export.

gov/discoverglobalmarkets.

With offices in more than 100 U.S. 

cities and in 72 world markets, the 

Commercial Service promotes U.S. 

exports, especially among small and 

medium-sized enterprises; advances and protects U.S. commercial 

interests overseas; and attracts inward investment into the United 

States. The Commercial Service is an 

agency of the International Trade Administration within the U.S. Department 

of Commerce.
8 www.nasa.gov

NRP Post

24-year-old Wins India’s First Smart City Contest; Winning Entry Focuses on Pollution 

Free Cities for India

Source: PR Newswire

19th March 2015

Shubhojit Mallick was today adjudged 

the winner of the ‘Dalmia Bharat Smart 

City Contest’which was conducted 

in collaboration with Ashoka University and NASA Research Park based 

Singularity University. Shubhojit Mallick 

won the contest for his innovative 

project in Bangalore that captures 

pollutants from automobiles using 

Nanocylinders to reduce pollution. 

The contest was conducted over two 

months and received several entries 

from across India and Asia. A first of 

its kind, the contest enabled Indian 

students to participate in the annual 

Global Impact Competition (GIC) of 

Singularity University that is conducted 

across various countries. The winner received a fellowship worth USD 30,000 

and will also attend the Graduate 

Studies Program (GSP) at Singularity 

University, US.

Mr. Puneet Dalmia, MD, Dalmia Bharat 

Group, commented, “We are glad 

that the first of our initiatives under 

the Memorandum of Understanding 

between Ashoka University and Singularity University has come to a successful completion. We are proud to 

have opened new avenues for youth 

in India and will continue to do so in 

the future. The GIC has received tremendous response from students all 

over India and we are happy to have 

played a small role in helping support 

the government’s vision of building 

smart cities across India.”

Singularity University has been conducting the GIC for two years across 

markets with a different focus and 

theme for every geography. In India, 

the contest was launched on January 

2, 2015, opening a platform for Indian 

students to develop innovative ideas 

that are focussed on helping further 

India’s dream of building 100 smart 

cities in the next 3-5 years. The winner 

will also represent India amongst other 

students from all over the world at 

Singularity University.

The six member eminent jury comprised of Puneet Dalmia, MD, Dalmia 

Bharat, Emeline Paat Dahlstrom, Chief 

Impact Officer, Singularity University, 

Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC 

TV18, Vineet Gupta, Founder, Ashoka 

University and Jamboree India, Dr. 

Harish Choudhary, Associate Professor, IIT Delhi and Piyush Tiwari, Rolex 

Awardee, Echoing Green Fellow, 

Founder, Safe Life Foundation.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vineet 

Gupta, Founder, Ashoka University 

said, “It gives us immense pleasure 

to open up such avenues for students 

in India. The contest was organized to 

highlight the need for innovation and 

technology in helping realise India’s 

dream of smart cities. Being a young 

university, we look forward to divulging students to look for such opportunities and constantly experimenting 

beyond education. The overwhelming 

response which we have received 

from students, motivates us to continue doing something new at such 

a large scale. ”

Shubhojit Mallick, winner of the ‘Dalmia Bharat Smart City Contest’. Photo Credit: Centre for 

Entrepreneurship Ashoka University

Dalmia Bharat Smart City Contest Organized by Ashoka University and NASA 

Research Park based Singularity University. Photo Credit: Centre for Entrepreneurship 

Ashoka University

Continued on page 9
www.nasa.gov/researchpark 9

NRP Post

Emeline Paat Dahlstrom, Chief 

Impact Officer, Singularity University commented, “Our association 

with Ashoka University has helped 

us in providing a platform to Indian 

students through the Global Impact 

Competition. These competitions act 

as a medium to identify outstanding 

entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists and 

engineers with the most innovative 

ideas that can positively impact 

problems facing mankind.”

