September 2021

Dr. Hamed Valizadegan, (Ph.D.), Senior Scientist, Machine Learning (USRA) and Mr. Miguel Saragoca- Martinho, Associate Scientist, Data Science (USRA) were awarded a ROSES TESS Guest Investigator fund to investigate the application of their developed deep neural network (DNN) classifier to classify Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Cycle 4 Threshold Crossing Events (TCEs). A proposal titled, "Vetting And Ranking Tess Cycle 4 TCEs Using A Novel And Accurate Deep Neural Network", submitted in response to the NASA Research Announcement NNH20ZDA001N for participation in the TESS Cycle 4 Guest Investigator Program, has been awarded for funding.

May 2021

The winner of the Algorithms 2020 Best Paper Award has been granted to a quantum research article written by Stuart Hadfield. Ph.D. (NASA), Zhihui Wang, Ph.D. (NASA), Bryan O’Gorman, Ph.D. (NASA), Eleanor G. Rieffel, Ph.D., (NASA), Davide Venturelli, Ph.D. (NASA) and Rupak Biswas, Ph.D. (NASA).

April 2021

The Nanotechnology team consisting of Jin-Woo Han, Ph.D., Senior Scientist (USRA), Myeong-Lok Seol, Ph.D., Associate Scientist (USRA). has worked to fabricate a vacuum diode. This structure features nearly zero gate leakage current, thus overcoming a common problem in miniaturized vacuum electronics devices. This silicon based architecture could be readily fabricated on a wafer scale using a standard integrated circuit manufacturing process as demonstrated here. The results of this research were published in a recent issue of the journal Nanoscale Advances (vol. 3, pp. 1725-1729, 2021). This work was sponsored by the Space Mission Directorate (SMD), which strives to provide a ground technology for Europa exploration. 

March 2021

Protein-based genetic elements – prions – have long fascinated biologists because they overturn the central dogma. Far from simply causing mammalian disease, many prion-like aggregation processes produce beneficial traits. Some argued that prion-like self-assembly of proteins may have been important in the origins of life. If this would be the case, one would expect to find prions in all domains of life. Yet because archaeal prion proteins have not been identified, it has been impossible to assert that they were a generalized phenomenon throughout evolution, or perhaps were even present in our last universal common ancestor (LUCA). In the paper, evidence was provided that multiple archaeal proteins are capable of acting as prions – thus expanding our knowledge of this epigenetic phenomenon to the third and final domain of life. This adds strong support to the hypothesis that amyloid-based prions were present at the earliest stages of life’s evolution. 

February 2021

USRA’s Nanotechnology team has worked to protect the printed supercapacitors. The printed electronics have received even more prominent attention recently with the emerging printing technology to meet the demands of Internet of Things and flexible/wearable devices. While printable active layers have been widely studied, “printable” electrolytes have not been thoroughly investigated. Printable material exploration is thus the first critical step in ensuring sustained performance.The team consisting of Jin-Woo Han, Ph.D., Senior Scientist (USRA), Myeong-Lok Seol, Ph.D., Associate Scientist (USRA), and NAMS intern Ellie Sadatian (UCSD grad student) have solved this issue by developing a graphene-Mn3O4 nanocomposite-based pseudocapacitor electrodes. Printing protocol for reliable fabrication is presented and he electrochemical performance of the tested formulations was verified.

December 2020

USRA’s Nanotechnology team has worked to improve the finite lifetime and cyclic performance of batteries and supercapacitors. Efforts are underway worldwide to improve it along with robustness and other metrics such as energy and power densities. These issues have received even more prominent attention recently with the emerging printing technology to meet the demands of Internet of Things and flexible/wearable devices. Packaging the device to protect it from the ambient is the first critical step in ensuring sustained performance. However, it is hard to apply the same packaging technique as in conventional batteries and supercapacitors when dealing with printed version of these devices featuring inkjet-printed electrode and active layers.

October 18, 2020

Submissions are open for the first USRA Q2B Applied NISQ Computing Paper Award. Every paper appeared as a preprint in 2020 is eligible for nomination. An additional cover letter/synopsis is required. Prize includes a featured invited presentation at Q2B conference and free compute time on a variety of quantum computing platforms. All info here.

November 2020

Dr. Daniel C. Berrios, Ph.D, Senior Scientist (USRA), authored a peer reviewed paper, which reviews the various components of the GeneLab platform, including the new data repository web interface, and the GeneLab Online Data Entry (GEODE) web portal. This will support the expansion of the database in the future to include companion non-omics assay data. The paper discusses the design for GEODE, particularly how it promotes investigators providing more accurate metadata, reducing the curation effort required of GeneLab staff. It also introduces a new GeneLab Application Programming Interface (API) specifically designed to support tools for the visualization of processed omics data. In addition, this paper reviews the outreach efforts by GeneLab to utilize the spaceflight data in the repository to generate novel discoveries and develop new hypotheses, including spearheading data analysis working groups, and a high school student training program. All these efforts are aimed ultimately at supporting precision risk management for human space exploration.

