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NASA NTRS2012

Model for Predicting the Performance of Planetary Suit Hip Bearing Designs

Designing a space suit is very complex and often requires difficult trade-offs between performance, cost, mass, and system complexity. During the development period of the suit numerous design iterations need to occur before the hardware meets human performance requirements. Using computer models early in the design phase of hardware development is advantageous, by allowing virtual prototyping to take place. A virtual design environment allows designers to think creatively, exhaust design possibilities, and study design impacts on suit and human performance. A model of the rigid components of the Mark III Technology Demonstrator Suit (planetary-type space suit) and a human manikin were created and tested in a virtual environment. The performance of the Mark III hip bearing model was first developed and evaluated virtually by comparing the differences in mobility performance between the nominal bearing configurations and modified bearing configurations. Suited human performance was then simulated with the model and compared to actual suited human performance data using the same bearing configurations. The Mark III hip bearing model was able to visually represent complex bearing rotations and the theoretical volumetric ranges of motion in three dimensions. The model was also able to predict suited human hip flexion and abduction maximums to within 10% of the actual suited human subject data, except for one modified bearing condition in hip flexion which was off by 24%. Differences between the model predictions and the human subject performance data were attributed to the lack of joint moment limits in the model, human subject fitting issues, and the limited suit experience of some of the subjects. The results demonstrate that modeling space suit rigid segments is a feasible design tool for evaluating and optimizing suited human performance. Keywords: space suit, design, modeling, performance

Cowley, Matthew S.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Bridging the Gap: Use of Spaceflight Technologies for Earth-Based Problems

Spaceflight is colloquially deemed, the final frontier, or the last area which humans have not yet explored in great depth. While this is true, there are still many regions on Earth that remain isolated from the urban, socially and electronically connected world. Because travelling to space requires a great deal of foresight, engineers are required to think creatively in order to invent technologies that are durable enough to withstand the rigors of the unique and often treacherous environment of outer space. The innovations that are a result of spaceflight designs can often be applied to life on Earth, particularly in the rural, isolated communities found throughout the world. The NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC) is a collaborative, virtual forum that connects businesses, non-profit organizations, academia, and government agencies to allow for better distribution of ideas and technology between these entities (http://www.nasa.gov/offices/NHHPC). There are many technologies that have been developed for spaceflight that can be readily applied to rural communities on Earth. For example, water filtration systems designed for spaceflight must be robust and easily repaired; therefore, a system with these qualifications may be used in rural areas on Earth. This particular initiative seeks to connect established, non-profit organizations working in isolated communities throughout the world with NASA technologies devised for spaceflight. These technologies could include water purification systems, solar power generators, or telemedicine techniques. Applying innovative, spaceflight technologies to isolated communities on Earth provides greater benefits from the same research dollars, thus fulfilling the Space Life Science motto at Johnson Space Center: Exploring Space and Enhancing Life. This paper will discuss this NHHPC global outreach initiative and give examples based on the recent work of the organization.

Brinley, Alaina↗

NASA NTRS2013

Learning by Viewing - Nobel Labs 360

First of all, my thanks to the Nobel Lindau Foundation for their inspiration and leadership in sharing the excitement of scientific discovery with the public and with future scientists! I have had the pleasure of participating twice in the Lindau meetings, and recently worked with the Nobel Labs 360 project to show how we are building the world's greatest telescope yet, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). For the future, I see the greatest challenges for all the sciences in continued public outreach and inspiration. Outreach, so the public knows why we are doing what we are doing, and what difference it makes for them today and in the long-term future. Who knows what our destiny may be? It could be glorious, or not, depending on how we all behave. Inspiration, so that the most creative and inquisitive minds can pursue the scientific and engineering discoveries that are at the heart of so much of human prosperity, health, and progress. And, of course, national and local security depend on those discoveries too; scientists have been working with "the government" throughout recorded history. For the Lindau Nobel experiment, we have a truly abundant supply of knowledge and excitement, through the interactions of young scientists with the Nobelists, and through the lectures and the video recordings we can now share with the whole world across the Internet. But the challenge is always to draw attention! With 7 billion inhabitants on Earth, trying to earn a living and have some fun, there are plenty of competing opportunities and demands on us all. So what will draw attention to our efforts at Lindau? These days, word of mouth has become word of (computer) mouse, and ideas propagate as viruses ( or memes) across the Internet according to the interests of the participants. So our challenge is to find and match those interests, so that the efforts of our scientists, photographers, moviemakers, and writers are rewarded by our public. The world changes every day, so there is no one way to go, and everything is an experiment - sounds scientific, yes? I think our partnership with Volker Steger in the Nobel Labs 360 is one of the most interesting I have seen. Computer viewers can see our scientific habitats and begin to experience being there in person, panning a viewpoint up, down, and all around us, and seeing or hearing explanations of what we are doing.