About Dalmia Bharat

Dalmia Bharat Group (http://www.

dalmiabharat.com) is a prominent 

player in India’s core manufacturing sector since 1935, with a national 

footprint. With a turnover of over 

7000 crore it has a strong presence 

in Cement, Sugar, Refractories and 

Power. A leader in specialty cements 

and the country’s largest producer 

of slag cement, Dalmia Bharat has 

a significant presence in generic 

sugar, catering to several marquee 

brands The Group also caters to an 

enduring and growing customer base 

in refractories and has forayed into 

sustainable power/energy.

About Singularity University

Singularity University (SU) is a benefit 

corporation headquartered at NASA 

Research Park in Silicon Valley. SU 

provides educational programs, 

innovative partnerships and a startup 

accelerator to help individuals, businesses, institutions, investors, NGOs 

and governments understand cutting-edge technologies and how to 

utilize these technologies to positively impact billions of people. From its 

inception in 2008, SU has empowered 

individuals from more than 85 

countries to apply exponentially 

growing technologies-artificial intelligence & robotics, biotechnology, 

nanotechnology & digital fabrication, networks & computing systems 

and medicine & neuroscience-to 

address humanity’s grand challenges: education, energy, environment, 

food, global health, poverty, security, 

space and water.

To learn more, visit http://www.singularityu.org

About Ashoka University

Ashoka University aims at being 

the benchmark institution of 

tertiary education in India. It seeks 

to fulfill the unmet needs of prospective graduates by offering an 

Ivy League-quality undergraduate programme, based on the US 

liberal education system but at 

a fraction of the cost. Some of its 

academic partners include the 

University of Pennsylvania (ranked 

among the top five universities in 

the world), Carleton College (ranked 

Nanocylinders designed to capture pollutants from automobiles to reduce pollution. 

Photo Credit: Centre for Entrepreneurship Ashoka University

as the top liberal arts college for 

pedagogy in the US), the University 

of Michigan (ranked among top five 

public universities in the USA), and 

Sciences Po (ranked first in Europe for 

research in international relations). The 

university recently opened its doors 

to over 100 undergraduates and is 

located on a 25-acre campus in Rajiv 

Gandhi Education City in the NCR 

near Sonepat, Haryana. To learn more, 

please visit: http://www.ashoka.edu.in/

Singularity, continued from page 8 

Eugene was most recently 

director of Exploration Technology 

at Ames, Eugene began his 

career as a research scientist 

conducting computational 

fluid dynamics research on the 

aerodynamics of complex 

aircraft configurations. He has 

held research and managerial 

positions at the center in computational aerodynamics, information technology (IT), and high 

performance computing and 

communications. He also has 

served in the Office of Biological 

and Physical Research at NASA 

Headquarters.

Eugene has a bachelor’s degree 

in mechanical engineering 

from the University of California, 

Berkeley, and a master’s and 

Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University. 

He is an associate fellow of the 

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and 

received the NASA Outstanding 

Leadership Medal in 2000 and 

the Presidential Rank Award for 

Meritorious Executive in 2009. 

I am delighted to have a leader 

of Dr. Tu’s caliber to engage the 

Ames workforce and harness 

the center’s innovation for 

cutting edge science and the 

technology development to 

support our journey to Mars and 

the next generation of aviation.

Announcement of New Ames Center 

Director, continued from page 1 
10 www.nasa.gov

NRP Post

Google Pledges $3M to put Students through Singularity University Program

Source: Angela Swartz, Silicon Valley Business Journal

29th January 2015

Google Inc. is pledging $1.5 million 

annually for the next two years to 

help fund local graduate students 

who might not otherwise be able to 

afford Singularity University’s Mountain 

View 80-student program.

The funding will go to help fund 

candidates for the six-year-old 

teaching organization’s ten-week 

Graduate Studies Program. That curriculum applies entrepreneurship to 

tackle global challenges like poverty, 

energy, water, security and healthcare issues every summer at the NASA 

Research Park. Aside from Google, Singularity’s founding corporate partners 

include Genentech Inc., Autodesk 

Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., ePlanet 

Ventures, Kauffman Foundation and 

Nokia Oyj.

