National Aeronautics and Space Administration

A Publication of NASA Research Park

Summer

2018

NRP POST

THE

CMU Team in NASA Mars Ice Drilling 

Competition By F. Forney April 25th 2018

Space exploration is no simple task. As astronauts look to 

neighboring planets for expeditions, they need to consider 

all the resources available to them, such as the large subterranean ice deposits under Mars’ crust. This untapped water 

could serve as fuel for a lengthy return trip to Earth, but first, 

we need a way to harvest it.

Such is the challenge issued by NASA this year. A team of 

undergraduate engineering students from Carnegie Mellon will 

design and construct a prototype robot that can extract ice from 

a simulated Martian landscape. They are one of 10 finalist teams.

The Tartan Ice Drilling System (TIDS) team is comprised of 15 

students spanning various majors in the College of Engineering. 

The team is advised by Mechanical Engineering (MechE) Professor 

Aaron Johnson who shares his expertise in robomechanics with 

them. Ph.D. candidate Catherine Pavlov also advises the team, 

drawing from her previous research experience at NASA.

NASA Selects Lessee for Silicon Valley 

Housing Development

Ames Research Center 1st June 2018

NASA has selected Mountain View Housing Ventures, LLC, an 

affiliate of CRC Partners LLC, as the preferred selected lessee to 

develop housing on NASA property in Moffett Field, California. NASA 

and the U.S General Services Administration posted a development 

opportunity in October 2017, requesting proposals to construct and 

operate a minimum of 1,930 housing units on 46 acres of federal 

property. NASA will begin negotiations with the selected organization in order to establish a long-term lease under its enhanced use 

lease authority. 

With a severe shortage of housing across the Bay Area, NASA 

Ames is looking to use this development as an opportunity to provide 

housing for those who work or go to school on the NASA property.

“We are looking forward to doing our part to help mitigate traffic 

and provide housing for the community,” said Ames Associate Center 

Director Deborah Feng. “Partnering with industry, academia and 

other organizations has afforded us with unique opportunities to 

advance our mission here at NASA Ames.”

Continued on page 6

Proposed concept housing project - NASA Research Park

“I think [working with engineers from 

various majors] is one of my favorite 

parts of this project.” Devin Gund, Senior, Electrical and Computer Engineering, 

Carnegie Mellon University
NRP Post

2 www.nasa.gov

IN THIS ISSUE

1 | NASA’s Silicon Valley Housing 

Development

NASA is narrowing the search for the contractors to build on its Silicon Valley housing 

development

1 | CMU Team in NASA Mars Ice 

Drilling Competition

CMU looking to collaborate with NASA in 

Mars ice drilling

2 | New Partners

NRP Welcomes

2 | Orange Silicon Valley Finds Savings 

with Verdigris

Verdigris saving companies on energy costs in 

Silicon Valley

3 | Made In Space Wins Next-Gen 

‘Vulcan” Contract

Made In Space to make metallic components 

in space

4 | CMU - Footsteps to Preventing Falls

CMU coming up with technology to help 

prevent falls

5 | Boeing Investing in 

Singularity University

Boeing investing in global learning and 

innovation with Singularity University

5 | Interesting Podcasts

USGS has some interesting pod-casts 

you should hear

7 | Boreal & Stanford 

Exploring Extreme Space

Collaboration to explore extreme space 

environments

8 | Bob Vermillion Receives Lifetime 

Achievement Award

Bob Vermillion receives James A. Russell Lifetime Achievement Award

9 | Medal of Honor on Display

Moffett Museum has Metal of Honor on 

display

10 | Made In Space Bid on Archinaut

Made In Space working on bid for next phase 

of Archinaut Development Program

11 | Rosenbert’s Mission at CMU

Rosenberg is on a mission at CMU’s Silicon 

Valley campus

12 | Photo Ops

Photos from the NRP

Metis Technology Solutions, Inc

Bldg. 19, Room 1070M

Commencement Date: 15th May 2018

F

ounded by Joy Colucci, PhD, Metis Technology Solutions excels in providing 

science and engineering services to the Federal agencies including NASA. They 

have extensive experience working with spaceflight systems, ground systems, 

scientific computing facility development and operations, and data analytics. Some 

of the top programs for which Metis is providing exceptional assistance are: NASA 

Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS); SimLabs, Synchronized Position Hold Engage 

Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) and the Ames Mission Design Center. 

Metis previously provided outstanding support for the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust 

Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission as flight dynamics lead. Metis is presently 

supporting the Heliophysics swarm-satellite proposal effort and has received several 

prominent NASA awards and accolades, including the 2017 NASA Agency-wide 

Small Business Subcontractor of the Year. 

NRPWelcomes

S

ome people are skeptical that energy transparency 

alone can help them save money. After all, having 

access to energy data is only the beginning. You need 

to be able to interpret the data, then enact energy saving 

measures, behavior change, or equipment retrofits. For many, 

it’s just another data point in an already noisy ecosystem and 

can quickly turn into a cost center rather than a bottom line 

enhancer. But now more than ever, companies are learning 

how easy it can be to use energy data to drive costs down.