Mather, John C.↗

NASA NTRS2006

Imagine Moving Off the Planet

Moving off the planet will be a defining moment of this century as landing on the Moon was in the last. For that to happen for humans to go where humans cannot go-- simulation is the sole solution. NASA supports simulation for life-cycle activities: design, analysis, test, checkout, operations, review and training. We contemplate time spans of a century and more, teams dispersed to different planets and the need for systems that endure or adapt as missions, teams and technology change. Without imagination such goals are impossible. But with imagination we can go outside our present perception of reality to think about and take action on what has been, is and, especially, what might be. Consciously maturing an imagined, possibly workable, idea through framing it to optimization to design, and building the product provides us with a new approach to innovation and simulation fidelity. We address options, analyze, test and make improvements in how we think and work. Each step includes increasingly exact information about costs, schedule, who will be needed, where, when and how. NASA i integrating such thinking into its Exploration Product Realization Hierarchy for simulation and analysis, test and verification, and stimulus response goals. Technically NASA follows a timeline of studies, analysis, definition, design, development and operations with concurrent documentation. We have matched this Product Realization Hierarchy with a continuum from image to realization that incorporates commitment, current and needed research and communication to ensure superior and creative problem solving as well as advances in simulation. One result is a new approach to collaborative systems. Another is a distributed observer network prototyped using game engine technology bringing advanced 3-D simulation of a simulation to the desktop enabling people to develop shared consensus of its meaning. Much of the value of simulation comes from developing in people their ability to make good decisions and reflexes supporting impressive achievement. Synthesizing imagination systematically into our work - and thus our success - is a challenge. NASA engineers have inventive minds, and the task is determining how best to enable them to devise the simulation and other innovations that will make a story so clear and so intellectually sound that people can carry out the mission for 50-100 years. This demands skills and knowledge traditionally under-respected and under-represented in technology organizations. But we are beginning to see that the process encourages efficiency and enables us to attain more effective results. We have to elicit imaginative, intelligent and effective ways to make better use than ever of the minds we have and will have available. We have to accept the challenge to accomplish tasks among dispersed interdisciplinary teams who must overcome changing priorities and technology, time and distance in order to maximize interactivity and innovation as never before. Attention to the process of innovation is a practical means to increase the efficiency of our intelligence. We have an obligation to reexamine and improve the process by which we approach and exercise innovation as we accept the charge to move off the planet.

Elfrey, Priscilla R.↗

NASA NTRS2013

From STEM to STEAM: Toward a Human-Centered Education

The 20th century was based on local linear engineering of complicated systems. We made cars, airplanes and chemical plants for example. The 21st century has opened a new basis for holistic non-linear design of complex systems, such as the Internet, air traffic management and nanotechnologies. Complexity, interconnectivity, interaction and communication are major attributes of our evolving society. But, more interestingly, we have started to understand that chaos theories may be more important than reductionism, to better understand and thrive on our planet. Systems need to be investigated and tested as wholes, which requires a cross-disciplinary approach and new conceptual principles and tools. Consequently, schools cannot continue to teach isolated disciplines based on simple reductionism. Science; Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) should be integrated together with the Arts1 to promote creativity together with rationalization, and move to STEAM (with an "A" for Arts). This new concept emphasizes the possibility of longer-term socio-technical futures instead of short-term financial predictions that currently lead to uncontrolled economies. Human-centered design (HCD) can contribute to improving STEAM education technologies, systems and practices. HCD not only provides tools and techniques to build useful and usable things, but also an integrated approach to learning by doing, expressing and critiquing, exploring possible futures, and understanding complex systems.