“The new agreement with Google is 

an incredibly important pillar in our 

efforts to increase global access and 

diversity for qualified candidates, 

regardless of their ability to pay,” 

Singularity CEO Rob Nail said in a 

statement. “Google’s support will 

further help to break down barriers 

of access to the Silicon Valley network 

of technologists, business leaders, and 

investors.”

While Singularity’s sponsored Global 

Impact Competitions winners will 

continue to comprise a substantial portion of the class, the new 

funding will enable the university to 

also make the remaining seats in the 

program available free of charge to 

other applicants.

Examples of Singularity projects from 

previous years include designing a 

smart, sensored beehive monitoring 

systems to help beekeepers fight 

colony collapse and an unmanned 

aerial vehicle to ferry medicine and 

other goods to remote places such 

a rural Africa.

Singularity said it plans more announcements about programs that 

aim to eliminate economic, ethnic, 

gender and multi-generational barriers 

that persist in the technology sector.

PepBlast Motion Pictures, the Slide Show Maker with Music, is launched!

Source: Globe Newswire 

6th April 2015

5 - Make a video with pictures 

 and music

4 - Make your own slideshow

3 - Turn pictures into videos

2 - Picture slideshow

1 - Movie creator

0 - It is a PepBlast app!

Photozig, Inc., an industrial partner 

of the NASA Research Park, released 

PepBlast Motion Pictures, a new free 

mobile app to create video from 

photos. This video creator can make 

beautiful short movies quickly to share 

on Facebook, Twitter, and other social 

networks. It’s quick, easy and fun!

PepBlast lets you mix your photos with 

music, creating cool videos with few 

taps, with options to personalize them 

with different styles, animations, and 

music that come with the app. A great 

selection of animated video backgrounds and a thousand of designs 

to apply can spice up your pictures 

to get quick results and create 

amazing movies.

Before PepBlast, in order to make a 

video from pictures, you had to get 

video backgrounds, music, animation, etc. and learn video filming 

editing, which is hard work and 

time consuming.

The “PepBlast movie app” allows you 

to make a slideshow video with music 

and awesome photo animations in 

few minutes! You just need to select 

a theme/style, choose your photos, 

and let the PepBlast cloud make a 

video with pictures. You can share it 

easily as your movie with pictures is 

already in the web.

There are over 1,000 free video templates or designs, called PepBlast 

styles, which contain all you need to 

make a video with pictures and music. 

Google is donating money to Singularity

University. Photo Credit: Silicon Valley 

Business Journal

Photozig, Inc. released the new PepBlast 

Video Slide App. Photo Credit: Photozig Continued on page 11
www.nasa.gov/researchpark 11

NRP Post

Liquid Cooling Technology Increases Exercise Efficiency

Source: Spinoff, NASA

In the mid-1960s, NASA adopted 

for spacesuits a concept originally 

developed by the British Royal Air 

Force to provide cooling for aircraft 

pilots in hot environments. It utilized 

a battery-operated miniature pump 

that cycled chilled water through a 

series of tubes lining the garment, 

which pressed against the skin, absorbing heat. 

A team of scientists and engineers at 

NASA Ames Research Center have 

since investigated the physiological effects of such artificial cooling 

technologies and as a result, a 

number of spinoffs have emerged. 

Once company, Cool Systems (now 

Game Ready), sells a device consisting of ergonomic wraps connected 

to a control unit, which delivers pressure and cold to speed up recovery 

time for injuries (Spinoff 2004).

Peter Wasowski, a co-founder of 

Cool Systems, is now utilizing a similar 

technology to help people of all 

ages and abilities improve their 

fitness and overall health.