To show you how it’s done, I want to share a quick video that 

tells the story of Orange IoT Studio, a subsidiary of the French 

telecom company Orange. In this case study, we share some 

of the ways Orange IoT Studio uses Verdigris, including how-

-within weeks of installing Verdigris--they were able to identify 

$40K worth of savings. This is just one way our customers are 

finding value with their Verdigris systems and I hope it’ll give you some cool ideas on how 

you can get the most out of your new energy management solution.

Orange Silicon Valley Discovers 4X Savings with Verdigris 

Moffett Field, CA May 2018

2 www.nasa.gov

“You’re likely to learn surprising things once you 

start digging into the data, things that go straight 

to the bottom line, and this was certainly the case 

for us. Verdigris has been a great partner and we 

can’t wait to see what they come out with in the 

future.” 

Scott Dworkis, Infrastructure Engineer, Orange Silicon Valley
www.nasa.gov/researchpark 3

NRP Post

Made In Space Wins NASA Contract for Next-Gen ‘Vulcan’ 

Manufacturing System MOFFETT FIELD, CA 7th May 2018

Made In Space (MIS), the 

company that has manufactured over 100 polymer parts 

in space with its additive manufacturing systems, has been selected for a 

NASA contract to further develop its 

next-generation metal space manufacturing system known as VULCAN. 

The VULCAN system will fabricate precision parts made of aerospace-grade 

metals such as titanium and aluminum, as 

well as high-grade polymers and hybrid 

components that combines multiple materials. It will have the capability to manufacture parts that require the strength 

and durability of aerospace-grade materials, such as housings for life support 

systems, that couldn’t be made with any 

current systems. 

“The VULCAN hybrid manufacturing 

system allows for flexible augmentation 

and creation of metallic components 

on-demand with high precision,” said 

Mike Snyder, MIS chief engineer and 

principal investigator. “VULCAN is an 

efficient, safe capability that utilizes the 

minimum amount of resources during 

manufacturing processes.” 

After a successful completion of a 

Phase I SBIR contract, VULCAN was 

recently selected for a NASA Phase 

II Small Business Innovation Research

(SBIR) award. Expanding on MIS’s successful development and operation of 

multiple manufacturing systems on the 

International Space Station (ISS) with 

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, 

the technology is being developed for 

a demonstration on the ISS to prove this 

capability’s usefulness in future human 

spaceflight operations, such as aboard 

the Lunar Orbiting Platform Gateway. 

“VULCAN can be important to logistical 

reduction necessary for long-term exploration,” said Snyder. 

“The hybrid manufacturing system is a 

major step forward 

for efficient space 

operations, providing the ability to build 

essential components 

and assemblies in the 

space environment, 

where flying spare 

parts from Earth are 

otherwise not viable.” 

VULCAN will be the 

first of its kind to bring 

machined parts to 

space, enabling a multitude of more critical 

parts to be manufactured off world. 

The system’s hybrid technique utilizes 

both additive manufacturing to create 

the desired near net shaped part and 

traditional manufacturing methods to 

machine down and create the finished 

product. The unique system manufactures, refines, and performs 

quality checks in a streamlined, automated process, eliminating the need for a 

human in the loop during manufacturing. 

VULCAN enables fabrication of precisely-machined metal parts at the point-ofuse, such as on the ISS or future crewed 

space platforms. This technology combines spaceflight proven hardware, a 

unique manufacturing head for metals, 

and an integrated sensor system to 

produce ready-to-use parts for on-orbit 

use. VULCAN builds on fused deposition modeling, the current method of 

additive manufacturing employed by 

MIS’s in-space systems. 

VULCAN is engineered to be versatile 

and upgradeable. Deriving technology from MIS’s flight-proven systems 

found in its Additive Manufacturing 

Facility (AMF), VULCAN has the ability 

to exchange different machining tools 

on-demand and can be upgraded over 

time to meet additional NASA and commercial spaceflight needs. 

Over thirty materials are compatible 

with VULCAN to manufacture parts, 

including high-performance thermoplastics composites, titanium, aluminum, and stainless steel. The metal parts 

will be built within the limited power 

constraints of orbiting spacecraft and 

space stations. 

VULCAN’s origin is linked to Archinaut, 

MIS’s in-space robotic additive manufacturing, assembly and repair technology. Archinaut is being built to manufacture in the extreme environment of 

space, with additive manufacturing at 

the system’s core. Both devices have 

autonomous robotic capabilities built in. 

This summer, MIS is completing ground 

testing and conducting thermal vacuum 

testing of the entire Archinaut platform. 

“We’re very thankful for NASA and 

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) 

for supporting our shared vision and allowing us to build upon our expertise of 

manufacturing on-orbit,” said Snyder. 

