Q&A

Who's Who: Nanotechnology

Dr. Jonathan Trent, Bioengineering Research Scientist, Ames Research Center

Dr. Jonathan Trent is an expert in the use of extremophile proteins to create nanoscale electronic devices. An extremophile is a life form capable of surviving in...

Who's Who: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Dr. Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS Principal Investigator, Ames Research Center

LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite), which will travel to the moon aboard the launch vehicle for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), will...

Who's Who: Electronics & Computers

Bill Thigpen, Engineering Branch Chief of NASA’s Advanced Supercomputing Division

As Engineering Branch Chief for NASA's Advanced Supercomputing Division, Bill Thigpen led the team that built and deployed the 10,240-processor Columbia...

Who's Who: Aerospace

Drew Feustel, Astronaut, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX

Astronaut Drew Feustel is scheduled to fly aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery when it makes what is projected to be the final manned mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope....

Who's Who: Test & Measurement

Dr. David Morrison, Senior Scientist, NASA Astrobiology Institute

Dr. David Morrison is senior scientist at the NASA Astrobiology Institute and a founder of the multidisciplinary field of astrobiology. He is an expert on the risk of asteroid...

Who's Who: Materials

Dr. William (Bill) Farrell, Scientist, Lunar Exploration Program

Dr. William Farrell, a scientist with the Lunar Exploration Program at Goddard Space Flight Center, is an expert on the problem of lunar dust and its effects on astronauts and...

Who's Who: Physical Sciences

Dr. Steve Hipskind, Chief, NASA's Earth Science Division

Dr. Steve Hipskind is an expert on climate change and the effects of global warming with over 20 years of experience in atmospheric research. He currently heads up NASA's Earth Science...

Who's Who: Photonics/Optics

Edward Austin, SOFIA Science Systems Project Manager

SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) is a joint venture between NASA and the German space agency, DLR, involving the use of a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft as an...

Who's Who: Photonics/Optics

Dr. Keith Gendreau, Physicist, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

While working on designing an X-ray navigation system for NASA's next-generation Black Hole Imager, Dr. Keith Gendreau, a physicist at the Goddard Space Flight Center,...

Who's Who: Aerospace

Dr. John Mather, Chief Scientist for the Science Mission Directorate

Using NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite to measure microwaves and infrared light that originated with the formation of the universe, Dr. John C. Mather...

Who's Who: Robotics, Automation & Control

Terry Fong, Group Leader, Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG),

The NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) is dedicated to enabling humans and robots to explore and learn about extreme environments, remote locations, and uncharted...

Who's Who: Semiconductors & ICs

Phil Neudeck, Electronics Engineer, NASA's John Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH

The Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at NASA's Glenn Research Center has developed a new silicon carbide differential amplifier integrated...

Who's Who: Software

David Iverson, Computer Scientist, NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

The Inductive Monitoring System (IMS) is a new computer program that monitors gyroscopes that keep the International Space Station properly oriented in space....

Who's Who: Government

Douglas A. Comstock, Director, NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP)

NASA's IPP provides leveraged technology for NASA's mission directorates, programs, and projects through investments and technology partnerships with industry,...

Who's Who: Unmanned Systems

Jing Li, Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

NASA recently tested the Nano ChemSensor, the first nanotechnology- based electronic device to fly in space. The test showed that the sensor could monitor trace gases inside a...

Who's Who: Aerospace

Karen Whitley, Expandable Structures for Exploration Task Lead

NASA plans to return to the Moon by 2020. For a sustained lunar presence, however, astronauts need habitats that can support them and their experments. To this end,...

Who's Who: Medical

Dr. Richard Boyle, Director, BioVIS Technology Center

Medical imaging technology has led to quicker diagnoses of conditions that, when caught early, can be treated. However, because such devices are large, they are impractical in the...

Who's Who: Aerospace

Leslie Molzahn, Operations Engineer, Dryden Space Flight Center, Edwards, CA

Supersonic speed would allow travelers to cut significantly their travel time. However, because of the resulting sonic booms, the Federal Aviation...

Who's Who: Aerospace

Dr. Karen Jackson, Aerospace Engineer, Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) Facility

In a crash, keeping the occupants alive and uninjured is paramount. In order to study the dynamics of an impact, military and general aviation...

Who's Who: Software

Julia W. Loftis, Associate Chief for Information Systems Technology

While a single, peer-to-peer rover can cover a large territory and gather a wealth of information, an entire fleet of rovers could cover even more ground. However,...

Who's Who: Medical

Ginger N. Flores, LOCAD Project Manager, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL

Diagnosis on Earth is a fairly simple procedure, done at any hospital or medical center. In space flight, however, where doctors and even basic...

Who's Who: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Bill Sheredy, Project Manager for SAME (Smoke Aerosol Measurement Experiment)

Fire is deadly and unpredictable on Earth; in an enclosed space vehicle in orbit, its presence takes on even more serious implications. To prevent the threat of...

Who's Who: Physical Sciences

Dr. Michael Bicay, Science Director, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

Having served at both JPL as a member of the Project Office science staff for the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Spitzer Science Center at Caltech where he...

Who's Who: Software

Bill Jackson, Deputy Director, NASA Independent Verification and Validation Facility, Fairmont, WV

Searching for defects amid several thousand lines of code in mission critical software, NASA’s Independent Verification and Validating...

Who's Who: Aerospace

Dr. Simon "Pete" Worden, Center Director, NASA Ames Research, Moffett Field, CA

Before becoming NASA Ames Research Center Director, Dr. Worden was a Research Professor of Astronomy, Optical Sciences, and Planetary Sciences at the...

Who's Who: Photonics/Optics

Dr. Murzy Jhabvala, Chief Engineer of the Instrument Systems and Technology Division

Visible light is only one narrow band of the electromagnetic spectrum, and doesn't always tell scientists what they need to know. Infrared, which is...

Who's Who: Medical

Dr. Jeff Jones, Lead for Exploration Medical Operations

At remote sites, the International Space Station, or missions to the Moon or Mars, illness and injury can be extremely serious. Far from hospitals, scientists and astronauts may find...

Who's Who: Green Design & Manufacturing

Hanwant Singh, Atmospheric Scientist, NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

The Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX-B) is the second phase of a two-part, multinational monitoring project designed to track...