Assessment of Directions in Microgravity and Physical Sciences Research at NASA [illustrated] 0309086396, 9780309086394

Table of contents :
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..............1
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW ..............12
COMBUSTION RESEARCH PROGRAM ..............28
FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS RESEARCH PROGRAM ..............40
5 ..............50

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The Mission of Microgravity and Physical Sciences Research at NASA

Committee on Microgravity Research Space Studies Board Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C.

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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. Support for this project was provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Contract Numbers 96013 and 01001. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor. Copies of this report are available free of charge from: Space Studies Board National Research Council 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20418 Copyright 2001 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America

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The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Acade my has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council. www.national-academies.org

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COMMITTEE ON MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH PETER W.VOORHEES, Northwestern University, Chair J.IWAN ALEXANDER, Case Western Reserve University HOWARD R.BAUM, National Institute of Standards and Technology JOHN L.BRASH, McMaster University MOSES H.W.CHAN, Pennsylvania State University RICHARD H.HOPKINS, Hopkins, Inc. MICHAEL JAFFE, Medical Device Concept Laboratory/Rutgers University BERNARD KEAR, Rutgers University JAN MILLER, University of Utah PETER STAUDHAMMER, TRW, Inc. VIOLA VOGEL, University of Washington, Seattle SANDRA J.GRAHAM, Study Director LISA TAYLOR, Senior Project Assistant

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SPACE STUDIES BOARD JOHN H.McELROY, University of Texas at Arlington (retired), Chair ROGER P.ANGEL, University of Arizona JAMES P.BAGIAN, Veterans Health Administration’s National Center for Patient Safety JAMES L.BURCH, Southwest Research Institute RADFORD BYERLY, JR., University of Colorado ROBERT E.CLELAND, University of Washington HOWARD M.EINSPAHR, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute STEVEN H.FLAJSER, Loral Space and Communications Ltd. MICHAEL FREILICH, Oregon State University DON P.GIDDENS, Georgia Institute of Technology/Emory University RALPH H.JACOBSON, The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory CONWAY LEOVY, University of Washington JONATHAN I.LUNINE, University of Arizona BRUCE D.MARCUS, TRW (retired) RICHARD A.McCRAY, University of Colorado HARRY Y.McSWEEN, JR., University of Tennessee GARY J.OLSEN, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign GEORGE A.PAULIKAS, The Aerospace Corporation (retired) ROBERT ROSNER, University of Chicago ROBERT J.SERAFIN, National Center for Atmospheric Research EUGENE B.SKOLNIKOFF, Massachusetts Institute of Technology MITCHELL SOGIN, Marine Biological Laboratory C.MEGAN URRY, Yale University PETER W.VOORHEES, Northwestern University JOHN A.WOOD, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics JOSEPH K.ALEXANDER, Director

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PREFACE

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Preface

In October of 2000 NASA’s Microgravity Research Division was reorganized as part of the reorganization of the Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications. As a result, the microgravity division—now known as the Physical Sciences Division—took on the responsibility for a broader range of research for NASA. As part of these responsibilities the division was expected to extend its programs in biotechnology and the physical and engineering sciences beyond the current focus on experiments for the International Space Station and to establish interdisciplinary research efforts in the areas of nanoscience, biomolecular physics and chemistry, and exploration research. The division was also tasked to contribute to the understanding of gravityrelated physical phenomena in biological systems, working in concert with the Fundamental Space Biology Division and the Biomedical and Human Support Research Division. In general, the new division was expected to carry out (a) fundamental microgravity research, (b) microgravity research to support the development of exploration technologies, and (c) research across a range of other physical science disciplines to address specific NASA needs. Research in this third category might or might not be gravity related but was intended to draw on the unique knowledge base already available in the microgravity program. Although the former microgravity division’s role had been expanded beyond the scientific examination of gravity-related phenomena, its new role within NASA was not yet fully defined, and the additional resources available for new investigations were expected to be limited. There was a need, therefore, for a new charter to provide focus for the division’s efforts, as well as a careful targeting of topics within the newly added research areas. NASA, therefore, requested that the Committee on Microgravity Research carry out a two-phase study containing the following elements: • Phase I. As part of a preliminary study the committee was asked to develop an overall unifying theme, or “mission statement,” for NASA’s program in microgravity and physical sciences. This theme would encompass the expanded range of research that the program will undertake and would provide NASA with broad scientific guidelines for determining whether specific research questions fall within the new program’s purview. As part of this effort the committee would consider the appropriate role of the microgravity and physical sciences program with respect to other programs within NASA, such as the Human Exploration and Development of Space enterprise. The committee would also identify, in general terms, the research opportunities in the newly added discipline areas that could appropriately be pursued by the program. • Phase II. During the second phase of the study the committee would identify more specific topics within the new discipline areas on which the division could most profitably focus. In doing this the committee would consider what special capabilities and knowledge exist in the current program that could be applied to the new disciplines being added to the program. The committee would also assess the current status of the division’s research program and attempt to prioritize future research directions, including both current and new disciplines. This report presents the results of the Phase I study.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF REVIEWERS

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Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of the report: John D.Buckmaster, University of Illinois, Carol A.Handwerker, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Carl C.Koch, North Carolina State University, Julius Rebek, Jr., The Scripps Research Institute, John D.Reppy, Cornell University, Jerome S.Schultz, University of Pittsburgh, and Harry Swinney, University of Texas, Austin. Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Rainer Weiss, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

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CONTENTS

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Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Current Program Areas Fluid Research Program Materials Research Program Combustion Research Program Fundamental Physics Research Program Biotechnology Research Program New Research Areas References

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ROLE OF THE NASA PHYSICAL SCIENCES DIVISION

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NEW OPPORTUNITIES AT THE NANOSCALE AND AT THE INTERFACE BETWEEN BIOLOGY AND THE PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES Nanoscale Materials and Processes Biomolecular Physics and Chemistry Cellular Biophysics and Chemistry Integrated Systems for HEDS References

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APPENDIXES Letter of Request from NASA Committee Biographies

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A B

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CONTENTS x

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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Executive Summary

The portfolio of the Physical Sciences Division (PSD) at NASA is centered largely on microgravity research, which includes research on the effects of gravity on a wide array of physical and chemical processes, as well as the use of reduced gravity to perform experiments that cannot be undertaken on Earth. The majority of the current PSD portfolio consists of research in the following disciplines: • • • • •

Fluid behavior, Combustion science, Materials science, Fundamental physics, and Biotechnology.