“The VULCAN hybrid manufacturing system allows 

for flexible augmentation and creation of metallic 

components on-demand with high precision,” 

Mike Snyder, MIS chief engineer and principal investigator
NRP Post

4 www.nasa.gov

CMU’s Foosteps to Preventing Falls

By Alexandra George Moffett Field, Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley 2018

One of four elderly persons falls 

every year in the United States. 

With more than 37 million hospitalizations every year, roughly one million 

falls occur in hospitals and can lead to serious injury and even death. Patients often 

fall while trying to get out of bed or when 

they walk for longer than they are able. 

Nurses can’t constantly monitor individual 

patients because of the number of patients 

they attend to. Sensors can continuously 

monitor patients, but many only detect the 

fall as it happens without leaving enough 

time for a nurse to intervene.

Civil and environmental engineering Professor Hae Young Noh is developing sensors 

that predict when a person is about to fall 

by sensing the vibrations from a person’s 

movement. Using signal processing and 

machine learning, her sensors detect the 

movement of a person and characterize 

what those movements mean: if they will 

exit the bed, if they will take another step, 

and if they will fall.

Unlike other sensors that monitor patient 

movement or vital signs, Noh’s sensors 

identify the intent of a person’s movements—whether they are preparing to exit 

the bed or just rolling over and sitting up. 

These sensors, placed on the bed frame, 

will then alert the nurse when it predicts 

that a patient may be getting up, so the 

nurse can get to the patient in time.

Just like a pebble creates waves when 

dropped into water, our movement and 

contact with objects also create waves that 

a sensor can detect. The sensors contain 

accelerometers that detect wave signals 

that propagate through the bed frame. 

They utilize signal processing methods and 

machine learning techniques to classify the 

vibration, determining whether the patient 

has an intent to exit or not.

Highly accurate and highly sensitive, the 

sensors are also placed on the floor to 

detect when a person’s gait, or manner 

of walking, is deteriorating.

“Some people can only walk about 10 

steps,” said Noh. “And they used to be 

healthy, so they are going to try to take 

the 11th step. Because it’s over their limit, 

the risk for a fall increases, and it shows 

in the gait deterioration pattern before it 

actually happens. We’re trying to detect 

that pattern.”

The sensors can locate each footstep with 

less than 0.34 meter of error, about the 

Continued on page 9

“If a sensor can pick up [symptoms] and notify the 

caregivers, families, or doctors, it could help with 

prevention and treatment.” 

Hae Young Noh, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

Source: Hae Young Noh

The sensor attaches to the end or side of the bed.

4 www.nasa.gov

Sensors developed by researchers at 

Carnegie Mellon predict when a patient will fall.
www.nasa.gov/researchpark 5

NRP Post

Boeing Invests in Global Learning and Innovation Institute 

Singularity University Press Release PR Newswire, February 15th 2018

NRP Post

Boeing [NYSE: BA] announced its investment in Mountain View, Calif.-based Singularity University (SU), an immersive and digital educational program provider, business accelerator, and global online 

community furthering the application of exponential technologies, including artificial 

intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, 

nanotech fabrication and robotics.

Boeing and SU will explore opportunities 

to work together, which could include customized educational programs for Boeing 

employees and the addition of Boeing technical experts to SU’s faculty. The investment 

represents Boeing’s commitment to furthering 

its digital transformation in its second century. 

“Curiosity and innovation are at the core 

of who we are and what we do at Boeing,” 

said Bethany Tate Cornell, vice president, 

Leadership, Learning and Organizational 

Capability. “SU shares our commitment to 

continuous learning that empowers people 

to solve complex, global challenges; and 

their work with transformative technologies 

represent potential game changers in the 

way we develop as individuals and work 

together as teams.”

SU builds capability in individuals and organizations to learn, connect and innovate 

breakthrough solutions by teaching them 

how to use accelerating technologies like 

artificial intelligence, robotics and digital 

biology. Its global community spans more 

than 100 countries and includes entrepreneurs, corporations, development 

organizations, governments, investors 

and academic institutions. SU provides 

education offerings led by world-renowned experts and targeted corporate 

training programs for emerging and 

established leaders.

“Boeing’s commitment to continuous 

learning and innovation aligns with 

SU’s mission to educate individuals and 

organizations globally on how to use 

exponential technologies to tackle humanity’s grand challenges,” said SU’s CEO, 

Rob Nail. “At SU, we see that the world’s 

biggest problems are also often the biggest 

business opportunities, so we are extremely 

excited to partner with companies like Boeing that have the capabilities to make a true 

difference at scale.”

Boeing HorizonX Ventures partnered with 

WestRiver Group to lead the Series B investment round. Cornell will represent Boeing on 

the SU board of directors.

A certified benefit corporation, SU was founded in 2008 by Ray Kurzweiland Peter H. 

Diamandis, and is partnered with leading 

corporations and nonprofit organizations. 

SU is headquartered at NASA Research Park 

in Silicon Valley.

Chicago-based Boeing is the world’s largest 

aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defense, space 

and security systems. A top U.S. exporter, 

the company supports airlines and U.S. and 

allied government customers in 150 countries.