Boy, Guy A.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Modeling the Skills and Practices of Scientists through an “All-Inclusive” Comparative Planetology Student Research Investigation

To effectively prepare the nation's future Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce, students in today's classrooms need opportunities to engage in authentic experiences that model skills and practices used by STEM professionals. Relevant, real-world authentic research experiences allow students to behave as scientists as they model the process of science. This enables students to get a true sense of STEM-related professions and also allows them to develop the requisite knowledge, skills, curiosity, and creativity necessary for success in STEM careers. Providing professional development and opportunities to help teachers infuse research in the classroom is one of the primary goals of the Expedition Earth and Beyond (EEAB) program. EEAB, facilitated by the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Directorate at the NASA Johnson Space Center, is an Earth and planetary science education program designed to inspire, engage, and educate teachers and students in grades 5-12 by getting them actively involved with exploration, discovery, and the process of science. The program combines the expertise of scientists and educators to ensure the professional development provided to classroom teachers is scientifically valid and also recognizes classroom constraints. For many teachers, facilitating research in the classroom can be challenging. In addition to addressing required academic standards and dealing with time constraints, challenges include structuring a research investigation the entire class can successfully complete. To build educator confidence, foster positive classroom research experiences, and enable teachers to help students model the skills and practices of scientists, EEAB has created an "allinclusive" comparative planetology research investigation activity. This activity addresses academic standards while recognizing students (and teachers) potentially lack experience with scientific practices involved in conducting research. Designed as an entry level research engagement investigation, the activity introduces, illustrates, and teaches the skills involved in each step of the research process. Students use astronaut photos, provided through the ARES Crew Earth Observations (CEO) payload on the International Space Station (ISS) as well as remote sensing imagery of other planetary worlds. By including all the necessary tools to complete the investigation, students can focus on gaining experience in the process of science. Additionally, students are able to extend their experience of modeling the skills and practices of scientists through the opportunity to request new data of Earth from the ISS. Professional development offered through in-person and webinar trainings, along with the resources provided, enable educators to gain first-hand experience implementing a structured research investigation in the classroom. Through data and feedback collected from teachers, this type of "all-inclusive" investigation activity aims to become a model that can be utilized for other research topics and STEM disciplines.

Graff, Paige↗

NASA NTRS2014

EVA Suit R and D for Performance Optimization

Designing a planetary suit is very complex and often requires difficult trade‐offs between performance, cost, mass, and system complexity. To verify that new suit designs meet requirements, full prototypes must be built and tested with human subjects. However, numerous design iterations will occur before the hardware meets those requirements. Traditional draw‐prototype‐test paradigms for R&D are prohibitively expensive with today's shrinking Government budgets. Personnel at NASA are developing modern simulation techniques which focus on human‐centric designs by creating virtual prototype simulations and fully adjustable physical prototypes of suit hardware. During the R&D design phase, these easily modifiable representations of an EVA suit's hard components will allow designers to think creatively and exhaust design possibilities before they build and test working prototypes with human subjects. It allows scientists to comprehensively benchmark current suit capabilities and limitations for existing suit sizes and sizes that do not exist. This is extremely advantageous and enables comprehensive design down‐selections to be made early in the design process, enables the use of human performance as design criteria, and enables designs to target specific populations

Cowley, Matthew S.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Multilateral Biomedical Data Sharing in the One-year Joint US-Russian Mission on the International Space Station

The One Year Mission (1YM) by two astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS), starting in March 2015, offers a unique opportunity to expand multilateral collaboration by sharing data and resources among the partner agencies in preparation for planned space exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit. Agreements and protocols will be established for the collection, distribution, analysis and reporting of both research and clinical data. Data will be shared between the agencies sponsoring the investigators, and between the research and clinical medicine communities where common interests are identified. The assignment of only two astronauts, one Russian and the other American, to the 1YM necessitated creativity in bilateral efforts to maximize the biomedical return from the opportunity. Addition of Canadian, European and Japanese investigations make the effort even more integrative. There will be three types of investigations: joint, cross‐participation and data‐exchange. The joint investigations have US and Russian coprincipal investigators, and the data acquired will be their common responsibility. The other two types must develop data sharing agreements and processes specific to their needs. A multilateral panel of ISS partner space agencies will develop policies for international exchange of scientific information to meet their science objectives and priorities. They will promote archiving of space flight data and will inform each other and the scientific community at large about the results obtained from space life sciences studies. Integration tasks for the 1YM are based on current experience from the ISS and previous efforts on the Russian space station Mir. Closer coordination between international partners requires more common approaches to remove barriers to multilateral resource utilization on the ISS. Greater integration in implementation should increase utilization efficiency to benefit all participants in spaceflight human research. This presentation will describe the overarching principles for multilateral data collection, analysis and sharing and for data security for medical and research data shared between ISS partners prior to release in public forums.