Research in each of these areas has been performed by an extensive cadre of ground-based and flight investigators from academia, government, and industry, with the flight investigators utilizing an array of carriers ranging from the International Space Station to KC-135 aircraft. The access to the microgravity environment provided by these platforms, and the extensive engineering and technical support provided to the investigators, are distinctive assets offered by the PSD research program.1 As a result of recent NASA reorganizations and the realignment of research areas, the Committee on Microgravity Research was asked to consider the expanded portfolio of the PSD, which now includes biomolecular physics and chemistry, nanotechnology, and technology relevant to human exploration and development of space (HEDS). These are research areas in which reduced gravity does not necessarily play an important role. Specifically, in this Phase I report, the committee was asked to identify, in general terms, research opportunities within these broad new areas that could profitably be pursued by the PSD. It should be noted that when identifying new opportunities the committee considered only research that fell within these new areas defined by NASA. In addition, the committee was asked to develop an overall mission statement that would encompass the expanded portfolio of the physical sciences research program, and broad guidelines for determining whether specific research questions should fall within the expanded program. MISSION STATEMENT FOR NASA’S DIVISION OF PHYSICAL SCIENCES In composing a broad mission statement for PSD research, the committee examined the scope of the program’s existing research portfolio as well as NASA’s plans for the future. The committee is, in principle, in favor of PSD plans to take on the new areas of biomolecular physics and chemistry, nanotechnology, and research supporting HEDS technology development, since they are relevant to questions of both scientific and practical importance to NASA. For example, novel insights into nanoscale phenomena and the availability of an increasing number of nanoanalytical tools will have a major impact on NASA’s ability to generate and store power in space, manufacture lightweight materials on the ground and in space, design materials with integrated sensory functions, and develop new sensor technologies. With its strong record and tradition of supporting basic and cross-disciplinary research at the interfaces between physical sciences, engineering, and lately cellular biotechnology, as well as extensive experience in the study of fundamental phenomena, the PSD is the most suitable division at

1 For research in life sciences, NASA’s Fundamental Space Biology Division and Bioastronautics Research Division provide similar support.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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NASA to address the new areas of nanoscale materials and processes, biomolecular physics and chemistry, cellular biophysics and chemistry, and integrated systems for HEDS. However, the committee notes that over the past 20 years the PSD has built up a unique set of expertise, skills, infrastructure, and facilities that allow it to design and execute sophisticated experiments in space. Access to the microgravity environment continues to be a necessary requirement for the elucidation of a host of scientific questions, ranging from fundamental physical laws to basic fluid flow, materials, and combustion phenomena. In fact, a large program of experiments in these areas, representing a considerable investment of time and effort by the scientific community, is now awaiting flight on the International Space Station. Therefore the committee recommends that while assuming responsibilities for new areas, the PSD should strive not to sacrifice or jeopardize the investment in research programs and proven capabilities that it has developed to date. When selecting research topics in the emerging areas involving nanotechnology, including nanoscale materials and processes, biomolecular physics and chemistry, cellular biophysics and chemistry, and integrated systems for HEDS, the PSD should focus on those that meet both of the following criteria: 1. Directly address challenges at the interface between the physical sciences, engineering, and biology in support of NASA’s mission, preferentially capitalizing on existing expertise or infrastructure in the Physical Sciences Division, and 2. Support research either not typically funded by other agencies or to be conducted in close partnership with other agencies. The committee encompassed all of these considerations in a mission statement for the Physical Sciences Division: The mission of the Physical Sciences Division is threefold: to conduct research in a low-gravity environment; to probe the role of gravity in physical processes; and to investigate the fundamental physical principles behind emerging technologies relevant to NASA’s mission. NEW RESEARCH AREAS The new areas being added to the PSD program encompass emerging fields and thus can be characterized in various ways. To minimize overlap, the committee divided the areas into (1) nanoscale materials and processes, (2) biomolecular physics and chemistry, (3) cellular biophysics and chemistry, and (4) integrated systems for HEDS. A unifying theme of nearly all the research in these areas is that the processes of interest occur at the nanoscale. The confluence of the biological, physical, and engineering sciences at the nanoscale is an ideal area for NASA to effectively leverage the investments made by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and other organizations to accelerate its own mission. Further, the committee believes that these areas do provide promising opportunities to build on PSD’s scientific capabilities and leverage its current research activities. However, because the PSD is likely to have only limited resources for research in these very broad fields of endeavor, it should seek out those research niches where its unique capabilities and expertise will allow it to have a maximum impact. The committee selected a few examples, listed below, of broad research topics within each of the new areas that would meet the recommended selection criteria. Many other suitable topics are likely to emerge from the research community in the coming years. • Nanoscale Materials and Processes • Nanoparticle formation • Integrated nanomaterials • Micro- and nanofluidics

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Biomolecular Chemistry and Physics

• Proteins in confined space • Energy storage and chemically driven nanosystems • Smart and self-healing materials

• Cellular Biophysics and Chemistry

• Long-term stabilization of cell cultures • Low-gravity effects on cellular and subcellular processes

• Integrated Systems for HEDS

• System integration of nanoengineered particles and devices

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INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

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1 Introduction and Background

Earth-orbiting laboratories make it possible to employ a near-zero-gravity environment to carry out systematic and careful investigations of new physical phenomena. The Microgravity Research Division (recently renamed the Physical Sciences Division [PSD]) in NASA’s Office of Biological and Physical Research (formerly the Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications) has played the central role in sponsoring research programs that take advantage of this near-zero-gravity environment. In addition to flight experiments, the PSD has also sponsored a host of ground-based studies that either support or complement the flight experiments or have the potential to develop into future flight projects. In the near-zero-gravity or near-weightless environment, buoyancy-driven effects are greatly reduced. These conditions are the prerequisite for the many investigations supported by the PSD in materials science, fluid physics, combustion science, and fundamental physics. By studying phenomena that are masked on Earth by buoyancy-driven convection or pressure gradients, many of the constraints and complexities that are intrinsic to earthbound measurements are removed. Thus, NASA’s microgravity research has resulted in insights into many physical processes that would have been difficult, or impossible, to obtain using other approaches, and a considerable body of expertise has been built up in each of the current program areas discussed briefly below. A more detailed description of these research programs can be found in a previous report of this committee (NRC, 1995). CURRENT PROGRAM AREAS Fluid Research Program Fluids are ubiquitous in nature and in many industrial processes. Fluid motions are responsible for most transport and mixing that occur in the environment, in industrial processes, in vehicles, and in living organisms. Scientists studying basic problems from chaotic systems to the dynamics of stars also turn to fluid physics for their models. The goal of much of the fluid physics program is to comprehend the fundamental physical phenomena underlying flows observed in nature. Fluid physics also has a crucial role in the space program in support of the effort to develop new technologies or to adapt existing technologies. The fluid physics program encompasses five major research areas: interfacial phenomena, biological fluid dynamics, dynamics and instabilities, complex fluids, and multiphase flows and phase change. Interfacial phenomena include research directed at understanding capillary phenomena and the dynamics of fluids at contact lines that occur, for example, at solid-liquid-gas trijunctions. Biological fluid dynamics is a new area of emphasis and focuses on the underlying fluid physics and transport phenomena in biological and physiological systems. The study of dynamics and instabilities encompasses research topics ranging from fluid mechanics of star formation and Earth’s interior to the dynamics of electrically charged fluids. Complex fluids currently under investigation include fluids as diverse as colloids, foams, and granular aggregates. Multiphase flows and phase change involve investigations in two-phase flows, such as gas-liquid systems, in which gravity has a controlling influence on the flows due to the large density difference between the phases. The research in many of these areas is of relevance to the human exploration and development of space (HEDS) effort. For example, multiphase fluid flow experiments performed in microgravity are important for applications such as spacecraft thermal management, environment control, human life support, and power and propulsion systems.

