The NASA SBIR product catalog

The purpose of this catalog is to assist small business firms in making the community aware of products emerging from their efforts in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. It contains descriptions of some products that have advanced into Phase 3 and others that are identified as prospective products. Both lists of products in this catalog are based on information supplied by NASA SBIR contractors in responding to an invitation to be represented in this document. Generally, all products suggested by the small firms were included in order to meet the goals of information exchange for SBIR results. Of the 444 SBIR contractors NASA queried, 137 provided information on 219 products. The catalog presents the product information in the technology areas listed in the table of contents. Within each area, the products are listed in alphabetical order by product name and are given identifying numbers. Also included is an alphabetical listing of the companies that have products described. This listing cross-references the product list and provides information on the business activity of each firm. In addition, there are three indexes: one a list of firms by states, one that lists the products according to NASA Centers that managed the SBIR projects, and one that lists the products by the relevant Technical Topics utilized in NASA's annual program solicitation under which each SBIR project was selected

Circumstellar disks and planets. Science cases for next-generation optical/infrared long-baseline interferometers

We present a review of the interplay between the evolution of circumstellar disks and the formation of planets, both from the perspective of theoretical models and dedicated observations. Based on this, we identify and discuss fundamental questions concerning the formation and evolution of circumstellar disks and planets which can be addressed in the near future with optical and infrared long-baseline interferometers. Furthermore, the importance of complementary observations with long-baseline (sub)millimeter interferometers and high-sensitivity infrared observatories is outlined.Comment: 83 pages; Accepted for publication in "Astronomy and Astrophysics Review"; The final publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co

Photons without borders: quantifying light pollution transfer between territories

The light pollution levels experienced at any given site generally depend on a wide number of artificial light sources distributed throughout the surrounding territory. Since photons can travel long distances before being scattered by the atmosphere, any effective proposal for reducing local light pollution levels needs an accurate assessment of the relative weight of all intervening light sources, including those located tens or even hundreds of km away. In this paper we describe several ways of quantifying and visualizing these relative weights. Particular emphasis is made on the aggregate contribution of the municipalities, which are -in many regions of the world- the administrative bodies primarily responsible for the planning and maintenance of public outdoor lighting system

PSR J1856+0245: Arecibo discovery of a young energetic pulsar coincident with the TeV g-RAY source HESS J1857+026

We present the discovery of the Vela-like radio pulsar J1856+0245 in the Arecibo PALFA survey. PSR J1856+0245 has a spin period of 81 ms, a characteristic age of 21 kyr, and a spin-down luminosity Ė p 4.6 x 10 36 ergs s-1. It is positionally coincident with the TeV γ-ray source HESS J1857+026, which has no other known counterparts. Young, energetic pulsars create wind nebulae, and more than a dozen pulsar wind nebulae have been associated with very high energy (100 GeV-100 TeV) γ-ray sources discovered with the HESS telescope. The γ-ray emission seen from HESS J1857+026 is potentially produced by a pulsar wind nebula powered by PSR J1856+0245; faint X-ray emission detected by ASCA at the pulsar\u27s position supports this hypothesis. The inferred γ-ray efficiency is εγ p Lγ/Ė p 3.1 % (1-10 TeV, for a distance of 9 kpc), comparable to that observed in similar associations. © 2008. The American Astronomical Society

PSR J1856+0245: Arecibo Discovery of a Young, Energetic Pulsar Coincident with the TeV Gamma-ray Source HESS J1857+026

We present the discovery of the Vela-like radio pulsar J1856+0245 in the Arecibo PALFA survey. PSR J1856+0245 has a spin period of 81 ms, a characteristic age of 21 kyr, and a spin-down luminosity Ė = 4.6 × 1036 ergs s−1. It is positionally coincident with the TeV γ-ray source HESS J1857+026, which has no other known counterparts. Young, energetic pulsars create wind nebulae, and more than a dozen pulsar wind nebulae have been associated with very high energy (100 GeV-100 TeV) γ-ray sources discovered with the HESS telescope. The γ-ray emission seen from HESS J1857+026 is potentially produced by a pulsar wind nebula powered by PSR J1856+0245; faint X-ray emission detected by ASCA at the pulsar\u27s position supports this hypothesis. The inferred γ-ray efficiency is γ = Lγ/Ė =3.1 % (1-10 TeV, for a distance of 9 kpc), comparable to that observed in similar associations