Charles, John B.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Interdisciplinary Interactions During R&D and Early Design of Large Engineered Systems

Designing Large-Scale Complex Engineered Systems (LaCES) such as aircraft and submarines requires the input of thousands of engineers and scientists whose work is proximate in neither time nor space. Comprehensive knowledge of the system is dispersed among specialists whose expertise is in typically one system component or discipline. This study examined the interactive work practices among such specialists seeking to improve engineering practice through a rigorous and theoretical understanding of current practice. This research explored current interdisciplinary practices and perspectives during R&D and early LaCES design and identified why these practices and perspectives prevail and persist. The research design consisted of a three-fold, integrative approach that combined an open-ended survey, semi-structured interviews, and ethnography. Significant empirical data from experienced engineers and scientists in a large engineering organization were obtained and integrated with theories from organization science and engineering. Qualitative analysis was used to obtain a holistic, contextualized understanding. The over-arching finding is that issues related to cognition, organization, and social interrelations mostly dominate interactions across disciplines. Engineering issues, such as the integration of hardware or physics-based models, are not as significant. For example, organization culture is an important underlying factor that guided researchers more toward individual sovereignty over cross-disciplinarity. The organization structure and the engineered system architecture also serve as constraints to the engineering work. Many differences in work practices were observed, including frequency and depth of interactions, definition or co-construction of requirements, clarity or creation of the system architecture, work group proximity, and cognitive challenges. Practitioners are often unaware of these differences resulting in confusion and incorrect assumptions regarding work expectations. Cognitively, the enactment and coconstruction of knowledge are the fundamental tasks of the interdisciplinary interactions. Distributed and collective cognition represent most of the efforts. Argument, ignorance, learning, and creativity are interrelated aspects of the interactions that cause discomfort but yield benefits such as problem mitigation, broader understanding, and improved system design and performance. The quality and quantity of social interrelations are central to all work across disciplines with reciprocity, respectful engagement, and heedful interrelations being significant to the effectiveness of the engineering and scientific work.

McGowan, Anna-Maria Rivas↗

NASA NTRS2014

In Situ Geochronology on the Mars 2020 Rover with KArLE (Potassium-Argon Laser Experiment)

If extinct and/or extant life is discovered on Mars, knowledge of the chronology of the biosphere will be of paramount importance. KArLE will provide absolute ages of Mars 2020 rocks, which will allow us to understand them in the context of Mars' geologic history, connect them to other landing sites, and compare Martian epochs of habitability with the Earth's history and evolution of life. KArLE significantly enhances the ability of Mars 2020 to meet its science objectives by performing in situ age dating on key lithologies, enabling targeted searches for ancient biosignatures and increasing the chances of identifying evidence for Martian microbial life. The KArLE investigation makes its measurements on a core sample obtained with the rover drill, inserted into a small, mechanically simple chamber, followed by interrogation by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), mass spectrometry, and optical imaging. The KArLE experiment is flexible enough to accommodate any partner providing these instrument components, a creative approach that extends the ability of the Mars 2020 payload to accomplish an additional highly-desirable science measurement for low cost and risk and minimal extra hardware.

Cohen, B. A.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Cutting More than Metal: Breaking the Development Cycle

New technology is changing the way we do business at NASA. The ability to use these new tools is made possible by a learning culture able to embrace innovation, flexibility, and prudent risk tolerance, while retaining the hard-won lessons learned of other successes and failures. Technologies such as 3-D manufacturing and structured light scanning are re-shaping the entire product life cycle, from design and analysis, through production, verification, logistics and operations. New fabrication techniques, verification techniques, integrated analysis, and models that follow the hardware from initial concept through operation are reducing the cost and time of building space hardware. Using these technologies to be more efficient, reliable and affordable requires we bring them to a level safe for NASA systems, maintain appropriate rigor in testing and acceptance, and transition new technology. Maximizing these technologies also requires cultural acceptance and understanding and balancing rules with creativity. Evolved systems engineering processes at NASA are increasingly more flexible than they have been in the past, enabling the implementation of new techniques and approaches. This paper provides an overview of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's new approach to development, as well as examples of how that approach has been incorporated into NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) Program, which counts among its key tenants - safety, affordability, and sustainability. One of the 3D technologies that will be discussed in this paper is the design and testing of various rocket engine components.