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INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

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Materials Research Program Materials science plays a key role in virtually all aspects of the nation’s economy. While it is clear that the structure of a material determines its properties, the ability to produce a certain structure, and hence materials properties, is not at hand. Thus, a central goal of any materials science research program is to understand at a fundamental level the relationship between a material’s process history, microstructure, and resulting properties. The absence of, or greatly reduced, buoyancy-driven convection and sedimentation effects enable special opportunities for the studies of materials processing that are not possible in normal gravity. The materials systems being investigated include electronic and photonic materials, glasses and ceramics, metals and alloys, polymers, and more recently, biomaterials. Common to these materials systems are the phenomena that form the key microgravity research themes: (1) nucleation and metastable states, (2) prediction and control of microstructures, (3) interfacial and phase separation phenomena, (4) transport phenomena, and (5) crystal growth and defect control. Examples of microgravity materials research include the verification of long-standing theories of dendrite formation, the precision measurement of liquid diffusion coefficients, the use of containerless processing to understand the formation of special materials such as yttria-doped glasses used for optical fibers or undercooled metal alloys, the growth of infrared sensor materials, and the space-based studies of liquid-phase sintering. Additionally, work is under way to improve the radiation resistance of shielding materials for use in the human exploration of space. Combustion Research Program One of the most catastrophic events that can occur in the human exploration of space is a large fire. The absence of any safe refuge in space makes the prevention and/or containment of small fires a subject of critical importance to NASA. Microgravity combustion research has been driven in large part by a desire to understand the influence of the microgravity environment on combustion processes known to be of importance in fires on Earth. Microgravity studies of ignition and flame spread over condensed-phase materials have a direct bearing on material screening for fire safety in space. The flammability of materials has been assessed by investigating whether a flame will spread given the velocity and oxygen concentration of the airflow over the materials. Microgravity experiments have demonstrated that at oxygen levels and flow velocities characteristic of space shuttle and International Space Station environments, it is possible for a given material to be relatively more flammable in space than on Earth. This is of critical importance for determining the fire safety margins in space. The combustion program has also focused on studies of how fundamental combustion phenomena behave in the absence of gravity. This work makes possible the observation of phenomena and the verification of theories that are not possible on Earth. Examples include the first measurements of pure diffusion flame shapes, the discovery of “flame balls” (weak spherical stationary flames that can maintain their shape indefinitely with no net fluid motion), and the observation of radiative extinction of burning fuel droplets. Fundamental Physics Research Program Fundamental physics research employs the microgravity environment to study the basic laws that govern the physical world on all length scales, from the microscopic to the cosmic. Prior to the early 1990s, the fundamental physics program centered on condensed matter physics, in particular the physics of continuous phase transitions or critical phenomena. Since then, it has been broadened to include gravitational physics, highenergy physics, laser cooling and atomic physics, and biological physics. The early emphasis on the study of critical phenomena is an obvious one. By eliminating the pressure gradient in a liquid helium sample in space, it was possible to study the superfluid transition and validate the prediction of the Renormalization Group (RG) theory of critical phenomena to within a billionth of a

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INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

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kelvin, an improvement of a hundredfold over the most precise earthbound experiment. An important by-product of the low-temperature condensed-matter program is the development of very high precision thermometry techniques, which allows for determination of temperature to 1 part in 100 billion. Ongoing projects in the Fundamental Physics Program include cold atom space clocks, scheduled to fly in the near future. It has been demonstrated recently that laser light can be used to cool a dilute atomic sample to within a few microkelvin of absolute zero. At such temperatures, the mean velocity of the atoms drops from hundreds of meters per second to a few centimeters per second. In this regime, gravity dominates the atomic motion, limiting the time that the atoms can be interrogated. While atomic clocks on Earth have an accuracy of about 1 part in 1015, in space where the atoms do not “fall,” an ultimate accuracy and stability exceeding 1 part in 1017 may be possible. Biotechnology Research Program The biotechnology program focuses on two fields: protein crystal growth and cell science. The protein crystal growth work is directed at using microgravity to understand the growth processes of macromolecular crystals and to produce crystals used for molecular structure determination. The cell science work focuses on the effects of a microgravity environment on the fundamental behavior of cells and tissue formation. This program was examined recently by the Task Group for the Evaluation of NASA’s Biotechnology Facility for the International Space Station (NRC, 2000). Thus, this report addresses research in that area only insofar as it is relevant to formulating the PSD mission statement. NEW RESEARCH AREAS The current program has begun to incorporate, to a limited extent, the new areas of nanotechnology, biomolecular physics and chemistry, and cellular biophysics and chemistry. For example, work on protein folding, biodegradable polymers, and techniques for levitation of cells in magnetic field gradients was funded through the most recent Fundamental Physics NASA Research Announcement. There are a few programs centered on nanoparticle formation in the PSD materials science program, such as those studying nanoparticle formation in glasses, formation of nanoparticles from a vapor, and growth of composite nanoparticles. The fluids program funds a small number of efforts in the biofluids area such as capillary-elastic instabilities in lung airways and the effects of mechanical perturbations due to microgravity on the transport properties in the vascular system. The combustion program funds a few studies on the combustion synthesis of carbon nanotubes. These research efforts, however, constitute a very small fraction of the total programs funded by the PSD. It is the intent of the PSD to broaden its research profile in these areas, and some possible opportunities for expansion are discussed later in this report. REFERENCES National Research Council (NRC), Space Studies Board. 1995. Microgravity Research Opportunities for the 1990s. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. National Research Council (NRC), Space Studies Board. 2000. Future Biotechnology Research on the International Space Station. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

