Award Data

Previous efforts have demonstrated that targeted observations of tropical storms by UAS can provide extremely valuable data sets for improving forecasts and models, but are also difficult to obtain. A number of obstacles including regulations and the distance required to intercept evolving storms have limited the number of land based flights. The use of airborne deployed UAS have recently overcome ...

Animal-borne electronic instruments (tags) are critical tools for monitoring the behavior and ecology of cetaceans, providing data needed for managing their populations and mitigating the threats they face. Although remote-deployment of tags onto cetaceans that cannot be captured has provided valuable data, attachment durations have been frustratingly short and variable. Our Phase II goal is to de ...

This project will develop and demonstrate an inexpensive and portable calibration system for low-cost aerosol sensors. Current calibration methods are cost prohibitive and lack generalizability from one location (or season) to the next, making them impractical for implementation. Access Sensor Technologies (AST) proposes to improve and validate a solar powered aerosol reference calibrator (SPARC) ...

Research conducted in Phase I identified a range of data sources providing vehicle related information to consumers shopping around or interested in knowing more about vehicles. Majority of the commercial data sources focused on vehicle features, new/used/CPO pricing, and vehicles listings. Such data sources lacked safety as their central focus, which is a concern for U.S. Department of Transporta ...

THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF QUANTIFYING THE EFFECTS OF IREASED AUTOMATION ON THE WORKLOAD AND PERFORMANCE OF THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRA-TION'S AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER. IN PHASE I, RESEARCH WILL FOCUS ON ADAPTRING OUR CURRENT HUMAN PERFORMANCE MODEL TO REPRESENT THE JOB CHARACTERISTICS OR ATTRIBUTES THAT WILL DETERMINE LEVELS OF WORKLOAD AND PERFORMANCE IN THE AD ...

LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS CONDUCTED IN A STRATIFIED TOW TANK ARE PROPOSED TO CHARACTERIZE VORTEX WAKES UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ATOMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCE. FLOW RESEARCH HAS DEVELOPED INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR STRATIFYING THE FLUID IN THE TANK, GENERATING A CURRENT SHEAR AND CREATING AMBIENTTURBULENCE WITH GOOD CONTROL. SUCH CAPABILITIES WOULD FACILITATE THE ISOLATION OF THE EFFECTS OF THE DISTURBANCE S ...

THE RECOGNIZED LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR PHENOMENON KNOWN AS A MICROBURST POSES A SERIOUS AIR SAFETY THREAT TO COMMERCIAL AVIATION WHILE IN A LANDING OR POSES A SERIOUS COMMERCIAL AVIATION WHILE IN A LANDING OR TAKEOFF PATTERN. THIS LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO DE A THIS LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO BE A MAJOR CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO SEVERAL CRASHES OF COMMERCIAL AIRLIN ...

THE PHASE I RESEARCH IS INTENDEDTO DEMONSTRATE THE BASIC FEASIBILITY OF CONSTRUCTING AND OPTIMIZING A NEW MAGNETO-OPTIC 'SANDWICH' DEVICE INTENDED FOR DIRECT VISUALIZATION OF FLAWSIN FERROUS MATERIALS (STEEL) IN A MARINE ENVIRONMENT. THE DEVICE IS BASED IN THE PROPERTY OF SOME MAGNETO-OPTIC GARNETFILMS TO ROTATE THE PLANES OF POLARIZATION OF AN INCIDENT, LINEARLY POLARIZED LIGHT WAVE (FARADAY MAGN ...

HIGH-PRESSURE WATERJET IS ONE OF SEVERAL NEW METHODS FOR CUTTING MATERIALS DEVELOPED DURING THE LAST DECADE. CURRENTLY IT IS USED, AT STATIC WATER PRESSURE UP TO 60,000 PSI, TO CUT A WIDE VARIETY OF SOFT AND MEDIUM-HARD MATERIALS IN FACTORIES; IT HAS BEEN EVALUATED FOR GEOTECHNICAL APPLICATIONS WITH VERY LIMITED SUCCESS. THIS RESEARCH CONCERNS THE USE OF ABRASIVE-ENTRAINED WATERJET FOR CUTTING AND ...