Singer, Chris↗

NASA NTRS2014

The Potassium-Argon Laser Experiment (KarLE): In Situ Geochronology for Mars and Beyond

The search for life in the solar system depends upon discovering the right moments in planetary evolution: when habitable environments existed, when they declined, and when geologic processes operated to preserve traces of life after death. However, an incomplete knowledge of absolute Martian geochronology limits our ability to understand the timing of Martian evolutionary milestones, major climate changes, and stratigraphic epochs [1, 2]. Absolute dating relates these habitability markers to planetarywide geologic, atmospheric, and climate history places, and ties their occurrence to the history of the solar system, especially the Earth-Moon system and the timescale of evolution of life on Earth. KArLE is being developed to anchor the relative timeline of geological events to an absolute chronology that puts Mars into a wider solar system context. KArLE makes its measurements on rock samples that can be obtained by landers or rovers and inserted into a small, mechanically simple chamber. KArLE interrogates the samples using laser-induced breakdown spectrocopy (LIBS), mass spectrometry, and optical imaging. The KArLE experiment is flexible enough to accommodate any partner providing these instrument components, a creative approach that extends the ability of mission payloads to accomplish an additional highly-desirable science measurement for low cost and risk and minimal extra hardware.

Cohen, Barbara A.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Optimize Use of Space Research and Technology for Medical Devices

systems, and cutting-edge component technologies to conduct a wide range of scientific observations and measurements. These technologies are also considered for practical applications that benefit society in remarkable ways. At NASA Goddard, the technology transfer initiative promotes matching technologies from Earth and space science needs to targeted industry sectors. This requires clear knowledge of industry needs and priorities and social demands. The process entails matching mature technologies where there are known innovation challenges and good opportunities for matching technology needs. This requires creative thinking and takes commitment of time and resources. Additionally, we also look at applications for known hot industry or societal needs. Doing so has given us occasion to host discussions with representatives from industry, academia, government organizations, and societal special interest groups about the application of NASA Goddard technologies for devices used in medical monitoring and detection tools. As a result, partnerships have been established. Innovation transpired when new products were enabled because of NASA Goddard research and technology programs.

Optimize↗

NASA NTRS2014

The Ergonomics of Human Space Flight: NASA Vehicles and Spacesuits

Space...the final frontier...these are the voyages of the starship...wait, wait, wait...that's not right...let's try that again. NASA is currently focusing on developing multiple strategies to prepare humans for a future trip to Mars. This includes (1) learning and characterizing the human system while in the weightlessness of low earth orbit on the International Space Station and (2) seeding the creation of commercial inspired vehicles by providing guidance and funding to US companies. At the same time, NASA is slowly leading the efforts of reestablishing human deep space travel through the development of the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) known as Orion and the Space Launch System (SLS) with the interim aim of visiting and exploring an asteroid. Without Earth's gravity, current and future human space travel exposes humans to micro- and partial gravity conditions, which are known to force the body to adapt both physically and physiologically. Without the protection of Earth's atmosphere, space is hazardous to most living organisms. To protect themselves from these difficult conditions, Astronauts utilize pressurized spacesuits for both intravehicular travel and extravehicular activities (EVAs). Ensuring a safe living and working environment for space missions requires the creativity of scientists and engineers to assess and mitigate potential risks through engineering designs. The discipline of human factors and ergonomics at NASA is critical in making sure these designs are not just functionally designed for people to use, but are optimally designed to work within the capacities specific to the Astronaut Corps. This lecture will review both current and future NASA vehicles and spacesuits while providing an ergonomic perspective using case studies that were and are being carried out by the Anthropometry and Biomechanics Facility (ABF) at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Reid, Christopher R.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Advanced Space Surface Systems Operations