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ROLE OF THE NASA PHYSICAL SCIENCES DIVISION

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2 Role of the NASA Physical Sciences Division

In composing a broad mission statement for the Physical Sciences Division, the committee examined the scope of the existing research portfolio as well as NASA’s plans for the future. The issues that the committee considered in formulating a mission statement are outlined below along with the mission statement itself. The current portfolio of the PSD is centered largely on microgravity research. This includes research on the effects of gravity on a wide array of physical and chemical processes as well as the use of reduced gravity to perform experiments that cannot be undertaken on Earth. The overwhelming majority of the portfolio involves research in fluids, combustion, materials science, fundamental physics, and biotechnology from a theoretical and experimental perspective. The Physical Sciences Division conducts this broad range of research using an extensive cadre of ground-based and flight investigators. Flight investigators employ an array of carriers ranging from the International Space Station to KC-135 aircraft. The PSD program infrastructure consists of these platforms as well as the engineering and technical development support provided to investigators. The committee was asked to consider the recent expansion of the PSD research portfolio to include biomolecular physics and chemistry, nanotechnology, and technology relevant to human exploration and development of space—research areas in which reduced gravity does not necessarily play an important role. The committee is, in principle, in favor of PSD plans to take on these new areas since they are relevant to questions of both scientific and practical importance to NASA. The Physical Sciences Division, with its strong record and tradition of supporting intradisciplinary research and its extensive experience in the study of fundamental phenomena, is the most suitable division in NASA to address these new research areas. For example, phenomena important to the development of nanomaterials, such as behavior at fluid-fluid and fluid-solid interfaces, has been extensively studied in the division’s program in fluid physics. In assuming these new responsibilities, the PSD should strive to avoid sacrificing or jeopardizing the investment in programs and the proven capabilities it has developed by carrying out research in a microgravity environment. Over the past 20 years, the PSD has built up the expertise, skills, infrastructure, and facilities to design and execute sophisticated experiments in space. There is an abundance of fascinating new scientific questions—ranging from fundamental physical laws governing matter, space, and time, to basic fluid flow, materials, and combustion phenomena—that require a microgravity environment to elucidate. In fact, a large program of experiments in these areas, representing a considerable investment of time and effort by the scientific community, is now awaiting flight on the International Space Station. Although the PSD can and should make an impact in these new areas, it is the capability to carry out experiments in space and in microgravity conditions that makes the PSD a distinctive, and indeed unique, research organization. When selecting research topics in emerging areas involving nanotechnology, including nanoscale materials and processes, biomolecular physics and chemistry, cellular biophysics and chemistry, and integrated systems for HEDS, the PSD should focus on those that meet both of the following criteria: 1. Directly address scientific challenges at the interfaces between the physical sciences, engineering, and biology in support of NASA’s mission, preferentially capitalizing on existing expertise or infrastructure in the Division of Physical Sciences, and 2. Support research either not typically funded by other agencies or to be conducted in close partnership with other agencies. The committee has encompassed all of these considerations in a mission statement for the Physical Sciences Division:

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ROLE OF THE NASA PHYSICAL SCIENCES DIVISION 8

The mission of the Physical Sciences Division is threefold: to conduct research in a low-gravity environment; to probe the role of gravity in physical processes; and to investigate the fundamental physical principles behind emerging technologies relevant to NASA’s mission.

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3 New Opportunities at the Nanoscale and at the Interface Between Biology and the Physical and Engineering Sciences In addition to developing a broad mission statement and guidelines for selecting topics in new research areas (see Chapter 2), the Committee on Microgravity Research was also asked in this Phase I task to identify in general terms the research opportunities in the newly added discipline areas that could appropriately be pursued by the program.1 These new areas encompass still-emerging fields and thus can be characterized in various ways. In this report, they are referred to as nanoscale materials and processes, biomolecular physics and chemistry, cellular biophysics and chemistry, and integrated systems for the human exploration and development of space (HEDS). Note that while the task of the committee was limited to considering these particular areas, this should not be construed as a statement that there are no other new areas that might be of relevance to NASA’s mission. In choosing topics in these areas, the committee was careful to ensure that they conform to the criteria listed in Chapter 2.2 The examples provided are few in number as it is anticipated that many others will emerge from the research community. A unifying theme of nearly all the research in these areas is that the processes of interest occur at the nanoscale. The potential of the accelerating number of discoveries of nanoanalytical tools and nanoscale phenomena, as well as their technological significance and social and ethical implications, have been explored recently in a series of workshops and reports that are now available to the public. These include the reports of the Interagency Working Group on Nanoscience, Engineering and Technology (Siegel et al., 1999; Roco et al., 2000); the report of the National Science Foundation workshop “Societal and Ethical Implications of Nanoscale Science and Nanotechnology” (Roco and Bainbridge, 2001); and the report of the National Institutes of Health workshop “Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: Shaping Biomedical Research” (NIH, 2000). According to the report issued by the National Science and Technology Council of the Executive Office of the President of the United States (NSTC, 2000), “Nanoscale science and engineering promises to become a strategic, dominant technology in the next 10– 20 years, because control of matter at the nanoscale underpins innovation and progress in most industries, in the economy, in health and environmental management, in quality of life, and in national security.” Hundreds of experts in academia and industry have made significant contributions to the above-mentioned reports, the content of which is highly relevant to the Physical Science Division, and U.S. funding agencies are well prepared to make major investments to foster these emerging technologies. Because NASA is expected to have limited resources to invest in nanoscale materials and processes, biomolecular physics and chemistry, cellular biophysics and chemistry, and integrated systems for HEDS, it must invest in research that will enable it to utilize its resources for maximum impact. Thus, the Physical Science Division has to find unique technical niches in support of NASA’s core missions to achieve low-cost space exploration, establish permanent human presence in space, and benefit human life on Earth. For example, novel insights into nanoscale phenomena and the availability of an increasing number of nanoanalytical tools will have a major impact on NASA’s ability to generate and store power in space, manufacture lightweight materials on the ground and in space, design materials with integrated sensory functions, and develop new sensor technologies. The confluence of the biological, physical, and engineering sciences at the nanoscale is an ideal area in which NASA can effectively leverage the investments made by NSF, NIH, and other organizations to accelerate its own mission. Further, the committee believes that these areas do provide promising opportunities for researchers to build on PSD scientific capabilities and for PSD to leverage its current research activities.