In the late 1990s Wasowski became 

interested in vascular compression: 

a method of exercise whereby compressions is added to arm and leg 

muscles to hasten the buildup of 

lactic acid, signaling the brain to 

release anabolic hormones responsible for rebuilding and strengthening 

damaged muscle tissue. He knew 

Vasper’s patented technology is based on liquid cooled compression cuffs that are 

placed over the body’s upper arms and thighs. The cooled compression cuffs place 

a gentle compression over the arms and legs, which increases the lactic acid burn 

feeling in the muscles that is typically experienced only with high intensity exercise. 

The user then performs exercise using a Vasper enhanced elliptical trainer and custom 

designed software protocols for 20 minutes. Photo Credit: Vasper

Themes range from Birthday, Love and 

Friends to Science Fiction and Space. 

If you want to personalize your movie 

even more, you can select from over 

1,000 free backgrounds, 1,000 free 

songs, and numerous photo animations, besides choices of title font, color, 

timings, etc. A quick photo editor is also 

included to crop and rotate images 

for the movies.

PepBlast app has been approved by 

Apple, and it is available in the iTunes 

App Store. Android users can soon 

make movies from pictures with PepBlast, as a version for the Google Play 

store is in the works. 

PepBlast movie maker of picture slideshow with music will be soon orbiting 

the Earth. Get your own motion pic 

collage for slides and pictures during 

its takeoff at: www.PepBlast.com If you 

want to make your own video with 

pictures or make a slide-show easily, 

PepBlast is indeed a blast!

Show Maker app makes videos with 

pictures and music, which was inspired by 

space, technology, art and music. Photo 

Credit: Photozig

Photozig, continued from page 10 

Continued on page 12
12 www.nasa.gov

NRP Post

that colder temperatures also improve 

efficiency as well as comfort.

With Vasper Systems, headquartered 

in San Jose, California, Wasowski incorporated the NASA liquid cooling 

technology into compressive cuffs, 

which are applied to the arms, thighs, 

and chests of clients as they complete a low-impact, 30-minute exercise routine on a recumbent bike. The 

brisk workout produces similar results 

to other exercises that take longer 

than an hour. Other benefits include 

less wear and tear on the body and 

reduced soreness after exercise.

“The technology’s made quite a 

journey,” Wasowski says. “Its wonderful how it’s found a critical use back 

on Earth in helping people lead healthier lives while helping others compete 

at the highest levels in sports.”

Patrick Marleau, a Canadian professional hockey player and two-time Olympic gold medalist, completes a Vasper session. The exercise regimen uses NASA-derived liquid cooling 

technology to concentrate both lactic acid and oxygenated blood in the muscles, which is 

said to improve workout efficiency and reduce recovery time. Photo Credit: Vasper

Vasper, continued from page 11 

NRP Research Center Veteran-Owned Company Receives SBA Business Award & 

National Institute of Packaging, Handling, & Logistics Engineers (NIPHLE) Packaging 

Engineering Award

By: Renee Mitchell

24th April 2015

On 24 April the Small Business Administration, Veterans Business Outreach 

Center (VBOC) Region IX, servicing 

California, Arizona, Nevada, Guam 

and Hawaii recognized Bob Vermillion, CEO of NRP’s RMV Technology 

Group, LLC. The award was presented 

by Coreena Conley, CEO & Founder. 

RMV Technology Group LLC, a NRP 

Industry Partner, is a Service Disabled 

Veteran Owned Business (SDVOSB). 

Bob Vermillion, CEO/Founder, is a 

Subject Matter Expert in Advanced 

Materials, Protective Packaging, Aerospace Materials Testing Laboratory, 

System Level T&E, and Technology 

Training Center. Most recently, Bob 

trained the SME ESD Program Managers from NASA and JPL in March 

2014. Located onsite in Building 19, 

next door to UC Santa Cruz and down 

the hall from Carnegie Mellon, RMV 

provides ESD/EMC engineering services for NASA, DOD, DOE and their 

partners and suppliers.