Mobile map client API : design and implementation for Android

The fast development of computational power of the mobile phone makes it a suitable platform for running map applications. Both public and field working professionals can benefit from easy access to a mobile map client application with features such as route planning, location based services and simple GIS operations. This master's thesis describes the mobile operating system (OS) Android from a geographic information aspect and relates it to other major mobile OS. Available map client application programming interfaces (API) are investigated. It is concluded that Android is a good platform choice for implementing mobile map applications. But there is need of a generic open source API for Android. Such an API is implemented, resulting in a good performing map client. Though it needs additional development to perform all features aimed for in the suggested API design.Populärvetenskaplig sammanfattning: Dagens datorlika mobiltelefoner lämpar sig utmärkt för att visa olika typer av kartor. Det är inte svårt att hitta tillämpningar för både privatpersoner och professionella användare med behov som att till exempel hitta lämpliga färdvägar eller visa information om platsen man befinner sig på. Det här examensarbetet går ut på att undersöka hur geografisk data kan behandlas och visas som kartor på Android-mobiler. Målet är att skapa ett generellt programmeringsverktyg som ska kunna användas för att snabbt och enkelt kunna utveckla specialiserade kartapplikationer för Android. Ett sådant verktyg kallas inom databranschen för API, vilket står för Application Programming Interface. Ett API är ett gränssnitt som ger programmerare smidig tillgång till grundläggande funktioner i ett system eller en typ av applikation. I det här fallet får programmeraren tillgång till grundläggande kartfunktioner, som t.ex. kartdataladdning eller panorering och zoom, utan att behöva programmera hela logiken bakom dessa funktioner. Istället kan programmeraren fokusera sitt arbete på de delarna som gör just den kartapplikationen unik. Arbetet är uppdelat i en undersökande del för att klarlägga var utvecklingen av tekniken befinner sig idag och vilka liknande försök som gjorts tidigare och en mer praktisk utvecklingsdel med målet att implementera ett API för kartapplikationer på Android. I undersökningen jämförs Android med andra mobila plattformar, t.ex. Apples iPhone och Nokias Symbian. Det konstateras att Android står sig bra i konkurens med de andra och lämpar sig väl för kartapplikationer men att det skulle behövas ett generellt kartverktyg som inte är så hårt styrt som Google maps, som är det vanligaste kartverktyget för Android. För att tydliggöra vad API:et borde innehålla och klara av att utföra gjordes först en teoretisk modell av dess olika delar. De viktigaste delarna, t.ex. dataladdning och användargränssnitt med kartbildsvisning, panorering och zoom, implementerades sedan för att kunna testköras och vidareutvecklas på en Android-mobil. En demoapplikation utvecklades för att demonstrera användningen av API:et. Resultatet är ett verktyg för ett energibolags servicepersonal att ha med sig i fält för att se deras fjärrvärmenäts geografiska utsträckning och info om nätets olika delar, kopplingar och kunder.Scientific summary: The fast development of computational power of the mobile phone have made it a suitable platform for running map applications. Both public and field working professionals can benefit from easy access to a mobile map client application with features such as route planning, location based services and simple GIS operations. This master's thesis describes the mobile operating system (OS) Android from a geographic information aspect and relates it to other major mobile OS. A map client application programming interfaces (API) is implemented, resulting in a good performing map client. Though it needs additional development to perform all features aimed for in the suggested API design. The study is divided into a state-of-the-art investigation of available technology, and an effort to design and implement a map client API for Android. The investigation was made by referencing available scientific papers, technical articles and websites. Available OS's and API's are investigated. It is concluded that Android is a good platform choice for implementing mobile map applications. But there is need of a generic open source API for Android. Another objective of the study was to compare a map client running as a web application to the native client developed regarding performance. Unfortunately no suiting API for setting up the web application was found. Since then the OpenLayers community have made a great effort for running OpenLayers clients on mobile devices, which would have been an ideal choice for doing the comparison. The work on the API contains a theoretical model which is partly implemented. The aim of the model is to define the overall functionality, some specialized features and cohesive data structures. Then the base functionality, such as data loading, map drawing, panning and zooming, was implemented. The implementation was carried out in an iterative manner. Starting with complementing a basic, incomplete open source map API to gain understanding of mobile map API design and avoid re-inventing the wheel. Added was support for coordinate systems and projections other than WGS 84 Web Mercator (EPSG 4326), better Web Map Service (WMS) support, vector data loading and improved responsiveness when loading data. A demo application was put together in order to test performance on the hardware emulator integrated in the Android SDK and on a real device, Motorola Milestone running Android version 2.1. The scenario for the demo application is a district heating pipe system, an useful field application for a city energy company. The application shows a raster background map loaded from a tiled WMS with the pipe system as vector overlays loaded from a custom Keyhole Markup Language (KML) service. The vector data is click-able in order to show information about different parts of the pipe system