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More specific topics will be considered in Phase II. It should be noted, however, that a comparision of similar research in other government programs would have to be based on specific topics, rather than the general topics discussed here. 2

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Listed below are some broad areas of opportunity within the PSD’s newly added research fields. More specifics research topics will be explored by the committee in the Phase II report. NANOSCALE MATERIALS AND PROCESSES Recent technological advances have made it possible to engineer materials on length scales between 1 and 100 nm. This permits new materials to be produced that are endowed with properties and functionalities not possible with bulk large-grained materials. Nanoscale materials and processes can be expected to alter fundamentally the manner in which space is explored and will have an impact on all of NASA’s activities. Since this is a vast and rapidly changing field, the PSD should be selective in choosing research topics that will have the maximum impact on NASA’s missions and are consistent with the criteria given above. A few examples that satisfy these criteria are listed below: Nanoparticle Formation. New materials with novel properties are essential to achieving NASA’s goal of low-cost spaceflight and establishing a permanent human presence in space. One promising area of research is the production of new materials via the consolidation of nanoparticles. Here one reaps the benefits of novel materials properties derived from the constituent nanosized particles while still allowing applications that require bulk material. These materials can exhibit unique structural, magnetic, or gas-barrier properties. A major impediment in the application of nanostructured materials is the difficulty of synthesizing nanoparticles. A method for producing materials requires that the surfaces of the particles be functionalized with molecules to yield the desired self-assembly—for example, the orientation of and interaction between the particles. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the methods used to functionalize particles. This work draws on the PSD research portfolio in the areas of crystal growth and surface and interface chemistry. Integrated Nanomaterials. Integrating nanoscale objects is frequently necessary to obtain devices or materials with the novel properties that NASA’s mission requires. Examples of such materials range from those with integrated sensory functions to high-strength, low-weight materials. The challenges in producing such materials abound. For example, high-strength low-weight materials using composites of carbon nanotubes in a metallic matrix require dispersing individual nanotubes within a matrix. Promising routes to integrating nanoscale objects into larger devices or materials include self-assembly of the nanoscale objects on a surface or directed self-assembly using templates such as the block copolymers that are employed to control the nucleation and growth of an inorganic biomaterial. It is also possible to use DNA as a structural material to connect and control the self-assembly of particles or even nanotubes. Such work could utilize the PSD program’s expertise in surface and interface chemistry. Micro- and Nanofluidics. Development of microanalytical devices—the so-called “chemlab on a chip”— will be a much needed technology for a vast array of both human and robotic spaceflight applications. Control of fluid flow and transport of components in the fluid phase will play important roles in the operation of such microreactors and miniaturized analysis systems. In addition, three-dimensional liquid microstructures can be produced by using patterned substrates and the spatial distribution and geometry of channels in the chip. Such microstructures alter dramatically the properties of the microfluidic device. The study of the flow processes and microstructure formation in these devices follows as a natural extension of existing work in the PSD fluid physics program. BIOMOLECULAR PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY Research in biomolecular physics and chemistry can be viewed as the development of an interdisciplinary research program that will bring together physics, chemistry, biology, and materials

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science. This area has much to offer when it comes to making significant contributions to NASA goals. The important impacts will come from novel insights into molecular assembly processes, combined with nanofabrication tools, the exploitation of design principles inspired by nature, and the integration of biological and synthetic building blocks to create unique systems. The examples discussed below illustrate the potential translation of biological concepts into engineering designs that meet NASA’s goals. Proteins in Confined Space. Long-term preservation of protein function is essential to utilize proteins in devices such as sensors, diagnostics, and bioreactors on extended flight missions. First indications exist that the native protein structure may be stabilized if it is immobilized in nanoengineered environments. Exploring the underlying mechanisms by which the structure of proteins is stabilized by confinement requires interdisciplinary teams to engineer nanostructured environments and immobilize proteins, as well as analytical techniques and theory to assess the impact of local confinement on protein conformation and function. Some of the expertise to address this challenge already exists within NASA’s protein crystallization community concerned with protein structure and protein-protein interactions. This topic could also be expanded to include the stabilization of RNA structures that have been shown to exhibit catalytic activity. Energy Storage and Chemically Driven Nanosystems. Integration of nanoscale systems requires efficient means to generate power and to transport energy at the nanoscale. Inspired by nature, which uses energy stored in the covalent phosphate bonds of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)3 to power its nanoscale devices, NASA may explore innovative technologies for systems integration at the nanoscale (i.e., by exploring new avenues to power nanosystems chemically, rather than by conventional hard wiring). This requires expertise in areas such as fluid flow at small scales and molecular self-assembly that are already funded through programs in the PSD. This approach could yield energy storage devices with the ability to store orders-of-magnitude higher energies. The expertise can also be used to power microfabricated systems, such as robotic insects, as well as for systems manufactured or self-assembled at the nanoscale. Smart and Self-Healing Materials. “Smart,” as well as self-healing, materials are inherent to living systems and, if available for industrial application, could revolutionize NASA’s materials of choice. New avenues have to be explored, potentially by borrowing design principles from nature, to developing responsive and self-repairing materials and systems for space applications. This could include the use of complex fluids with pressure-driven self-healing properties or the integration of active transport systems into structural materials and devices to shuttle nanocargo, potentially against concentration gradients, and/or to develop other methods to assemble and reconfigure materials properties on demand in a noninvasive manner. Furthermore, it may be possible to integrate molecules and nanoscale particles as reporters into structural materials to monitor materials properties in real time. This would make lighter and safer materials for space exploration and would have a major impact on the quality of life on Earth and in space. This program could capitalize on the strong materials science expertise of the PSD. CELLULAR BIOPHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY One of the toughest challenges faced by NASA is maintaining human health and handling medical emergencies in space. NASA is the only agency with a vested interest in learning how human health is affected by low-gravity conditions. An example is the need to develop countermeasures to address the rapid loss in bone mass and the muscle atrophy that are encountered during long-duration spaceflight. Although many of the lowgravity-related medical phenomena are well documented, little insight exists into the underlying cellular and potentially molecular mechanisms. Further research into the

3

Up to 7 kcal per bond.