The importance of advanced surface systems is becoming increasingly relevant in the modern age of space technology. Specifically, projects pursued by the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) Lab are unparalleled in the field of planetary resourcefulness. This internship opportunity involved projects that support properly utilizing natural resources from other celestial bodies. Beginning with the tele-robotic workstation, mechanical upgrades were necessary to consider for specific portions of the workstation consoles and successfully designed in concept. This would provide more means for innovation and creativity concerning advanced robotic operations. Project RASSOR is a regolith excavator robot whose primary objective is to mine, store, and dump regolith efficiently on other planetary surfaces. Mechanical adjustments were made to improve this robot's functionality, although there were some minor system changes left to perform before the opportunity ended. On the topic of excavator robots, the notes taken by the GMRO staff during the 2013 and 2014 Robotic Mining Competitions were effectively organized and analyzed for logistical purposes. Lessons learned from these annual competitions at Kennedy Space Center are greatly influential to the GMRO engineers and roboticists. Another project that GMRO staff support is Project Morpheus. Support for this project included successfully producing mathematical models of the eroded landing pad surface for the vertical testbed vehicle to predict a timeline for pad reparation. And finally, the last project this opportunity made contribution to was Project Neo, a project exterior to GMRO Lab projects, which focuses on rocket propulsion systems. Additions were successfully installed to the support structure of an original vertical testbed rocket engine, thus making progress towards futuristic test firings in which data will be analyzed by students affiliated with Rocket University. Each project will be explained in further detail, as well as the full scope of the contributions made during this opportunity.

Robotics↗

NASA NTRS2014

Scalable Asset Discovery, Vulnerability Scanning, and Penetration Testing for Remote Sites and Wireless Spectrums Utilizing an Embedded Linux Plug - PwniPlug and the Raspberry Pi B+ as a Sample Pen Test

All devices attached to the NASA KSC network are subject to security vulnerability scanning and/or penetration testing. In today's changing environment, vulnerable and/or unprotected systems can easily be overlooked. Systems that are not properly managed can become a potential threat to the operational integrity of our systems and networks. This includes all NASA (internal and external) information systems within NASA KSC Internet Protocol (IP) address space, and NASA KSC facilities. The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) recommends that all NASA Centers and information systems be subject to penetration testing on a regular interval in accordance with the guidelines identified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). (ITS-HBK-2810.04-02A) Protecting information and equipment at NASA is an area of increasing concern. In addition to the CPU's on the network; Supervisory, Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems are especially vulnerable because these systems have lacked standards, use embedded controllers with little computational power and informal software, are connected to physical processes, have few operators, and are increasingly also being connected to corporate networks. The scope of work is comprised of several individual components which together build upon previous work by Drew Branch, NASA KSC Intern. The Pwn Plug is the selected COTS (Commercial-Off-The-Shelf) device chosen to test simplification of mandatory IT Security tasks. The device will be utilized to provide services to NASA KSC and enable an assessment of infrastructure soundness and regulatory compliance in an efficient, economical, and business responsive manner. The Pwn Plug is designed as a pen testing appliance which provides a hardware platform that can support commercial penetration testing efforts at significantly reduced costs. The expected outcomes are: 1) External Penetration Testing, 2) Social Engineering, 3) Procedural Documentation, 4) Recommended Remediation Action Plan, 5) System Retest & Remediation Attestation and 6) Final Reports, out briefing and Presentation. Due to physical and material constraints beyond intern and mentor control, the project was redefined as a working pen-test scenario. Limitations of lab availability and tools dictated an academic exercise. This report was developed within the scenario guidelines suggested by the project mentor. The guidelines were to be creative in developing a Pen Test program for a client.

