NASA Technology Awards/Incentives
+ Awards won
+ Nomination information

IPP Office Technology Awards
+ Awards won
+ Nomination information

GSFC Awards
+ Awards won
+ Nomination information

External Technology Awards
+ Awards won
+ Nomination information

If you would like additional information, nomination procedures, or to nominate a team or individual for awards listed on this site, please contact:

Innovative Partnerships Program Office
Code 504
phone: (301) 286-5810
email: Innovative Partnerships Program Office

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2004 Mid-Atlantic FLC winner James Tilton (center) with Dorothy Vincent (left) and Scott Dieter (far right), of the Mid-Atlantic FLC.

Significant awards have been bestowed upon Goddard staff both for their technologies and for successful technology transfer. (see also, Success Stories)

Listed below are winners for 2004. (See also 2005, 2006, and 2007 Winners.)For prior years, please select from the award categories at left.

+ Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC)
+ Space Act Awards
+ James Kerley Award
+ Patent Awards
+ NASA Tech Brief Awards

2004 Award Winners

2004 Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer

Recognizes laboratory employees who have accomplished outstanding work in the process of transferring a technology developed by a federal laboratory.

• (Mid-Atlantic FLC) Dr. James C. Tilton—Hierarchical Segmentation (HSEG) software technology: The HSEG technology provides a new approach to image analysis, focusing on image regions—and how they change depending on how fine the resolution is—rather than just pixels.
  
  
• (Mid-Atlantic FLC) Russell Carpenter (and colleagues)—GPS-Enhanced Onboard Navigation System: This technology is a flight software package that provides onboard orbit determination and control in real time, with higher accuracy, and without human intervention while working within limited computing resources.

2004 NASA Space Act Monetary Awards Program for Significant Scientific and Technical Contributions

The objectives of this program are to provide official recognition of, and to grant equitable monetary awards for those inventions and other scientific and technical contributions that have helped to achieve NASA's aeronautical, technology transfer, and space goals; and to stimulate and encourage the creation and reporting of similar contributions in the future.

• 2004—John Kolasinksi—Adhesive Bubble Removal Technique and Fixture for Fiber Optic Applications
  
  
• 2004—John Vranish—Gear Bearings
  
  
• 2004—David Quinn—GPS “Compound Eye” Navigation and Attitude Sensor
  
  
• 2004—Steve Benner and Mario Martins—Heat-Driven Pulse Pump
  
  
• 2004—Norden Huang, Karin Blank, Thomas Flatley, Semion Kizhner, and Darrell Smith—Hilbert-Huang Transform Data Processing System
  
  
• 2004—Matthew McGill, Vibart Scott, and Marzouk Marzouk—Holographic Circle-to-Point Converter
  
  
• 2004—John Degnan—Microlaser Altimeter
  
  
• 2004—Alexei Lyapustin—SHARM: Software Solving the Monochromatic Radiation Transfer Problem in Planetary Atmosphere Using Spherical Harmonic Methods

James Kerley Award

2004 Kerley Award winner Jeannette B. Benavides and Center Director Al Diaz.

An annual award given by the Technology Transfer Program to GSFC civil servants who has been instrumental in transfer technologies.  The Kerley Award is named after James Kerley, a champion of technology transfer.

• Dr. Jeannette B. Benavides—Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes

2004 Patent Awards

• U.S. Patent No. 6,691,033—System and Method for Calibrating Inter-Star-Tracker Misalignments in a Stellar Inertial Attitude Determination System
  
  
• U.S. Patent No. 6,697,818—Methods and Apparatus for Constructing and Implementing a Universal Extension Module for Processing Objects in a Database
  
  
• U.S. Patent No. 6,734,602—Linear Magnetostrictive Actuator
  
  
• U.S. Patent No. 6,738,734—Empirical Mode Decomposition Apparatus, Method and Article of Manufacture for Analyzing Biological Signals and Performing Curve Fitting
  
  
• U.S. Patent No. 6,740,224—Method of Manufacturing Carbon Nanotubes
  
  
• U.S. Patent No. 6,742,761—Miniature Latching Valve
  
  
• U.S. Patent No. 6,744,470—Synchronization of Video Recording and Laser Pulses Including Background Light Suppression
  
  
• U.S. Patent No. 6,760,487—Estimated Spectrum Adaptive Postfilter and the Iterative Prepost Filtering Algorithms
  
  
• U.S. Patent No. 6,760,664—Autonomous Navigation System Based on GPS and Magnetometer Data
  
  
• U.S. Patent No. 6,765,195—Method and Apparatus for Two-Dimensional Absolute Optical Encoding
  
  
• U.S. Patent No. 6,775,600—Systems and Methods for Determining Spacecraft Orientation
  
  
• U.S. Patent No. 6,782,124—Three-Dimensional Empirical Mode Decomposition Analysis Apparatus and Method

2004 NASA Tech Brief Article Award

A monetary award based on submission of an article published in NASA Tech Briefs.

• Pseudoslit Spectrometer (GSC-13806-1): Functioning similarly to a slit spectrometer, this instrument is optomechanically simpler. (April 2004)
  
  
• Analyzing Dynamics of Cooperating Spacecraft (GSC-14735-1): This software library enables high-fidelity computational simulation of the dynamics of multiple spacecraft distributed over a region of outer space and acting with a common purpose. (June 2004)
  
  
• Charge-Dissipative Electrical Cables (GSC-14648-1): In addition to performing their main functions of conducting signals, these electrical cables dissipate spurious static electric charges. (June 2004)
  
  
• Improved Nutation Damper for a Spin-Stabilized Spacecraft (GSC-14733-1): This technology would address the problem of accommodating thermal expansion of the damping liquid in spin-stabilized spacecraft. (June 2004)
  
  
• Arc-Second Pointer for Balloon-Borne Astronomical Instrument (GSC-14715-1): This notable innovation eliminates the effects of static friction in bearings. (June 2004).
  
  
• Improving Control of Two Motor Controllers (GSC-14744-1): This computer program controls motors that drive trans-lation stages in a metrology system that consists of a pair of two-axis cathetometers. This program is specific to Compumotor Gemini motors and the Compumotor 6K-series motor controller (or their equivalents). (June 2004)
  
  
• Ultralow-Power Digital Correlator for Microwave Polarimetry (GSC-14746-1): This high-speed digital correlator is especially well suited for processing readings of a passive microwave polarimeter. (August 2004)
  
  
• Manufacturing High-Quality Carbon Nanotubes at Lower Cost (GSC-14601-1): This modified electric-arc welding process can be used to manufacture high-quality batches of carbon nanotubes at relatively low cost—about 1/20 that of other processes.