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role of gravity in molecular recognition and cell signaling is required, and significant new insights are expected based on the rapid advances of novel nanoanalytical and biotechnology tools. Since the volume of U.S. research in this area is already enormous and is significant even within other divisions of NASA, the PSD can have the most impact by focusing on the pertinent physical aspects of these processes. Specifically, the following research areas can be explored. Long-term Stabilization of Cell Cultures. Cells cultured ex vivo often lose their phenotype after short time periods. This limits their usefulness in bioreactors and their integration into sensors and other devices. Considerable new insights are needed to engineer proper cell environments with respect to biochemistry and to the topography of the supporting surface. These environments may be engineered at the micro- or nanoscale. Furthermore, the problem of cell starvation must be addressed through consideration of the micro- and nanoscale fluidics that will ensure that the conditions required for growth are maintained. The PSD can capitalize on its existing expertise in biotechnology, surface chemstry, materials science, and fluid physics to address this issue. Low-Gravity Effects on Cellular and Subcellular Processes. The reasons that significant and continuous bone loss is intimately linked to prolonged exposure of astronauts to a microgravity environment are not well understood. Bone loss is only one of many other poorly understood physiological and cellular processes that are affected by the loss of gravity. At the cellular and particularly the molecular levels, little is known about how mechanical forces affect cell signaling and gene expression. New insights from molecular biology, combined with the availability of novel nanoanalytical tools, promise to rapidly advance our knowledge base about the underlying causes by which the loss of gravity ultimately affects human health. NASA has already contributed to this field—for instance, in the development of rotating bioreactors and through the study of three-dimensional cell cultures in space. Further research is required to understand how low gravity affects cell-cell interaction and communication, the interaction of a cell with an engineered environment (e.g., a solid support), and the transport of nutrients to the cell. Since the mechanical forces are typically induced or transmitted by the supporting matrix or fluid shear, a collaborative program linking fluid dynamicists and biologists is required to make the most rapid progress in this area. Major efforts are under way at NIH to understand how cells function as systems—the field of proteomics—and NASA’s contribution should be to investigate the impact of low-gravity conditions on cells as systems and to learn how to employ this knowledge to potentially contribute to the field of tissue engineering. INTEGRATED SYSTEMS FOR HEDS Nanotechnology at the interface with and inspired by biology has much to offer when it comes to addressing the challenges of human space exploration over extended time periods, including advanced life support systems, human health monitoring, human waste management, management of accidents and hazardous conditions, water purification, and food production, to name a few. One must capitalize on emerging technologies such as those discussed in previous sections such that they can be integrated to produce innovative systems with application to advanced space technology. This requires that multidisciplinary expertise is built into these emerging areas and that engineers are involved early on, to ensure successful integration into operational systems. One example of this includes nanoengineered and biomimetic sensor materials with advanced properties and functions that allow for in situ monitoring of humans in space. The development and application of sensors could be extended for the rapid treatment of diseases and injuries—a facility that will be needed for long-term human space travel. Forming an alliance with NIH would be an attractive way for NASA to further explore this frontier.

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REFERENCES National Institutes of Health (NIH). 2000. Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: Shaping Biomedical Research: June 2000 Symposium Report. National Institutes of Health Bioengineering Consortium, Bethesda, Md. National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). 2000. National Nanotechnology Initiative: Leading to the Next Industrial Revolution, Supplement to the President’s FY 2001 Budget, Committee on Technology. Office of Science and Technology Policy, Washington, D.C. Roco, M.C., Williams, R.S., and Alivisatos, P., editors. 2000. IWGN Workshop Report: Nanotechnology Research Directions: Vision for Nanotechnology in the Next Decade. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Roco, Mihail C., and Bainbridge, William Sims, editors. 2001. Societal Implications of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, National Science and Technology Council, Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Siegel, Richard, Hu, Evelyn, and Roco, M.C., editors. 1999. WTEC Panel Report: Nanostructure Science and Technology: R&D Status and Trends in Nanoparticles, Nanostructured Materials, and Nanodevices. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

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Appendixes

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LETTER OF REQUEST FROM NASA

A Letter of Request from NASA

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Headquarters Washington, DC 20546–0001 DEC 1 5 2000

Reply to Attn of: UG Dr. John McElroy Space Studies Board, HA 584 National Academy of Sciences 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20418 Dear Dr. McElroy:

The NASA Microgravity Research Division underwent reorganization in October 2000. As a result, the division took on a new name, Division of Physical Sciences Research, and new responsibilities. In its new assignment, the division will extend the focus of its current programs in the physical and engineering sciences and biotechnology beyond experiments for the International Space Station, and will establish cutting edge, university-focused, interdisciplinary research efforts in the areas of nanoscience, biomolecular physics and chemistry, and exploration research. While the former microgravity division’s scope has been expanded beyond the scientific examination of gravity-related phenomena, its new role within NASA is not yet fully defined, and the additional resources available for new investigations are expected to be limited. Therefore, it would be useful for NASA to have the Space Studies Board’s guidance on the overall direction of the Division of Physical Sciences Research and on particular topics within its new breadth of responsibility. Specifically, we would ask that the Committee on Microgravity Research undertake a two-phase study. The focus of the first phase would be development of an overall unifying theme, or “mission statement,” for NASA’s program in microgravity and physical sciences within the Office of Biological and Physical Research. In the second phase the committee would assess the current status of the division’s research program, identify and define more specific topics within the new discipline areas on which the division could most profitably focus, and attempt to prioritize future research directions. In doing so, we ask that the committee consider the following four issues for each major research topic currently funded by our program: 1. The contribution of important knowledge from microgravity research on each topic to the larger field of which the research is a part; 2. The progress in understanding the microgravity research questions posed on each topic; 3. The potential for further progress to be made in each area of microgravity research; and 4. The potential for contributions of significant knowledge from continued research on each topic that will aid NASA in goals such as technology development for human exploration.

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APPENDIXES

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In order to address the first two items, extensive knowledge of past and current work in microgravity will be necessary. We will ask our discipline working groups to provide to the Committee on Microgravity Research an assessment of these two questions for each discipline that the committee can evaluate in turn. We understand that the study would require approximately two years to complete from its inception. Delivery of the report on the first phase would be expected at the end of the first year and delivery of the report on the second phase report at study completion. Sincerely,

Eugene Trinh, Ph.D.