Ian Brosnan and Colin Williams Talk About the USGS Moving to NASA Ames

Feb. 16, 2018 - A conversation with Ian Brosnan from NASA and Colin Williams from the USGS. This is the first episode of a 

mini-series about NASA and USGS collaboration. To hear more from Ian Brosnan, listen to his previous NASA in Silicon Valley 

episode, Ian Brosnan Talks About How NASA Collaborates and Shares Data with Other Agencies.

Chad Frost and Susan De La Cruz on the “Social Networks” of Wildlife

Feb. 23, 2018 - A conversation with Chad Frost from NASA and Susan De La Cruz from the USGS. This is the second episode of a 

mini-series about NASA and USGS collaboration. In this episode they focus on tracking wildlife and what that information can tell 

us about the social networks between animals.

Chris McKay and Ron Oremland, Ocean Worlds and the Search for Life

March 1, 2018 - A conversation with Chris McKay from NASA and Ronald Oremland from the U.S. Geological Survey about ocean 

worlds and the search for life. This is the third episode of a mini-series about NASA and USGS collaboration.

NASA and the USGS, a Shared History in Remote Sensing

April 23, 2018 - A conversation with Jim Brass, Bruce Coffland from NASA and Susan Benjamin USGS director of the Western 

Geographic Science Center. They discuss the shared history between NASA and the USGS in remote sensing.

INTERESTING PODCASTS

These podcasts can be found on www.nasa.gov

Source: Singularity University

Singularity University CEO Rob Nail
NRP Post

6 www.nasa.gov

Mars Ice Drilling CMU, continued from page 1

Five of the students serve as project leads in four 

subgroups that are essential to the success of the 

ice drilling robot. The goal is to drill for ice mostly 

autonomously. Although the robot is demoing on 

Earth, the team will also need to know how to tweak 

it should it actually get sent to Mars.

Paula Zubiri, a junior in MechE, oversees the structure 

of the robot and the XYZ position system. She ensures 

that the drilling mechanism does not overpower the 

body of the machine and cause it to unwind itself 

while drilling. 

“A lot of my MechE background deals with analysis 

of, not just structures, but how different objects 

interact,” says Zubiri. “We’re going to be dealing 

with a drill rotating at really high velocity and really 

high torque in the middle our system.” 

Devin Gund and Christina Ou are a senior and junior 

in Electrical & Computing Engineering (ECE) respectively. They lead 

the controls subgroup which handles the software of the robot. 

Because autonomy is an important goal of the project, the robot 

will need to sense where the drill should penetrate the ground, 

how deep, and at what speed.

“We’re looking at all the environmental data from sensors and 

then controlling the rest of the machinery appropriately,” says 

Gund. “ECE is the perfect background for that because it’s just a 

mix of hardware and software.”

Tim Cote, a senior in Materials Science & Engineering (MSE), 

is in charge of the drill subgroup and the careful selection of 

metals for its construction. The team walks a fine line of needing 

to make everything as light as possible for space travel efficiency 

but as strong as possible to withstand extreme speeds, forces, 

and temperatures.

Cote explains that “in materials science, engineers need to 

maximize all the different properties that you want to get the 

best material for the job.... I can’t just throw a huge steel bar up 

on Mars because it’s too heavy.” 

Caroline Morin, a senior studying Chemical Engineering and 

Biomedical Engineering, oversees the subgroup for water extraction 

and purification. They need to account for temperature and 

pressure to manipulate ice, water, or vapor at certain points in 

their process. They want to thermally distill the ice without having 

it sublimate—rapidly change from solid to gas.

“You don’t just have somebody up there who can change...

membranes,” Morin explains, reemphasizing the robot’s need 

for autonomy since astronauts will not be available to change 

out replaceable parts, such as membranes or filters. “We will 

vaporize the water and then re-condense it so that we are able 

to fully separate it from all minerals.” 

The TIDS team is bolstered by support from Carnegie Mellon 

faculty and staff in the form of mentor-ship, funding management, 

and access to cutting edge work spaces.

“CMU has been really helpful with the whole process.... Because 

we are a student project, we will be working in the new hands-on 

maker space that they created in Hamerschlag,” Morin remarked, 

referring to The Tech Spark, the maker space on the C-level of 

Hamerschlag Hall that has served as the TIDS team’s base of 

operations.

The team came together from separate programs and classes due 

to a common love for space technology. “The amount of challenges 

that need to be overcome to achieve these amazing things, it just 

blows me away every time,” Cote said, reflecting on what first got 

him interested in the project. Zubiri added that, “the idea is that 

you don’t waste anything. It’s sustainable on a spaceship. That’s 

like my MechE mind thinking how to make everything efficient.”