On 5 May 2015, Bob will be a featured 

speaker during the NIPHLE Training 

Conference near the US Army Picatinny Arsenal , New Jersey. Bob has 

been invited to present a white paper 

on “Suspect Counterfeit Materials & 

Packaging in the DOD Supply Chain” 

following the Keynote Speaker, Paul D. 

Peters, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics &Materiel Readiness. The DLA, DCMA, US 

Navy, USMC, GSA, the aerospace 

primes and the US Army are active 

members with NIPHLE since 1956. 

During the Awards Dinner, Bob will be 

presented with the NIPHLE Corporate 

Award given to few companies that 

include Sealed Air Corporation, AGM, 

and Lansmont. 

Sean Kerins, President of Sealed Air 

Corporation said “This award is presented to an organization which 

displays a great deal of integrity and 

ethics in conducting business. The 

corporation is a long time and active 

member of the NIPHLE family. They 

put the success of their government 

customers ahead of their own financial needs. A company that is 

innovative assists our government 

partners to exceed their expectations, 

especially the military.” 

The NIPHLE recognition represents Bob’s 

packaging engineering passion. The 

Institute of Packaging Professionals 

(IoPP) awarded Bob Vermillion, CPP, 

Fellow the 1st Place (USA) 2002 AmeriStar 

Electronic Category Award for his 

Packaging Engineering Design.

Bob Vermillion, RMV CEO and Kevin Smith, 

NIPHLE Past President and USMC Logistics 

Management Specialist at the Pentagon. 

Photo Credit: RMV
www.nasa.gov/researchpark 13

NRP Post

Made In Space, Now Taking Orders

Source: Made In Space

8th April 2015

Made In Space, the company that 

built and operate the Zero-Gravity 

3D Printer on the International Space 

Station, is looking for customers. The 

company is now taking reservations 

for its Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF), which is the successor to 

the first Zero-G 3D Printer which was 

designed as a technology demonstration with NASA. Unlike the first printer, 

the AMF is meant for commercial 

utilization. Space developers around 

the world can leverage the power 

of getting design concepts to space 

in days rather than months or years, 

using the much improved iteration 

cycle for their own experiments, projects, and missions.

 “We can not wait to provide access 

to this technology to young space 

developers and outside-the-box thinkers who will no doubt use this new 

capability in ways we can not even 

imagine.” - Mike Snyder, Lead Engineer & Head of R&D

Made In Space, makes this 

announcement in preparation for 

the 2015 Space Tech Expo in Long 

Beach, California. There they will be 

Scanadu Raises $35 Million From Fosun, Tencent for Its Health Scanner

By: Timothy Hay, The Wall Street Journal

27th April 2015

Scanadu Inc., a company that 

is aiming to bring hospital-grade 

diagnostic tests to consumers’ smartphones, has raised a $35 million Series 

B round to push further into clinical 

trials for its Scout device.

The Scout device is a small, discshaped gadget that has its own tiny 

operating system inside, as well as 

gyroscopes, electrodes, reflective 

light-emitting diodes, accelerometers and other sensors. The Scanadu 

Scout is meant to be pressed against 

the side of a user’s head, near 

the temple.

“The company is in the midst of filling 

several thousand orders for its $199 

device that came about in the company’s 2013 Indiegogo campaign, 

which brought in $1.6 million from 

more than 8,500 backers”, Chief Executive Walter De Brouwer said.

At the same time, Scanadu is attempting to get its device approved as a 

medical-grade diagnostic in both 

China and the U.S., he said.

To help move the product forward 

in the U.S. and China, Scanadu 

raised Series B funding that was led 

by Fosun International Ltd. The round 

also include new investors Tencent 

Holdings Ltd., China Broadband 

Capital, IGlobe Partners and Sungent 

BioVenture, as well as returning 

backers Relay Ventures and AME 

Cloud Ventures.

The Mountain View, Calif., company 

raised a $10.5 million Series A round 

in 2013. Scanadu has also been 

funded by Zappos Inc. founder Tony 

Hsieh through his Vegas Tech Fund, 

Redmile Group, Broe Group and 

Mindful Investments.