105110^{51} Ergs: The Evolution of Shell Supernova Remnants

This paper reports on a workshop hosted by the University of Minnesota, March 23-26, 1997. It addressed fundamental dynamical issues associated with the evolution of shell supernova remnants and the relationships between supernova remnants and their environments. The workshop considered, in addition to classical shell SNRs, dynamical issues involving X-ray filled composite remnants and pulsar driven shells, such as that in the Crab Nebula. Approximately 75 participants with wide ranging interests attended the workshop. An even larger community helped through extensive on-line debates prior to the meeting. Each of the several sessions, organized mostly around chronological labels, also addressed some underlying, general physical themes: How are SNR dynamics and structures modified by the character of the CSM and the ISM and vice versa? How are magnetic fields generated in SNRs and how do magnetic fields influence SNRs? Where and how are cosmic-rays (electrons and ions) produced in SNRs and how does their presence influence or reveal SNR dynamics? How does SNR blast energy partition into various components over time and what controls conversion between components? In lieu of a proceedings volume, we present here a synopsis of the workshop in the form of brief summaries of the workshop sessions. The sharpest impressions from the workshop were the crucial and under-appreciated roles that environments have on SNR appearance and dynamics and the critical need for broad-based studies to understand these beautiful, but enigmatic objects. \\Comment: 54 pages text, no figures, Latex (aasms4.sty). submitted to the PAS

Optimal Phase Masks for High Contrast Imaging Applications

Phase-only optical elements can provide a number of important functions for high-contrast imaging. This thesis presents analytical and numerical optical design methods for accomplishing specific tasks, the most significant of which is the precise suppression of light from a distant point source. Instruments designed for this purpose are known as coronagraphs. Here, advanced coronagraph designs are presented that offer improved theoretical performance in comparison to the current state-of-the-art. Applications of these systems include the direct imaging and characterization of exoplanets and circumstellar disks with high sensitivity. Several new coronagraph designs are introduced and, in some cases, experimental support is provided. In addition, two novel high-contrast imaging applications are discussed: the measurement of sub-resolution information using coronagraphic optics and the protection of sensors from laser damage. The former is based on experimental measurements of the sensitivity of a coronagraph to source displacement. The latter discussion presents the current state of ongoing theoretical work. Beyond the mentioned applications, the main outcome of this thesis is a generalized theory for the design of optical systems with one of more phase masks that provide precise control of radiation over a large dynamic range, which is relevant in various high-contrast imaging scenarios. The optimal phase masks depend on the necessary tasks, the maximum number of optics, and application specific performance measures. The challenges and future prospects of this work are discussed in detail

Promoting Intermodal Connectivity at California’s High Speed Rail Stations

High-speed rail (HSR) has emerged as one of the most revolutionary and transformative transportation technologies, having a profound impact on urban-regional accessibility and inter-city travel across Europe, Japan, and more recently China and other Asian countries. One of HSR’s biggest advantages over air travel is that it offers passengers a one-seat ride into the center of major cities, eliminating time-consuming airport transfers and wait times, and providing ample opportunities for intermodal transfers at these locales. Thus, HSR passengers are typically able to arrive at stations that are only a short walk away from central business districts and major tourist attractions, without experiencing any of the stress that car drivers often experience in negotiating such highly congested environments. Such an approach requires a high level of coordination and planning of the infrastructural and spatial aspects of the HSR service, and a high degree of intermodal connectivity. But what key elements can help the US high-speed rail system blend successfully with other existing rail and transit services? That question is critically important now that high-speed rail is under construction in California. The study seeks to understand the requirements for high levels of connectivity and spatial and operational integration of HSR stations and offer recommendations for seamless, and convenient integrated service in California intercity rail/HSR stations. The study draws data from a review of the literature on the connectivity, intermodality, and spatial and operational integration of transit systems; a survey of 26 high-speed rail experts from six different European countries; and an in-depth look of the German and Spanish HSR systems and some of their stations, which are deemed as exemplary models of station connectivity. The study offers recommendations on how to enhance both the spatial and the operational connectivity of high-speed rail systems giving emphasis on four spatial zones: the station, the station neighborhood, the municipality at large, and the region