Forging Strategic Partnerships in Environmental Systems, Biotechnology and Agricultural Research for Space Applications

A working meeting held at North Carolina State University

September 25, 2002

Hosted by the North Carolina Space Initiative

Participating InstitutionsUniversity of Florida

North Carolina State UniversityUNC – Office of the President

NC A&T State UniversityUNC-Charlotte

UNC-Chapel HillUNC-Pembroke

Winston Salem State UniversityResearch Triangle Institute

NC Technology Development AssociationUniversity of Tennessee - Knoxville

Purpose of Today’s Meeting

• To explore mutually beneficial collaborations among researchers in Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee in the context of two programs:

• Environmental Commercial Space Technology Center (ES CSTC)

• Space Biotechnology and Commercial Applications Program

Today’s Agenda

• Welcome and Opening Remarks – Chris Brown• Overview of NASA Research in NC – Chris Brown• Overview of NASA Research at UF – Peggy Evanich• Environmental Systems Commercial Space

Technology Center– Program Overview – Bill Sheehan– Solid Waste Recovery – Bill Sheehan– Air Revitalization and Water Recovery – David Mazyck– Other UF Research with ESCSTC Applications – Richard Yost

• Break

Today’s Agenda• Space Biotechnology and Commercial Applications

Program– Program Overview – Peggy Evanich– Center for Space Agriculture and Biotechnology Research

and Education (SABRE) – Rob Ferl– Integrated Smart Nanosensors for Space Biotechnology

Applications – Toshikazu Nishida– Commercial Applications and University Partnerships for

Space Biotechnology – Bill Sheehan

• Lunch• Potential for Collaborations – All • Reconvene and Adjourn

north carolina space initiativea program of the kenan institute for engineering, technology & science

Goals of the NC Space Initiative

• To establish networks to facilitate collaborative projects

– Fundamental and applied space research– Education in space science, engineering, business,

and policy– Outreach and engagement

• To compete for NASA / other funding • To apply space technology to issues of concern

to our state and region • To attract space-related industry to our state and

our region

To Make NC a Leading Space State

Overview of Selected NASA Programs in North Carolina

• North Carolina State University

• North Carolina A&T State University

• University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

• Duke University

• Research Triangle Institute

North Carolina State University• National leader in Science, Engineering and Technology• Land Grant University founded 1887• Centennial Campus established 1984• 28,000+ students, 1,600 faculty, 10 colleges• 105,215 acres (1,877 in Raleigh)• Federal research expenditures FY01- $90M• Total R&D expenditures - $300 million

– 35% Engineering 7% Textiles– 20% Ag and Life Sci 5% Education– 20% Physical/Math Sci 3% Other– 10% Vet Medicine

• Number of patents since 1992 – 350• Top ten for industry sponsored research• Ranked 17th nationally for licensing revenues and patents• Ranked 4th nationally for spinning off start-up companies Red Wolf

Moreland/Brown

NC State and NASA• From FY97 - FY01, NC State awarded $13.2M in

NASA grants

1997 - $2.8M1998 - $2.7M1999 - $3.1M2000 - $2.3M2001 - $2.3M

• In 2001, NCSU had 43 competitively awarded NASA grants and contracts

STS 89, Jan 1998 Bell Tower at NCSU

Moreland/Brown

NC State involved with 4 NASA Strategic Enterprises and Education

Examples:• Biological and Physical Research – Plant

gravitropism: A transgenic approach (Perera, Boss - Botany)

• Aerospace Technology –Uninhabited aerial vehicle Testing (Chokani, Hall, Heinzen - Mech. Aero. Engr.)