Penetration Testing↗

NASA NTRS2014

Data-Intensive Science meets Inquiry-Driven Pedagogy: Interactive Big Data Exploration, Threshold Concepts, and Liminality

Threshold concepts in any discipline are the core concepts an individual must understand in order to master a discipline. By their very nature, these concepts are troublesome, irreversible, integrative, bounded, discursive, and reconstitutive. Although grasping threshold concepts can be extremely challenging for each learner as s/he moves through stages of cognitive development relative to a given discipline, the learner's grasp of these concepts determines the extent to which s/he is prepared to work competently and creatively within the field itself. The movement of individuals from a state of ignorance of these core concepts to one of mastery occurs not along a linear path but in iterative cycles of knowledge creation and adjustment in liminal spaces - conceptual spaces through which learners move from the vaguest awareness of concepts to mastery, accompanied by understanding of their relevance, connectivity, and usefulness relative to questions and constructs in a given discipline. For example, challenges in the teaching and learning of atmospheric science can be traced to threshold concepts in fluid dynamics. In particular, Dynamic Meteorology is one of the most challenging courses for graduate students and undergraduates majoring in Atmospheric Science. Dynamic Meteorology introduces threshold concepts - those that prove troublesome for the majority of students but that are essential, associated with fundamental relationships between forces and motion in the atmosphere and requiring the application of basic classical statics, dynamics, and thermodynamic principles to the three dimensionally varying atmospheric structure. With the explosive growth of data available in atmospheric science, driven largely by satellite Earth observations and high-resolution numerical simulations, paradigms such as that of dataintensive science have emerged. These paradigm shifts are based on the growing realization that current infrastructure, tools and processes will not allow us to analyze and fully utilize the complex and voluminous data that is being gathered. In this emerging paradigm, the scientific discovery process is driven by knowledge extracted from large volumes of data. In this presentation, we contend that this paradigm naturally lends to inquiry-driven pedagogy where knowledge is discovered through inductive engagement with large volumes of data rather than reached through traditional, deductive, hypothesis-driven analyses. In particular, data-intensive techniques married with an inductive methodology allow for exploration on a scale that is not possible in the traditional classroom with its typical problem sets and static, limited data samples. In addition, we identify existing gaps and possible solutions for addressing the infrastructure and tools as well as a pedagogical framework through which to implement this inductive approach.

Ramachandran, Rahul↗

NASA NTRS2015

Space in Space: Designing for Privacy in the Workplace

Privacy is cultural, socially embedded in the spatial, temporal, and material aspects of the lived experience. Definitions of privacy are as varied among scholars as they are among those who fight for their personal rights in the home and the workplace. Privacy in the workplace has become a topic of interest in recent years, as evident in discussions on Big Data as well as the shrinking office spaces in which people work. An article in The New York Times published in February of this year noted that "many companies are looking to cut costs, and one way to do that is by trimming personal space". Increasingly, organizations ranging from tech start-ups to large corporations are downsizing square footage and opting for open-office floorplans hoping to trim the budget and spark creative, productive communication among their employees. The question of how much is too much to trim when it comes to privacy, is one that is being actively addressed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as they explore habitat designs for future space missions. NASA recognizes privacy as a design-related stressor impacting human health and performance. Given the challenges of sustaining life in an isolated, confined, and extreme environment such as Mars, NASA deems it necessary to determine the acceptable minimal amount for habitable volume for activities requiring at least some level of privacy in order to support optimal crew performance. Ethnographic research was conducted in 2013 to explore perceptions of privacy and privacy needs among astronauts living and working in space as part of a long-distance, long-duration mission. The allocation of space, or habitable volume, becomes an increasingly complex issue in outer space due to the costs associated with maintaining an artificial, confined environment bounded by limitations of mass while located in an extreme environment. Privacy in space, or space in space, provides a unique case study of the complex notions of privacy, the impact of design and others on achieving it, and the sensemaking that occurs when privacy is less than expected. The findings show that privacy is not just a personal, individual need but is also a need that is shared among teams and groups. Moreover, the case of space in space reveals the influence the design of the built and social environments have on privacy needs and on achieving privacy. When the level of privacy is less than expected, sensemaking occurs and the lack of privacy is dealt with by means of absencing the present. creating new social norms, and "making space" by manipulating the spatial, temporal, material aspects of the lived experience. Although the Mars habitat study represents an extreme case of privacy in the workplace, lessons learned from outer space are applicable to life in the Earth-bound workplace. A mini-case study was conducted to evaluate office space at the headquarters of a major American airline that illustrates the usefulness of building unexpected bridges between the unknown, unfamiliar Mars habitat and the everyday workplace. The comparative studies reveal insight into the interconnected, social nature of the spatial, temporal, and material aspects of the lived experience and how users of the habitat and office workspace view privacy, self, and others through an embodied, design interaction.

Akin, Jonie↗