“I think [working with engineers from various majors] is one of my 

favorite parts of this project,” Gund added. “It’s really just cool 

and impressive to be working with people outside of my field of 

study that know things that I don’t. I really enjoy that.” In addition 

to the subgroup leads, these people include engineering students 

Jordan Aaron, Simone Hugh Sam, Thor Mercier, Emily Newman, 

Cesar Quinones, Andres Ramirez, Nikki Scavone, Joe Taylor, Kam 

Undieh, and Boyao Yu.

The members of the Tartan Ice Drilling System team will compete 

at the final demo day for NASA’s RASC-AL Challenge June 5 - 7. 

Learn more or support the team in their efforts by visiting their 

website: cmumarsice.com.

“We will be working in the new 

hands-on maker space [The Tech 

Spark] that they created in 

Hamerschlag.” Caroline Morin, Senior, Chemical Engineering & Biomedical Engineering

Carnegie Mellon University

“I think [working with engineers from 

various majors] is one of my favorite 

parts of this project.” 

Devin Gund, Senior, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

Source: CMU TIDS team

Members of the Tartan Ice Drilling System Team

6 www.nasa.gov
www.nasa.gov/researchpark 7

NRP Post

Boreal Space and Stanford University XLAB Join Forces to Demo 

a Sensor Capable of Exploring Exceptionally Extreme Space 

Environments By Devin Graham, Boreal Space May 18th 2018

Space is a beautiful but hostile environment, containing 

moons with frozen oceans and planets with atmospheres 

where temperatures can reach more than 800 degrees 

Fahrenheit. Spacecraft exploring these regions encounter 

problems with conventional silicon-based electronics, revealing that these components are 

not well suited for long-term space 

operations. Malfunctions due to heat 

and cold sensitivity and other environmental issues are common. We 

need to create new devices that are 

up to the task. Exciting alternatives 

to silicon, known as wide bandgap 

semiconductor devices, are being developed for operation in environments 

that experience high levels of radiation and cryogenic temperatures. 

Stanford University’s EXtreme Environment Microsystems Laboratory or 

XLab, led by Professor Debbie Senesky (xlab.stanford.edu), is conducting 

groundbreaking research in this area, 

focusing on “the development of micro- and nano-systems for operation 

within extreme harsh environments”. 

The Stanford team, known as “Team 

Extreme”, uses a microfabrication 

process to create magnetic sensors 

based on Gallium Nitride, which may 

revolutionize future space missions 

into extreme environments. 

A NASA Research Park industry partner, Boreal Space, led by Barbara 

Plante, has joined with Team Extreme to raise the flight Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the XLab magnetic sensor. 

Boreal Space designs and creates Cubesats providing scalable, low cost hosted payload space for research and commercial applications. Team Extreme was offered space on 

Wayfinder II, a 3U Cubesat (Figure 

1), which has a suborbital launch 

opportunity scheduled with launch 

provider Interorbital Systems. 

Boreal Space’s engineering team 

collaborated with Team Extreme to 

specify payload hardware and software interfaces to the Wayfinder 

spacecraft. The XLab SHARK-1 

payload (Figure 2) was integrated into the Wayfinder and tested 

at the Boreal Space lab in NRP 

Building 19.

In addition to hosting the SHARK-1 

experiment, Wayfinder II is providing payload space to the National University of Singapore for a 

materials experiment and to Team 

Hakuto (iSpace) for their robotics 

experiment. RF communications 

during the suborbital flight will be 

provided by the Spacelink Duo 

UHF radio, commissioned by Boreal Space and provided by Space 

Inventor, Aalborg, Denmark.

Wayfinder II is scheduled to launch 

later this year on the Interorbital 

Systems Neptune launch vehicle in 

the Mojave Desert, CA. The Boreal 

Space Launch Team will provide 

on-site support for the final launch 

vehicle integration and suborbital 

launch. During the flight, Wayfinder II on-board instrumentation will 

record sensor data and provide 

important insights, such as launch 

load survival and signal integrity, 

for the hosted payloads. 

Launch opportunities such as the 

Wayfinder II campaign, pave the way 

for low TRL experiments to be readily tested in 

space and launch conditions, bringing future technologies 

to space exploration at a rapid pace through the use of 

CubeSats.

showing hosted payloads

Stanford XLab SHARK-1 Payload

www.borealspace.com

Wayfinder II CAD
NRP Post

8 www.nasa.gov

NRP Post

Bob Vermillion of RMV receives James A. Russell Lifetime 

Achievement Award

T

he National, Institute of Packaging, 

Handling and Logistics Engineers 

(NIPHLE) consisting of the US Army, 

US NAVY, USMC, DLA, USAF, DCMA 

and Industry, honored Bob Vermillion, 

CPP, Fellow, RMV Technology Group, LLC 

(RMV) with the James A. Russell Award, 

the highest recognition given each year by 

NIPHLE to recognize the Lifetime Achievement to a member for advancements and 

innovations in the field of Packaging Engineering for protection of the Warfighter. In 

2015, RMV at NASA Ames, received the 

NIPHLE Corporate Award in support of the 

Warfighter. 

