Program for transfer research and impact studies

Research activities conducted under the program for Transfer Research and impact studies are reviewed. Programs include: Tech Brief - Technical Support Package (TSP) Program; transfer documentation; and technology transfer profiles. An analysis of user behavior patterns is made by studying questionnaires filled out by users of the Tech Brief - TSP program. The process of technology transfer is discussed in terms of improving its effectiveness

Program for transfer research and impact studies

Research activities conducted under the Program for Transfer Research and Impact Studies (TRIS) during 1972 included: (1) preparation of 10,196 TSP requests for TRIS application analysis; (2) interviews with over 500 individuals concerning the technical, economic, and social impacts of NASA-generated technology; (3) preparation of 38 new technology transfer example files and 101 new transfer cases; and (4) maintenance of a technology transfer library containing more than 2,900 titles. Six different modes of technology utilization are used to illustrate the pervasiveness of the transfer and diffusion of aerospace innovations. These modes also provide a basis for distinguishing the unique characteristics of the NASA Technology Utilization Program. An examination is reported of the ways in which NASA-generated technology is contributing to beneficial social change in five major areas of human concern: health, environment, safety, transportation, and communication

Hemiparasitic plant impacts animal and plant communities across four trophic levels

1.Understanding the impact of species on community structure is a fundamental question in ecology. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that both sub-dominant species and parasites can have a disproportionately large impact. 2.Here we report the impacts of an organism that is both subdominant and parasitic, the hemiparasite Rhinanthus minor. Whilst the impact of parasitic angiosperms on their hosts and, to a lesser degree, co-existing plant species, have been well characterized, much less is known about their impacts on higher trophic levels. 3.We experimentally manipulated field densities of the hemiparasite Rhinanthus minor in a species rich grassland, comparing the plant and invertebrate communities in plots where it was removed, at natural densities or at enhanced densities. 4.Plots with natural and enhanced densities of R. minor had lower plant biomass than plots without the hemiparasite, but enhanced densities almost doubled the abundance of invertebrates within the plots across all trophic levels, with effects evident in herbivores, predators and detritivores. 5.The hemiparasite R. minor, despite being a sub-dominant and transient component within plant communities that it inhabits, has profound effects on four different trophic levels. These effects persist beyond the life of the hemiparasite, emphasizing its role as a keystone species in grassland communitie

The influence of stratigraphy and facies distribution on reservoir quality and production performance in the Triassic Skagerrak Formation of the UK and Norwegian Central North Sea

Acknowledgements The Triassic Phase 2 Consortium members; BP, Total, JX Nippon & Cairn Energy are gratefully acknowledged for their support of this work. All reviewers are thanked for their comments and additions which undoubtedly improved the manuscript. Funding The work behind this paper was funded by a grant from the Triassic JIP Phase 2 award to AH.Peer reviewedPostprin

Model predictive control system design and implementation for spacecraft rendezvous

This paper presents the design and implementation of a model predictive control (MPC) system to guide and control a chasing spacecraft during rendezvous with a passive target spacecraft in an elliptical or circular orbit, from the point of target detection all the way to capture. To achieve an efficient system design, the rendezvous manoeuvre has been partitioned into three main phases based on the range of operation, plus a collision-avoidance manoeuvre to be used in event of a fault. Each has its own associated MPC controller. Linear time-varying models are used to enable trajectory predictions in elliptical orbits, whilst a variable prediction horizon is used to achieve finite-time completion of manoeuvres, and a 1-norm cost on velocity change minimises propellant consumption. Constraints are imposed to ensure that trajectories do not collide with the target. A key feature of the design is the implementation of non-convex constraints as switched convex constraints, enabling the use of convex linear and quadratic programming. The system is implemented using commercial-off-the-shelf tools with deployment using automatic code generation in mind, and validated by closed-loop simulation. A significant reduction in total propellant consumption in comparison with a baseline benchmark solution is observed

Stories tell us? Political narrative, demes, and the transmission of knowledge through culture

This paper compares two institutions of storytelling, mainstream national narratives and self-represented digital storytelling. It considers the centenary of World War 1, especially the Gallipoli campaign (1915) and its role in forming Australian ‘national character’. Using the new approach of cultural science, it investigates storytelling as a means by which cultures make and bind groups or ‘demes’. It finds that that demic (group-made) knowledge trumps individual experience, and that self-representation (digital storytelling) tends to copy the national narrative, even when the latter is known not to be true. The paper discusses the importance of culture in the creation of knowledge, arguing that if the radical potential of digital storytelling is to be understood – and realised – then a systems (as opposed to behavioural) approach to communication is necessary. Without a new model of knowledge, it seems we are stuck with repetition of the same old story

Certification of a class of industrial predictive controllers without terminal conditions

Three decades have passed encompassing a flurry of research and commercial activities in model predictive control (MPC). However, the massive strides made by the academic community in guaranteeing stability through a state- space framework have not always been directly applicable in an industrial setting. This paper is concerned with a priori and/or a posteriori certification of persistent feasibility, boundedness of industrial MPC controllers (i) based on input-output formu- lation (ii) using shorter control than prediction horizon (iii) and without terminal conditions.This work has been supported by FDOC, UGent

A new strategic framework to structure cumulative impact assessment (CIA)

Funding Information: This work was supported by Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Hub, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC EP/S000747/1) and the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) offshore energy Strategic Environmental Assessment Programme.Peer reviewedPostprin

A new strategic framework to structure Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA)

Funding Information: This work was supported by Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Hub, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC EP/S000747/1) and the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy's (BEIS) offshore energy Strategic Environmental Assessment Programme. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference. All rights reserved.Peer reviewedPublisher PD