“The Scout so far has been approved 

by the Food and Drug Administration as an “investigational device,” 

meaning it can be used in the context 

of a study. The IndieGogo investors are 

signing consent forms to allow the FDA 

to study how the devices are being 

used”, Mr. Brouwer said.

But Scanadu has much broader 

ambitions for the device, including 

combining it with test-strips and other 

technologies so that it can provide a 

detailed reading on blood and urine 

samples, as well as examine DNA.

The company is in the midst of human 

clinical trials with the Scout as a urinalysis device, and has a longer term 

regulatory path to get the Scout 

cleared to analyze blood and DNA, 

Mr. De Brouwer said.

Zero-Gravity 3D Printer. Photo Credit: 

Made in Space

Scanadu co-founder and Chief Executive 

Walter De Brouwer holds the company’s 

Scout device. Photo Credit: Scanadu

showcasing the first printer as well as 

ground copies of the 3D printed parts 

that were printed in Space.

 “Unlike the tech demo printer we built, 

the AMF is designed to last as long as 

the space station itself and we hope to 

find some of its first commercial customers at Space Tech Expo. What better 

place to look for people who want 

to pioneer the new technology of zero-gravity design?” Brad Kohlenberg, 

Director of Marketing.
14 www.nasa.gov

NRP Post

skyTranTM Inc., Entered into an Agreement with Sustainable Systems of Colorado to Seek 

Environmentally Compelling Transportation Solutions

Source: skyTran

skyTranTM, Inc., a NASA Space Act 

Company headquartered in Bldg 

14 of the NASA Research Park, announced that it has entered into an 

agreement with Sustainable Systems 

of Colorado (SSC), a non-profit 

Colorado corporation engaged in 

seeking environmentally compelling 

transportation solutions. Pursuant to 

the agreement, SSC will fund the establishment of the Christopher Perkins 

Memorial Advanced Transportation 

Research and Development Center 

in Firestone, Colorado. Christopher 

Perkins, a leader in advancing hightech, energy efficient transportation 

for over a decade, succumbed to 

cancer in 2014. 

The formation of the Center follows 

SSC’s recent agreement with skyTran 

to collaborate on bringing skyTran’s high-speed, energy-efficient, 

patented, skyTran MagLev (STMLTM) 

system to Colorado. skyTran has 

had a long relationship with NASA, 

research entities, universities, the US 

Department of Transportation, and 

more. The Center will advance the 

development of sustainable transportation alternatives that can be implemented to support and connect with 

established modalities. 

Firestone Mayor, Paul Sorensen, said, 

“We are excited to move this initiative forward and plan to do our part 

in working with SSC to continue our 

work to improve the quality of life in 

our State.”

Jerry Sanders, skyTran CEO, said, “We 

are heartened to take part in this 

exciting venture and to honor Christopher, a dear colleague who had a 

vision of dramatically improving the 

world of transportation. The Center will 

be a wonderful way to promote his 

message and to bring the promise of 

clean, energy-efficient, user-friendly, 

high-speed transportation to Colorado and the rest of the world.” 

Dr. R. Paul Williamson, SSC’s founder, 

sees the Center being an important 

site that will foster intellectual inquiry, 

advance scientific research, develop 

technological integration, promote 

public-private partnerships, enhance 

S-T-E-M curriculums, incorporate 

student involvement, and create jobs 

in research, robotics, green manufacturing, IT, advanced engineering, 

maglev, fuel cells, broadband communications and power distribution.

For more information on skyTran 

and Christopher, please visit: 

www.skytran.us.