Earlier in his corporate career, Vermillion 

developed a static shielding MX Missile 

Shroud and later assisted in the development of a CDM safe electrostatic discharge 

shielding paperboard technology that is 

today widely utilized in aerospace & 

defense and the commercial sector. Shortly 

thereafter, Vermillion invented (Patent# 

5,637,377) a Protective Containerboard 

for Electrostatic Discharge Sensitive 

Devices. Later, he pioneered several other 

materials that exhibited superior shielding 

and charge mitigation properties. In 

1996, Vermillion assisted the Pentium II 

Packaging Development Team in design 

of a package that successfully survived 

high voltage discharges in transport before 

the product was launched. To understand 

the risk of corrugated containerboard 

Triboelectrification (charging) during air 

transport, winter and Santa Ana Wind 

conditions, Bob is the First to map differences between charge levels of Asia Pacific 

Cylinder Paperboard versus Fourdrinier 

linerboard used in the Americas, Europe 

and the United Kingdom at various relative 

humidity levels.

In 1998, Vermillion provided SME 

evaluation training for the Inherently 

Conductive Polymer (ICP) Scientists, 

including a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. 

In 1999, one of Bob’s developments 

was NASA Mars Mission Approved, In 

2002, using one of Bob Vermillion’s developments and a new ICP Technology, 

a corrosion free ESD shielding tamper 

proof long-term storage package design 

placed 1st in the Institute of Packaging 

Professionals 2002 Ameristar Award competition for the USA. Vermillion’s efforts in 

R&D have led to developments with high 

performance liners, numerous material 

reformulations and proprietary Trade 

Secret Vermillion Testing Methods for Triboelectrification prelaunch testing for ESD 

integrity on a Lunar or Mars environment. 

Another of Bob’s Trade Secret ground 

breaking advancements constitutes shake 

down testing for touch displays, electronic 

flight helmets and hand-held devices, ESD 

sensitive wearables and Small Satellites 

(CubeSats).

At the NASA Quality Leadership Forum 

(QLF) 2010, Vermillion was the First to 

Present and Publish on Suspect Counterfeit ESD & Packaging Materials in the 

Aerospace & Defense Supply Chain. 

Bob’s efforts have led to the implementation of countermeasures by the largest 

electronic corporations in the USA, the 

US Army DAC, NASA, DOE, NAVAIR 

and Space Science Laboratories at UC 

Berkeley. This led to RMV training offered 

by DOE, Cal Poly, Oxford, CALCE and 

Loyola University, to name a few. 

When the USMC needed to insure 

protection of successful mountaineering 

equipment for deployment to Afghanistan, 

Vermillion accepted the challenge and 

redesigned the package and recommended RFID tracking. Vermillion published 

a paper on ESD issues with RFIDs and 

packaging. When a prime required 

UAV protocols for NAVAIR deployment 

compliance, Vermillion’s team received an 

Outstanding Past Performance. Vermillion 

has been a Featured Speaker on Suspect 

Counterfeit Packaging & Materials for 

GIDEP since 2016. Upon recommendation 

by NASA-MSFC, Bob presented at the 

NASA Academy of Aerospace Quality 

(AAQ) on test methods of ESD packaging 

for successful CubeSat deployment in 

cooperation with the Auburn University 

School of Engineering in 2016 and again 

in 2017. Thereafter, Bob was asked to 

join the NASA/Auburn AAQ group as an 

Expert Adviser. In 2018, Bob presented 

at the NASA QLF, Cape Canaveral upon 

invitation by NASA HQ.

Today, antistatic migration is on the 

rise and poses major long-term storage 

issues; Bob has conducted several internal 

studies using accelerated aging tests to 

benchmark the associated risks. Due to the 

influx of unvetted products from offshore, 

the contamination of sensitive electronic 

components poses a major risk due to 

nonconforming antistatic packaging.

As the NASA ESD Technical Authority 

and working member of the Interagency 

Working Group (IAWG-ESD), Vermillion 

leads an ESD Aerospace Materials & 

Packaging Test Laboratory and Training 

Center at NASA Ames Research Center. 

RMV provides testing support for NASA, 

DLA, and many of the Fortune 500 electronics organizations. Most recently, 

Vermillion has developed proper ESD 

testing protocols for Satellite Shrouds 

which have a large footprint.

Please visit RMV, a NASA Industry partner 

and SDVOSB high tech engineering firm at 

www.esdrmv.com. For more information, 

please contact Bob at bob@esdrmv.com 

or Renee Mitchell at renee@esdrmv.com. 

You can also visit RMV at www.esdaerospacetraining.org. Also, please visit 

www.esdaerospacetraining.org 

Tobyhanna Army Depot 9th May 2018
www.nasa.gov/researchpark 9

NRP Post

size of a foot, which allows them to detect walking speed, 

stride length, and step frequency—factors related to predicting 

fall risk. The system can also estimate individual footstep forces 

and left-right balance of footstep forces within 5% error of body 

weight. The sensors can even use the vibrational signals to detect 

mood, because behavioral patterns suggest how people feel. 