• Earth Science – SeaWiFS data from the Indian Ocean (Morrison - Marine, Earth and Atm. Science)

• Space Science - X-ray emission and dynamics of supernova remnants (Reynolds - Physics)

• Education - Space biology lectures in digital format (Brown - Kenan Institute and Botany)

SeaWiFS

Moreland/Brown

NC State is home to >55 established research institutes, centers, laboratories, consortia and initiatives. Four of these are directly related to NASA missions:

• NASA Specialized Center for Plant Gravitational Genomics

• Center for Earth Observation• North Carolina Space Grant

Consortium• North Carolina Space Initiative

These Centers are one way NCSU links with other organizations with like-minded goals

Arabidopsis Root Cap(Scott and Allen)

Moreland/Brown

An Advanced Technology Community for University, Industry and Government Partnerships

Five multi-disciplinary R&D neighborhoods• Bioscience and Biotechnology• Advanced Materials • Pre-College Education • Environmental Technologies • Advanced Communications Technologies

Moreland/Brown

NC A&T STATE UNIVERSITY

• Comprehensive Land Grant University in Greensboro, NC with an

enrollment of 8,300

• Seven schools and colleges – Agriculture, Arts & Sciences, Business

& Economics, Education, Engineering, Nursing, Technology

• Undergraduate and Graduate programs with Doctoral programs in

Engineering (Electrical, Mechanical, and Industrial & Systems)

• Top 5 HBCU’s in federal R&D obligations

• Top 5 universities in NC in research productivity

• Total program funding of $32M

• Current portfolio of 277 projects at $129M

Psalmonds

NC A&T is involved with 4 NASA Strategic Enterprises

Psalmonds

Examples:

Aerospace Technology – Investigation of aero servo

structural interactions in aerospace applications

Biological and Physical Research – Logistics in a food

production system using intelligent agents

Human Exploration and Development of Space –

Performance modeling of a pilot in a free flight mode

Earth Science – A web based visualization tool for 3D/4D

imagery and geospatial information

TECH TRANSFER, EDUCATION and PUBLIC OUTREACH

• NASA Southeast Regional Technology Transfer Center (http://dor.ncat.edu/ottc/serttc)

• Integration of NASA Research into Undergraduate Education in Mathematics, Science, Engineering and Technology

• NASA Space Grant College and Fellowship Program• NASA Sharp Plus Program• Ronald E. McNair Graduate Research Fellowship

Program• Undergraduate and Graduate Student Researchers

Program

Psalmonds

Among the Leaders• Now 20th in federal science & engineering support,

and the only N.C. university in the top 20 (NSF)• First among public universities in the south in NIH

funding (13th overall)• Among the top four public research universities in

the nation (Lombardi et al., 2000)• 9th nationally in federal funding for fellowships,

traineeships, and training grants• 42 of our graduate programs in the top 25• 11th in faculty members in national academies (35)

Lowman

Collaborationin science and

education

Lowman

Research to understand carbon nanotubes, understand their intercalation chemistry, and evaluate them as potential energy storage devices.

Left: Carbon nanotubes

Below: Otto Zhou’s lab

Lowman

Medical Science has been Important to NASA

• Since 1989, NASA has supported Professor Mitsuo Yamauchi in the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Dentistry

• Studies have included biochemical changes of bone in a model of weightlessness and bone matrix changes during skeletal unloading and reloading

Lowman

NASA Research Activities at Duke

• Prebreathe Reduction Protocol (PRP) Trials

• Effects of Precipitation Variability and Desertification on

Water Dynamics in Arid Lands: A Patch and Landscape

Modeling

• The Impacts of Land-Use/Land-Cover in Amazonia on

Hydrometeorological Processes at Different Spatial and

Temporal Scales

• The Influence of Irrigation on Warm Season Precipitation in

the Great Plains

• Modeling of Unsteady Three-Dimensional Flows in

Multistage Machines

• The Mechanics of Flapping Flight

• An Investigation of the Geometrical Scaling Properties of

Inflatable Structures Used for Space Solar Power GenerationHall

RTI is an independent, non-profit research

organization of 1950 individuals in 115 disciplines

dedicated to improving the human condition

Research Triangle Institute

Winfield

NASA/RTI Technology Commercialization Contract

Winfield

Forging Strategic Partnerships in Environmental Systems, Biotechnology and Agricultural Research for Space Applications

A working meeting held at North Carolina State University

September 25, 2002

Hosted by the North Carolina Space Initiative