Award Data

Lead in household paint and dust is a serious health hazard, as low-level lead exposure can result in a number of adverse health effects, especially in children. Onsite and real-time detection and quantification of lead in paint/dust are very important to homeowners and certified lead-based paint removal professionals. Toward this end, both field-portable equipment (such as X-ray fluorescence inst ...

Reduction in dependency on imported petroleum and the quest to identify renewable energy sources has led to a search for innovative biofuels derived from renewable biomass, which promise long-term reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Butanol is one possible biofuel. It is an industrial fuel that can be produced from crops using acetone-butanol (AB) fermentation by butanolagenic microbes, such a ...

NASA's next generation of x-ray observation missions require x-ray calorimeters with superior energy resolution. Semimetallic HgTe has already proven itself as an excellent soft x-ray absorber material due to its low heat capacity. The alloy Hg0.834Cd0.166Te is predicted to also have zero energy gap at T=0 K and a heat capacity even less that that of HgTe due to: (i) a greater Debye temperature (r ...

The objective of this proposal is to study and demonstrate novel GaAsNP/GaP/AlGaP technology for use in extreme photovoltaic (PV) energy conversion. NASA and the scientific community are interested in solar missions that go as far as Saturn or even into near sun conditions. Such missions present a challenging problem for PV technology. In addition to the requisite high efficiency and reduced so ...

A fully monolithically integrated L-band T/R module using InGaP/GaAs-based HBTs (heterojunction bipolar transistors) for both the transmit and receive functions is proposed. We plan to improve the efficiency by implementing a DHBT (double heterojunction bipolar transistor) InGaP HBT which is designed reduce the offset voltage. This DHBT design can offer a higher efficiency as well as increasing th ...

Element beneficiation from a moving, ionized plasma can be accomplished through the principles of mass spectroscopy. Two US patents were recently awarded to the PI on a means to separate all isotopes of regolith in a single pass using either a continuous or pulsed operation. This method of in-situ resource utilization has been studied at a system level, and results published at a national space ...

Search, analysis and display of NASA science data by non-GIS experts can be facilitated using so-called "Web 2.0" technologies. Google Maps is a popular geospatial service which exemplifies the use of such technologies. Browser-based client-side mashups and overlays of various kinds of data sources using technologies such as AJAX have been demonstrated using Google Maps. We propose to develop tool ...

This innovative SBIR Phase II proposal plans to develop new multifunctional high temperature capable TCMS technologies based on the identified needs for the thermal control and ESD functions of the exploration mission hardware and also for the heat rejection system. These efforts can also serve uniquely the Crew Exploration Vehicle radiator systems needs. The TCMS for the radiators of the both CE ...

NASA's vision of Space Exploration will require advancements in communication systems to maintain flexibility and adaptability to changing needs and requirements. The research outlined in this project will develop a hardware/software design environment that will allow NASA engineers to automatically develop flexible, reconfigurable communications systems. We will develop automated compiler algor ...

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