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COMMITTEE BIOGRAPHIES

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B Committee Biographies

Peter Voorhees is the Frank C.Engelhart Professor in Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University. He received his B.S. in physics and Ph.D. in materials engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Upon graduation he joined the Metallurgy Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology as a postdoctoral fellow and then stayed on as a staff member. In 1988 he was appointed as an associate professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Northwestern University. Professor Voorhees has held visiting positions at the Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California at Santa Barbara; Groupe de Physique des Solide, Universite Paris VII; Institut fur Angewandte Physik, ETH Zurich; Universitie de Montpellier II, France; and Institut fur Werkstofforschung, GKSS-Forschungszentrum. He has received the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, Acta Metallurgica et Materialia Outstanding Paper Award, McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science Award for Teaching Excellence, ASM International Materials Science Division Research Award (Silver Medal), a National Science Foundation Creativity Extension and is a fellow of ASM International. He has published over 110 papers in the area of the thermodynamics and kinetics of phase transformations. Professor Voorhees’ research interests include coarsening phenomena, the morphological evolution of thin films during heteroepitaxy, and large-scale numerical simulations of microstructural evolution. J.Iwan D.Alexander is a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and is chief scientist for fluids, National Center for Microgravity Research on Fluids and Combustion (NCMR), Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). He joined NCMR and CWRU after spending more than 10 years at the Center for Microgravity and Materials Research at the University of Alabama, where he began research programs in fluids and transport problems in crystal growth (with an emphasis on microgravity-related problems) and computational and experimental fluid dynamics, most of which were involved with NASA microgravity activities. His current research areas include fluids and transport phenomena, surfaces and interfaces, and computational fluid dynamics. Dr. Alexander has served on the scientific staff at Carnegie Mellon University where he worked on elastic inclusion problems related to phase transitions in the solid state. He has also served as a visiting scientist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, where he became involved in assessing the effects of vibration and spacecraft disturbances on materials and fluids experiments that were to be conducted in low gravity. Dr. Alexander has no prior NRC committee experience. Howard R.Baum, National Academy of Engineering (NAE), is a fellow of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Dr. Baum has research interests in the fluid mechanics of fires, turbulent combustion, computational methods for fire phenomena, and smoke aerosol physics and transport. His research in fireinduced flows and turbulent combustion led to a U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal Award in 1981 and the Gold Medal Award in 1985. He was named Russell Severance Springer Visiting Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1985 and was an invited lecturer at the Second International Symposium on Fire Safety Science in 1988. He received the Medal of Excellence from the International Association for Fire Safety Science in 1991 and 1999. Dr. Baum was a member of the U.S. delegation to the 1991 Japan-U.S. Heat Transfer Joint Seminar as primary participant and invited lecturer. He was awarded a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science fellowship for a 1994 visit to the University of Tokyo Institute of Industrial Science. Dr. Baum has published more than 100 papers and reports. His analysis of ventilation in containership holds is the technical basis of international standards for containership ventilation. He has served on NRC panels convened by the Naval Studies Board in 1986 and 1991 to consider Office of Naval Research (ONR) opportunities in solid and fluid mechanics, and a panel in 1987 to consider the status of nuclear winter research. Dr. Baum serves on the editorial boards of the journals Combustion and Flame and Combustion Theory and Modeling. John L.Brash is a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University and a member of the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research. His research involves studies in

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COMMITTEE BIOGRAPHIES

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biotechnology and biomaterials, polymerization and polymer characterization, and modification of surfaces for biotechnology and medical applications. A major goal is to understand the interactions of proteins and cells at the tissue-material interface, with particular emphasis on blood. Materials based on preventing the nonspecific adsorption of proteins and promoting the specific adsorption of targeted proteins are being developed. Professor Brash has been a member of several advisory committees of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada), and was chair of the Chemical and Metallurgical Grants Review Committee. He has also served on committees of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the NIH. He received the Clemson Award for Basic Research of the U.S. Society for Biomaterials in 1994 and an honorary doctorate (docteur honoris causa) from the University of Paris (XIII) in 1996. He was awarded the title “University Professor” by McMaster University in 2001. Moses H.W.Chan, National Academy of Sciences (NAS), is the Evan Pugh Professor of Physics at Pennsylvania State University. His primary field of research involves the study of condensed matter. Dr. Chan is known for his innovative and precise experimental studies of phase transitions in quantum and classical fluids, especially in reduced dimensions, restricted geometries, and in the presence of impurities and disorder. He is the recipient of the Fritz London Prize, 1996, and was a Guggenheim fellow in 1987. Richard Hopkins retired in 1999 from the position of senior consultant, microelectronics, Northrop Grumman Science and Technology Center. Currently, he heads an electronic and optical materials consulting activity, Hopkins, Inc. Dr. Hopkins has 30 years of experience in materials and device research, including program management and senior line management positions, most recently as head of the Microelectronics Department at the Northrop Grumman Science and Technology Center. His technical expertise includes crystal growth methods for inorganic, organic, and metallic materials and the application of unique semiconductor, optical, and metal alloys to device fabrication. Dr. Hopkins has published 130 papers in refereed journals and holds 20 U.S. patents in materials and materials processing. He is president of the Eastern Region of the American Association for Crystal Growth and a fellow of ASM International. He previously served as a member of the NRC Task Group on Institutional Arrangements for Facilitating Research on the International Space Station. Michael Jaffe is a research professor with the New Jersey Institute of Technology in the Biomedical Engineering Department. He is also chief scientist for industrial programs and director of the Medical Device Concept Laboratory in the New Jersey Center for Biomaterials and an associate research professor at Rutgers University. His expertise is in innovative materials research such as biomimetics as well as Department of Defense (DOD) system applications. His work has focused on understanding the structure-property relationships of polymers and related materials, the application of biological paradigms to materials design, and the translation of new technology to commercial realty. Dr. Jaffe was the recipient of the 1995 Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award, presented by the Research and Development Council of New Jersey. He is a fellow of AAAS and a member of the NRC Committee on Materials Research for Defense-After-Next, the National Materials Advisory Board, and the U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Bernard H.Kear, NAE, is State of New Jersey Professor of Materials Science and Technology at Rutgers University. For more than 35 years, Dr. Kear’s research interests have centered on the synthesis, processing, structure, and properties of inorganic solids for a broad range of structural applications. His current research is concerned with chemical processing of nanophase metals, ceramics, cermets, and composites, starting from aqueous solution or metal-organic precursors. Primary objectives of the research are to develop scalable processes for the production of nanostructured powders, thin films and multilayered structures, diffusion and overlay coatings, particle-dispersed and fiber-reinforced composites, and net-shape bulk materials. Dr. Kear’s previous work addressed the fundamental aspects of dislocation interactions, phase transformations, and solidification behavior in nickel-base superalloys. This work contributed to the successful development of directional solidification of single-crystal turbine blades, rapid solidification powder atomization, and laser surface treatments. From 1981 to 1986 he worked at Exxon, where his research activities were focused on developing methods for CVD (chemical vapor deposition) surface passivation treatments and for catalytic growth of carbon whiskers from