Artist conception of skyTran personal rapid transit. Photo Credit: skyTran

Aerial view of Firestone, CO, 15 miles North of Denver. Photo Credit: skyTran
www.nasa.gov/researchpark 15

NRP Post

NeuroVigil Closes Second Financing Round

Source: Business Wire

1st May 2015

Leading Neurotechnology company 

NeuroVigil announced today that it 

completed a second financing round 

in which the Company issued equity 

securities at a pre-money valuation 

that was over two-and-a-half times 

the post-money valuations of the 

Series A financing rounds of Google 

and Facebook, combined, for less 

than 0.5% of its common stock. The 

company’s 2011 seed financing 

round, wherein NeuroVigil sold less 

than 2% of its common stock, was 

at a pre-money valuation that was 

over twice the combined seed valuations of Google and Facebook. 

“I continue to be impressed with the 

way NeuroVigil has met and exceeded its milestones,” said noted seed 

investor Dr. Howard Morgan, who 

led this financing round. Co-investors 

include space entrepreneur Elon 

Musk, venture capitalist Tim Draper, 

and venture capital firms Draper Fisher 

Jurvetson (DFJ) and Zone Ventures. 

“Companies like NeuroVigil and entrepreneurs of Dr. Low’s intellect and 

bold vision embody DFJ’s mission to 

identify, serve, and provide capital for 

extraordinary entrepreneurs anywhere 

who are determined to change the 

world ... The societal returns on believing in Dr. Low and NeuroVigil are 

well worth any investment,” remarked 

Tim Draper, managing director of DFJ. 

NeuroVigil was bootstrapped during 

the Great Recession by its chairman 

and CEO, Dr. Philip Low, who owns 

about 89% of the company, which 

he founded when he was a graduate 

student in computational neuroscience at the Salk Institute for Biological 

Studies and whose PhD work on non-invasive brain biomarker extraction, 

summarized in a one-page thesis, led 

to the formation of NeuroVigil. “To 

paraphrase nuclear physicist Ernest 

Rutherford: ‘We had no money, so 

we had to think,’” said Dr. Low who 

decided at the time to postpone entry 

into the consumer space and instead 

forge alliances with the pharmaceutical industry to generate cash flow 

and significant intellectual property, 

thus opting to forgo traditional consumer-driven venture capital support 

in favor of an aggressive multifaceted 

science-based strategy combining 

algorithms, devices and database 

technology. The mathematical formalism created by Dr. Low, including 

the SPEARS algorithm, enabled NeuroVigil to extract higher bandwidth 

from a single non-invasive electroencephalogram (EEG) channel and to 

dramatically reduce its footprint. This 

capability, combined with a wireless 

connectivity, provided the company 

with the potential to track a large 

number of people (whether on Earth 

or astronauts in space), thus making it 

easy to broaden the research population and monitor human brain activity 

with high precision and throughput 

and without encumbering subjects. 

“Philip discovered a fundamentally 

new way to assess brain activity. This 

technology is having tremendous 

impact,” recalled Nobel Laureate and 

Salk Institute Interim President Emeritus, 

Dr. Roger Guillemin. 

The company was launched in 2007 

and is responsible for the iBrainTM portable brain monitor that has been 

used since 2009 by the pharmaceutical industry (i.e. companies like Roche 

and Novartis) to gather data from 

the brain in clinical trials for research 

purposes, including from children 

with autism and outpatients. Typically NeuroVigil owns all the intellectual 

property and biomarkers generated 

from such collaborations including 

any generated by its clients and has 

access to an international portfolio 

of pending and granted patents. The 

company has also launched in 2011, 

at the request of NeuroVigil advisor 

and theoretical physicist Stephen 

Hawking, a program to help individuals with ALS communicate by thought 

alone, and has developed substantial 

intellectual property on this topic. In 

2013, an ALS sufferer was able to spell 

a word using this non-invasive technology, which is still being further refined. 

“Dr. Low and his company have done 

some outstanding work in this field,” 

observed Stephen Hawking. In 2015, 

NeuroVigil attracted significant interest from the senior care industry and is 

in negotiations with the largest senior 

care industry operators to monitor 

thousands of seniors as they progress 

from mild cognitive impairment to dementia. An initial contract has already 

been signed. 

