Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer

Assistive Technology—Breaking Through Barriers
Greg McGrew, Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA)
A brief description of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA), its goals and objectives, specific examples of technology that has made a difference in people's lives and where barriers still remain, and what technology areas may emerge from federal research to help break through such barriers.

Ventricular Assist Device—From Shuttle Engines to Beating Heart
Dr. Jennifer Fogarty, NASA
How NASA technology originally used for the Space Shuttle's rocket engines was adapted and miniaturized by NASA scientists at Johnson Space Center and Ames Research Center, along with renowned heart surgeons Dr. George Noon and Dr. Michael DeBakey, Baylor College of Medicine, to develop a pump device that provides a "bridge" of critical blood flow support to patients awaiting heart transplants.

Joining Together for a Common Cause—Interagency Collaboration to Fight Disease
Dr. Kenneth Linthicum, USDA Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology
How the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other organizations joined to use global climate data to develop an early warning system for a dangerous human and animal disease, "Rift Valley Fever."

Highlights on the AFRL La Luz Academy
Gerald Mora, Air Force Research Laboratory
The La Luz Academy was established by the Air Force Research Laboratory (Kirtland AFB, N.M.) in 1994 as a Technology Transfer for Education Program to encourage students to pursue STEM studies. It provides technology-enriched, hands-on activities for students from grades 5 through 12 and is divided into 5 "flights," including the Mars Missions, for which more than 2000 fifth graders plan the establishment of a colony on Mars. The La Luz Academy incorporates the DOD's STARBASE Program, where over 800 sixth graders accomplish five full days of hands-on activities. In addition to the STARBASE Program, 800 seventh graders, 600 eighth graders, and 100 high school students participate in hands-on activities centered around technologies, including cryogenics, telescopes, lasers, satellite components, circuitry, space weather, the environment; and various aspects of systems engineering, robotics, and space vehicle design and construction. Embedded into all phases of the Academy are tools to assess the effectiveness of the flight and collect lessons learned for continuous improvement. This is supplemented by a longitudinal study on students and teachers conducted by the Eastern University School of Business to determine if there has been a positive impact on students enrolling in college-level courses in preparation for pursuing STEM careers.

Re-engineering the Curriculum
Dr. Ioannis Miaoulis, Museum of Science
Although humans make the majority of the objects we interact with and use during our day-to-day lives, the current school curriculum focuses very little on how our human-made, or designed, world is made. Pens, cars, pills, and buildings are all technologies and the results of the engineering design process. An increasing number of states now include the engineering process and the nature of key technologies in their learning standards. Introducing engineering into the curriculum as the new discipline offers a wonderful project-based learning vehicle for the entire K-12 spectrum that brings to life not only mathematics and the sciences, but connects them with social studies, language and the arts. Dr. Miaoulis described the value of including engineering in the formal curriculum and gave examples of success at various learning environments. He discussed the curriculum content for elementary, middle and high school levels and presented how engineering makes all disciplines engaging for both boys and girls, and for all types of learners.

Melissa Pickering, Center for Engineering Education and Outreach, Tufts University
The Tufts University Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO) has been a leader in supporting efforts to integrate engineering into K-12 education for over 10 years. Informed by educational research, the CEEO's outreach programs and educational technology developments utilize the engineering design process to improve students' excitement for learning in all subjects. The CEEO's graduate students, staff, and faculty analyze real classroom data, develop hands-on activity units, and design effective educational tools all in an effort to ultimately achieve the goal of improving education through engineering. This seminar provided a glimpse at preliminary engineering elementary education research data and highlighted the CEEO's most effective educational software—both efforts that need to continue, but cannot without full support at the corporate and federal levels. The research drives the development of new ideas to engage students in learning, and these new ideas can be commercialized into effective educational technologies for the classroom. How do we ensure this cycle continues?

Sandra Begay-Campbell, Sandia National Laboratories
Sandra Begay-Campbell, from Sandia National Laboratories, discussed Sandia's Native Communities Energy Program. This program promotes the development of solar projects and other low-emission, clean-energy alternatives on Navajo lands. These clean energy sources can then be used by the people of the Navajo Nation or sold to neighboring jurisdictions. The Navajo Nation has ideal conditions for wind, solar, and geothermal projects.

Lee Anne Pretends Eagle, All Native Services
Lee Anne Pretends Eagle, from All Native Services, a subsidiary company of HoChunk Inc., discussed the fundamentals of the company, including continuing efforts to enhance, build, and establish the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska's economic development and sustainability, including All Native Service's new Renewable Energy Division. The renewable/clean energy division was formed in addition to the extensive work already being performed in the federal government-contracting arena to help strengthen the reservation's economy.

Susan Sprake, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Susan Sprake, from Los Alamos National Laboratory, discussed how Sandia National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory have worked with the State of New Mexico to provide technical assistance to small businesses in New Mexico. In particular, assistance provided to energy firms has the potential to change the landscape of energy production.