The team will soon deploy the sensors in hospitals for testing. In 

the future, the sensors can be used for various applications, such 

as animal sensing and studying gait deterioration in different 

populations including children and those who have genetic 

diseases that affect their muscle function and walking ability. 

Ph.D. students Mostafa Mirshekari, Jonathon Fagert, and Shijia 

Pan, as well as electrical and computer engineering Professor 

Pei Zhang also collaborate on the hospital bed sensors project.

“Patients may be too shy and don’t want to worry others,” 

says Noh, “But information about their symptoms is sometimes 

critical. So, if a sensor can pick them up and notify the caregivers, 

families, or doctors, it could help with prevention and treatment.”

For media inquiries, contact 

Alexandra George at amgeorge@andrew.cmu.edu

Footsteps, continued from page 4

Medal of Honor on Display 

at Moffett Museum

Moffett Field, California 2018

Over two years ago, MFHS President Herb 

Parsons started an effort to procure a duplicate Medal of Honor for RADM William 

A. Moffett’s venue in the museum. After many discussions, the Historical Society’s request was first sent 

to RADM Jerry MacKay, a member of our Advisory 

Board. He passed it on to ADM Harry Harris, who 

was the Commander, U. S. Pacific Fleet at the time. 

That endorsement was instrumental in our obtaining 

approval for a duplicate medal. However, the bureau 

in the Pentagon did not have a medal to send us and 

we had to wait until they could procure additional 

medals. 

Recently, that same ADM Harris, now the Commander 

Pacific Command, was in Washington, D.C. and a 

member of his staff picked up the medal. Admiral 

Harris was in the Bay area for meetings at the Naval 

Postgraduate School and the Hoover Institute at 

Stanford. He delivered the medal to Rear Admiral 

MacKay. Admiral MacKay then turned over the medal 

to Herb Parsons. The medal is now displayed in the 

Moffett Museum. Visitors have the unique opportunity 

to see a Medal of Honor and the Citation up close.
10 www.nasa.gov

NRP Post

Made In Space to Bid on Phase II of Archinaut 

Development Program MOFFETT FIELD, California, 17th May, 2018

NASA has invited Made 

In Space, Inc. (MIS) to 

submit a proposal for a 

technology flight demonstration 

mission (Phase II) of its Archinaut technology. Archinaut 

is an in-space robotic manufacturing and assembly platform capable of constructing 

space-optimized systems of sizes not previously feasible. NASA’s Space 

Technology and Mission Directorate (STMD) 

awarded MIS its initial Archinaut contract 

in 2016. Since that time, MIS has made 

significant advancements in space-capable 

extended structure additive manufacturing 

and robotic assembly. 

“Archinaut is a transformational capability 

that supports space exploration and other 

critical in-space missions for a variety of customers,” said Andrew Rush, MIS president & 

CEO. “This technology enables us to build 

space-optimized structures in space . What 

this means is we can now build larger and 

bigger structures that can deliver greater 

capabilities at a much lower cost and with 

less risk.” 

Archinaut was initially awarded under STMD’s Tipping Point program, which was 

established to fund public-private partnerships to achieve NASA’s goals of expanding space capabilities and helping develop 

next-generation technologies to grow the 

U.S. economy and strengthen the nation’s 

economic competitiveness. The Tipping Point 

program funds technology development 

until the point of maturation where commercial companies take over, buying products and supporting for further capability 

development. 

“NASA is ushering in a new era of manufacturing and assembly technologies for 

space,” added Rush. “The Archinaut technology that we’re advancing provides considerable, never-seen-before capabilities for 

NASA, commercial, and other government 

customers. We’re pleased with our progress in assembling a world-class team with 

tremendous technical expertise to compete 

for Phase II work.” 

MIS’s team includes Northrop Grumman 

for systems integration and avionics work 

and Oceaneering for robotics capabilities. 

The core technology of 

Archinaut is the Extended 

Structure Additive Manufacturing Machine, or 

ESAMM. ESAMM is an 

additive manufacturing 

capability that enables 

manufacturing of large 

structures not limited by 

traditional build volumes. 

MIS proved out the transformational ESAMM capability in the summer of 

2017 during thermal vacuum testing at NASA Ames 

Research Center. Since 

then, MIS has been developing ESAMM-based flight mission architectures for 

a variety of commercial and government 

customers. 

“We’re preparing for an important thermal 

vacuum chamber test of the entire manufacturing and assembly system this summer,” 

said Eric Joyce, Archinaut project manager. “We’ve made considerable progress in 

raising the technology readiness level and 

lowering the risk associated with bringing 

this technology to space.” 

MIS is working with high-strength 

space-grade polymers, such as 

PEI/PC ULTEM ( polyetherimide/ 

polycarbonate) , on its Archinaut 

technology and, is developing 

metal capabilities for missions 

which require metallic properties. 