“Neurotechnology is here to stay, and 

NeuroVigil is excited by the awesome 

opportunity to keep doing good for 

the world and well for its shareholders,” 

said Dr. Low, NeuroVigil’s, Founder, 

Chairman & CEO. 

NeuroVigil is a world leader in neurotechnology and computational 

neuroscience, and is dedicated to the 

betterment of the human condition 

by merging non-invasive wireless brain 

recording technology with advanced 

computational analysis techniques 

applied exclusively on human data. 

The award-winning company has 

developed proprietary technology 

which leverages the dynamic oscillations produced across the sleep/wake 

cycle in order to systematically scan 

the human brain for signs of pathologic activity, years in advance of 

cognitive or behavioral symptoms. The 

company, headquartered in La Jolla, 

California, has an active program on 

assistive neurotechnologies based at 

the NASA Research Park.

IBrainTM device created by Neurovigil. 

Photo Credit: Neurovigil
NRP Post

Interested in finding out how to do business with NASA Ames Research 

Center? Please contact Christine Munroe, Small Business Specialist 

ARC-SmallBusiness@mail.nasa.gov or visit our website http://osbp.

nasa.gov/. Learn more about SBIR/STTR funding opportunities at www.

sbir.nasa.gov, Photo Credit: NASA

Mr. Sebastian Kurz, Minister of Foreign Affairs from the Republic of 

Austria with 40 executives and CEOs of companies visited Ames and 

NRP on April 30, 2015. They received a Center overview by Dr. Charles 

Smith, Acting Center Director and a briefing on NRP partnerships by 

Mejghan Haider, Acting Director of NASA Research Park. Photo Credit: 

NASA

NRP POST

NASA Research Park

Editor, Layout and Design: Shubha Gargava

Phone: (650) 604-2NRP

Email: arc-dl-nrp-post@mail.nasa.gov

Website: www.nasa.gov/researchpark

Minister of Foreign Affairs Visits NRP

Associate Administrator for Small 

Businesses Visits Made In Space. 

Neurotech Goes Global: Tens of 

Thousands of Brains Coming Online

Source: Editors, MedGadget

4th February 2015

NeuroVigil, the company that has developed high 

resolution and high throughput software algorithms 

to seek out changes in neurobiological activity from 

a single sensor, its proprietary iBrain portable neural 

monitor, has partnered with the American Senior Housing 

Association (ASHA) to gather tremendous quantities of 

new and highly useful data. The plan is to have thousands of volunteers living in senior housing share their 

brain activity data to identify how sleep, diet, or other 

changes in lifestyle affect the aging brain.

The iBrain device works with the proprietary SPEARS 

algorithm that converts EEG data into a map of brain 

activity. It can identify unusual patterns and can notice 

day to day changes in the brain’s activity. The initial 

launch of the program will include more than 20,000 

iBrain units.

Dr. Philip Low, the CEO and founder of Neurovigil, notes 

that unlike trends of the past, “the data we will be 

generating in the 21st century will overwhelmingly come 

from outside the lab. It will be generated from asymptomatic humans as opposed to from diseased animals.”

“We are looking at the biggest living laboratory in the 

world,” said John Rios, Chairman of ASHA “We fully 

expect an initial launch well over 20,000 iBrain units 

representing a conservative initial market penetration 

of less than 1%.”

“We have been following the groundbreaking work 

of Dr. Low and NeuroVigil, and as an organization 

dedicated to life enrichment and improving quality 

of life for seniors, we could not ask for a more sophisticated neurotechnology partner to provide assistance 

to our leading member operators and owners who 

have invested tremendous energy to develop various 

cognitive enrichment, nutritional and wellness programs. 

There is a considerable need to objectively analyze the 

impact of these activities on a very broad scale and 

we are excited to be assisted by NeuroVigil,” said David 

Schless, President of ASHA.

iBrain portable neural monitor, used to collect brain activity 

data. Photo Credit: NeuroVigil

Publication Number: NP-2015-06-01-ARC