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COMMITTEE BIOGRAPHIES

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hydrocarbon precursors. Dr. Kear has published 220 technical papers, edited 9 books, and been granted 35 patents. He was chair of the National Materials Advisory Board from 1986 to 1989, and he has served on numerous NRC panels, including the Panel for Materials Science and Engineering and the Panel for a Review of ONR Research Opportunities in Materials Sciences. Jan D.Miller, NAE, is Ivor Thomas Professor of Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Utah. Dr. Miller’s research covers the areas of minerals processing, specializing in particulate systems, aqueous solution chemistry, colloid and surface chemistry, and environmental processing technology, hydrometallurgy, flotation surface chemistry, and colloid chemistry. He is widely noted for his contributions to the fundamental theory and practical technology of flotation, minerals processing, and hydrometallurgy. In 1991 he received the Robert H.Richards Award for his advancement of the art of minerals processing by “prolific innovation of concepts reflecting the highest quality spirit of an educator, engineer, inventor and dedicated researcher.” Dr. Miller served as principal investigator in 1998 for a project conducted at the Great Plains-Rocky Mountain Hazardous Substance Research Center and titled “Removal of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons from Contaminated Water Using Air-Sparged Hydrocyclone Technology.” He also served as conference co-chair for the Environmental Technology for Oil Pollution 2nd International Conference, “Analysis and Utilization of Oily Wastes.” Peter Staudhammer, NAE, is vice president for science and technology at TRW, Inc. As the company’s chief technical officer, Dr. Staudhammer is responsible for overseeing TRW’s acquisition, management, and application of technology. Prior to his current position, Dr. Staudhammer had served as vice president and director of the Center for Automotive Technology, which combines the technical strengths of TRW’s automotive and space and defense businesses. He also serves as a member of the company’s Management Committee. Dr. Staudhammer was one of the principal architects and the chief engineer of the Apollo Lunar Descent Engine. He also managed the development of space power and space instrument systems, including the Mars Viking Biology Instrument, atmospheric analysis instruments on Pioneer Venus, Earth observation instruments, and two ultraviolet spectrometers for the Voyager mission to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Dr. Staudhammer subsequently managed TRW’s Central Research Staff, directing research in solid-state devices, space physics, high-energy lasers, and plasma physics. He has received achievement awards from NASA and from the Institute for the Advancement of Engineering. Viola Vogel is the director of the Center for Nanotechnology and an associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington. After completing her graduate research at the Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Goettingen, she received her Ph.D. in physics (1987) at Frankfurt University, followed by 2 years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley (1988–1990). She received the Otto-Hahn Medal from the Max-Planck Society (1988) and the NIH “First Award” (1993– 1998), and she served on President Clinton’s Presidential Committee of Advisors in Science and Technology in the preparation of the Presidential Nanotechnology Initiative (1999). Dr. Vogel’s interests include molecular assembly processes at interfaces, single-molecule mechanics and spectroscopy, Langmuir-Blodgett films, biomineralization, biomaterials and cell signaling, and optical spectroscopy and microscopy. Dr. Vogel is the principal investigator of the NSF-funded Integrative Graduate Education Training Program in Nanotechnology at the University of Washington and an investigator on the NSF-Engineering Research Center project “University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials” (1996–2005) and the project “Integrated Biologically Active Microsystems” (2001–2006) funded by the National Institutes of Health—Centers for Excellence in Genomic Science and Technology.

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OTHER REPORTS OF THE SPACE STUDIES BOARD

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Other Reports of the Space Studies Board

“On the Next Generation Space Telescope” (2001) U.S. Astronomy and Astrophysics: Managing an Integrated Program (2001) Assessment of Mission Size Trade-offs for Earth and Space Science Missions (2000) “Assessment of NASA’s Office of Space Science Strategic Plan 2000” (2000) “Assessment of Scientific Aspects of the Triana Mission” (2000) “Continuing Assessment of Technology Development in NASA’s Office of Space Science” (2000) Ensuring the Climate Record from the NPP and NPOESS Meteorological Satellites (2000) Future Biotechnology Research on the International Space Station (2000) Issues in the Integration of Research and Operational Satellites for Climate Research: I. Science and Design (2000) Microgravity Research in Support of Technologies for the Human Exploration and Development of Space and Planetary Bodies (2000) Preventing the Forward Contamination of Europa (2000) Review of NASA’s Biomedical Research Program (2000) Review of NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise Research Strategy for 2000–2010 (2000) The Role of Small Satellites in NASA and NOAA Earth Observation Programs (2000) “Scientific Assessment of Exploration of the Solar System—Science and Mission Strategy” (2000) “Scientific Assessment of Options for the Disposition of the Galileo Spacecraft” (2000) “Assessment of NASA’s Plans for Post-2002 Earth Observing Missions” (1999) Institutional Arrangements for Space Station Research (1999) Radiation and the International Space Station: Recommendations to Reduce Risk (1999) A Science Strategy for the Exploration of Europa (1999) A Scientific Rationale for Mobility in Planetary Environments (1999) Size Limits of Very Small Microorganisms: Proceedings of a Workshop (1999) U.S.-European-Japanese Workshop on Space Cooperation: Summary Report (1999) Assessment of Technology Development in NASA’s Office of Space Science (1998) Development and Application of Small Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radars (1998) Evaluating the Biological Potential in Samples Returned from Planetary Satellites and Small Solar System Bodies: Framework for Decision Making (1998) The Exploration of Near-Earth Objects (1998) Exploring the Trans-Neptunian Solar System (1998) Failed Stars and Super Planets: A Report Based on the January 1998 Workshop on Substellar-Mass Objects (1998) Ground-based Solar Research: An Assessment and Strategy for the Future (1998) Readiness for the Upcoming Solar Maximum (1998) Report of the Workshop on Biology-based Technology to Enhance Human Well-being and Function in Extended Space Exploration (1998) A Strategy for Research in Space Biology and Medicine in the New Century (1998) Supporting Research and Data Analysis in NASA’s Science Programs: Engines for Innovation and Synthesis (1998) U.S.-European Collaboration in Space Science (1998) Copies of these reports are available free of charge from: Space Studies Board National Research Council 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20418 (202) 334–3477 [email protected] www.nationalacademies.org/ssb/ssb.html