Archinaut has helped MIS win 

several industry and customer 

accolades. Most recently, MIS 

won Johnson Space Center’s Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year Award 

for accomplishments with the company’s 

Additive Manufacturing Facility operating 

onboard the International Space Station 

and project management of other key programs such as Archinaut. Last year, MIS 

received Guinness Book of World Record 

for the longest continually 3D printed structure at 37 meters. In February 2017, Fast 

Company named Made In Space No.5 on 

its Most Innovative Companies List, and, in 

March 2017, Made In Space won a silver 

Edison Award for Archinaut for space-flight 

innovation and manufacturing. 

About Made In Space :

Made In Space, Inc. is the world’s most 

experienced in-space manufacturing company. Established in 2010 and with offices 

in Florida, California, Alabama and Ohio, 

Made In Space leverages the unique properties of the space environment to develop 

manufacturing solutions to commercial, industrial, research and defense challenges. 

Archinaut, one of Made In Space’ flagship 

programs, enables in-space production and 

assembly of the backbone structures for 

large telescopes, repair, augmentation, 

or repurposing of existing spacecraft, and 

unmanned assembly of new space stations. 

The company’s vision is to enable the future 

of space exploration by offering off-Earth 

manufacturing capabilities.

Archinaut servicing satellite (Credit: Made in Space)

“Archinaut is a transformational capability that supports space exploration 

and other critical in-space missions 

for a variety of customers,” 

Andrew Rush, MIS president & CEO

For more information about

Made In Space

Bryan Culbert Communications Manager

bryan@madeinspace.us 

Cell: 321-848-8587

www.madeinspace.us

10 www.nasa.gov
www.nasa.gov/researchpark 11

NRP Post

Rosenberg Is on a Mission at CMU’s Silicon 

Valley Campus

By Allison Hodson Moffett Field, California, , 1st June, 2018

As a child, Steven Rosenberg avidly read books on astronomy and the history of the cosmos. Today, 

his travels in space continue at the NASA 

Ames Research Park in Mountain View, 

California, as senior director of operations for CMU’s Silicon Valley campus.

“It’s a very dynamic and exciting place 

to be,” said Rosenberg, who connects 

CMU researchers with NASA scientists 

to work on projects, such as building 

smart habitats for missions to the moon 

and Mars.

In addition to supporting space missions, Rosenberg helps keep the campus running smoothly by ensuring the 

students, faculty and staff have what 

they need, from overseeing IT support 

and classroom renovations to preparing 

the campus’s accreditation report for the 

College of Engineering, the campus’s 

home school. He is a manager, strategist 

and liaison for CMU’s partnerships in 

Silicon Valley and Pittsburgh.

Rosenberg enjoys the entrepreneurial 

spirit at CMU Silicon Valley, where the 

global tech scene plays a major role 

in the academic experience. Google, 

Apple and Facebook headquarters are 

a few miles from campus, where each 

year more than 330 master’s degree 

and Ph.D. students specialize in areas of 

study including software, cybersecurity 

and entrepreneurship.

“Tech has a big impact on the university culture here. Students have ample 

opportunities to interact with leading 

companies both in and outside of the 

classroom,” he said.

Rosenberg earned his master’s degree 

and Ph.D. in cognitive psychology at 

CMU, studying under Nobel laureate 

Herbert Simon. After earning his doctorate, he had an extensive 29-year career 

at Hewlett Packard Laboratories, managing research and launching partner 

labs with several top-tier universities. 

He joined the Silicon Valley campus in 

2009 as a visiting scientist.

“It was refreshing to come back to a university setting,” Rosenberg said. “After 

being at a Fortune 50 company, it was 

really nice to rejoin the CMU community 

and return to working alongside our 

talented faculty and students.”

When he’s not at campus, Rosenberg 

enjoys hiking with this family and practicing magic.

“As a cognitive scientist, I am always 

interested in how people think,” Rosenberg said. “I find it fascinating how 

simple magic tricks shed light on how 

we perceive and understand. It’s both 

fun and illuminating to fool people by 

‘tricking’ their perceptions and understanding.”

“After being at a Fortune 50 company, it was 

really nice to rejoin the CMU community and 

return to working alongside our talented faculty 

and students.” Steve Rosenberg, Senior Director of Operations for CMU
12 www.nasa.gov

NRP Post

NP-2018-06-01-ARC

NASA Research Park

Editor, Layout and Design: TED TRIANO

Phone: (650) 604-2NRP

Email: arc-dl-nrp-post@mail.nasa.gov NRP POST Website: www.nasa.gov/researchpark

THE

NASA Photo Ops

NRP Deputy Director provided a briefing and tour 

to the UK IT companies, May 24, 2018

Bldg. 19 2nd floor Tenant Improvement 

Project with USGS Leadership Team

On April 17, 2018 Dr. Eugene Tu, NASA Ames 

Director welcomes Dr. David Applegate, USGS 

Acting Deputy Director

Intrinsyx Technologies received the 

2017 NASA Small Business Subcontractor of the Year Award for Ames 

Research Center