September 15, 2020

USRA, Standard Charted Bank and D-Wave announced that U.S Universities and Non-profit institutions can submit proposals for use of the D-Wave 2000Q quantum annealer hosted at NASA Ames. Proposals are sought effective immediately and can gain free compute time to be used until December 2020. See the request for proposals for more details.

November 2020

Dr. Myeong-Lok Seol, Ph.D. Associate Scientist (USRA) was presented the 2021 Nanotechnology Early Career Award by the Nanotechnology Council of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He will receive the award at the ceremony during the IEEE Nano Conference in Montreal, Canada in the summer of 2021.

November 2020

Dr. Jin-Woo Han, Ph.D., Senior Scientist (USRA) was selected as the Distinguished Lecturer (DL) for Nanotechnology by Nanotechnology Council (NTC) of the IEEE for 2021. The DL's can be invited by the NTC chapters worldwide to give lectures. Dr. Han will be invited to lecture and discuss two topics which are Nanoscale Vacuum Tubes (Back to the Future?) and Printed and Flexible Electronics.

October 2020

USRA's Environmental Data Science proposal for developing federal workforce capacity while narrowing socioeconomic gaps was selected for FY 2021 USRA Internal Research and Development (IRAD) award. The team includes David Bell, Ph.D. (Director, NAMS USRA), Ata Akbari Asanjan, Ph.D. (Associate Scientist, NAMS USRA), Saba Hussain (Program Manager, NAMS USRA) and Milad Memarzadeh, Ph.D. (Senior Scientist, NAMS USRA). USRA’s Internal Research and Development (IRAD) funds are for early stage investments in technology and algorithm development, new mission concepts, and innovative university community engagement ideas consistent with USRA’s vision, mission and purpose. Fourteen proposals were received and peer reviewed by an internal panel of scientists, engineers, and senior program development reviewers.

August 2020

Dr. Cassandra Juran, Ph.D. (Associate Scientist, USRA NAMS) is working in the Bone and Cell Signaling Lab, part of the NASA Bioscience Collaborative at NASA’s Ames Research Center. Her principle area of research has been to investigate cell cycle regulator gene Cdkn1a/p21 and its role as a lynchpin in bone stem cell regenerative health working with a gene knockout mouse that has the amazing ability to regenerate ear punch holes and severed digits in a manner similar to a garden-variety salamander.

June 16, 2020

Astrobee is a free-flying robot system that operates as a payload inside the International Space Station (ISS). There are three robots named Honey, Bumble and Queen along with a docking station for recharging. Tasks for Astrobee robots, such as keeping track of inventory aboard the station, will help increase astronaut productivity by offloading work spent on routine duties, allowing crew to focus more on the things that only humans can do. Additionally, robots can perform care-taking duties on deep-space outposts, such as the lunar Gateway, helping maintain spacecraft when astronauts are not aboard. 

June 2020

Supercapacitor is an alternative to battery for energy storage, featuring much higher power density and faster charging. Commercial supercapacitors are finding their way in automotive, buses, regenerative breaking, cranes and other applications, which require rapid charging and high specific power. More recently, printing supercapacitors on flexible substrates has been receiving much attention to meet the anticipated demands of emerging Internet of Things.

June 2020

In response to the 2019 Human Exploration Research Opportunities, NASA selected 21 proposals to help answer questions about astronaut health and performance during future long-duration missions beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). The proposals will investigate biological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations during spaceflight in support of NASA’s crewed Artemis missions to the Moon and future human exploration of Mars. Out of the 129 proposals received, one of the research team led by Sylvain Costes, Ph.D., PI and GeneLab Project Manager, NASA BioScience, was chosen in the Human Research Program’s recent selection.  

June 2020

NASA's Ames Research Center was selected as a runner-up for the 2020 NASA Software of the Year (SoY) award for Astrobee Robot and Ground Software. The agency-wide annual SoY competition rewards high-quality, innovative, and robust software using efficient software engineering processes that meet NASA's stringent safety and reliability standards. Sponsors of the competition include the NASA Chief Engineer, the NASA Chief Information Officer, and the NASA Office of Safety and Mission Assurance.

May 2020

Ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors have applications in medical and healthcare, space, military and scientific instruments. Commercially available photodetetors are fabricated on semiconductor wafers using conventional microfabrication methods. USRA researchers Dong-il Lee, Myeonlok Seol, and Jin-Woo Han along with their colleague Beomseok Kim (Bay Systems) have developed an inexpensive alternative by printing the layers of the photodetector, including the substrate using zinc oxide (ZnO) as the active sensing layer. The bandgap of ZnO matches well with UV wavelength and thus, they have been able to obtain performance comparable to commercial UV sensors. The results, published recently in the journal  ACS Sensors  (Vol. 5, pp. 1028-1032, 2020), confirm the capability of the printed UV sensor to function as an ambient UV dosimeter. The team has been working on developing printable sensors and detectors for various space radiations including gamma rays. This work was sponsored by the NASA In Space Manufacturing Program which strives to print various components and devices such as sensors, antennas, batteries, supercapacitors, energy generation devices and others in the future in the Space Station.