NASA, Deloitte To Bring Space-Age Risk Management To Oil And Gas Industry

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NASA Johnson Space Center and Deloitte will enter into a strategic alliance offering advanced risk-management services to oil and gas companies. The Space Act Agreement commencement ceremony is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Central, Thursday, June 27.

These capabilities include several operational risk-management approaches aimed at companies seeking to minimize the risk of catastrophic failures - the kinds of dramatic mishaps that, while highly unlikely, can occur in remote and harsh environments.

A core value of NASA is safety, which serves as a cornerstone of mission success. This collaboration will enforce NASA's constant attention to safety as a cornerstone upon which it operates as safely as possible. Through this collaboration, NASA will gain knowledge to help prepare for future missions and to enhance current safety and risk mitigation technologies to address the dynamic, harsh, and remote requirements of emergent programs.

As part of the alliance, NASA and Deloitte will jointly offer a range of capabilities in the quickly evolving risk-sciences arena, such as "risk modeling and simulation," to help oil and gas companies eliminate blind spots in their decision making.

Using sophisticated risk-modeling and simulation tools and techniques can reduce uncertainties in engineering and operations at oil and gas companies - in much the same way NASA has done in its human spaceflight programs.

Included in the signing of the agreement are Johnson Deputy Center Director Steve Altemus, who will join veteran NASA astronaut and director of JSC's Safety and Mission Assurance office William "Bill" McArthur, Jr., Deloitte principal David Traylor and John England, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP, and leader of Deloitte's oil and gas practice.

Journalists wishing to attend the signing ceremony and media availability immediately following should contact Elisa Morales at elizabeth.morales-1@nasa.gov or call 281-483-5111 for credentialing information no later than 5 p.m., Tuesday, June 25.

Johnson Space Center is home to the International Space Station Program and the primary training facility for NASA's astronaut corps. For more information about Johnson, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/johnson

For more information about "Deloitte," which references Deloitte & Touche LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP, visit: http://www.deloitte.com/us/about

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NASA, Deloitte To Bring Space-Age Risk Management To Oil And Gas Industry

NASA selects 4 Utah students for research grants

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Four Utah graduate students have a chance to make their marks on space exploration as part of the latest class of NASAs Space Technology Research Fellowship.

The program selected 65 students whose research shows potential for use in NASA missions.

"The program is about engaging academia," said program executive Claudia Meyer. "Universities have long been held up as centers of innovation in our country. The program aims to tap into that."

The program has already awarded 128 grants since 2011, including to four Utah students.

"Ive been working toward an award like this, trying to get into a prestigious fellowship, for 3 years," said Thomas Hardin, a Brigham Young University student chosen to receive a grant. "It was a big goal achieved."

Hardin is researching how the properties of metal change when the material is bent to make products like spoons and cars. His findings would help NASA predict how durable their machines will be in space.

Hardins interest in space predates his grad school years. In high school, he worked with the flight simulation machine at the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center in Pleasant Grove.

"I honestly think thats why NASA wanted me [for the fellowship], because of my space background," Hardin said. "My research isnt all that space-oriented."

Hardin is joined by BYUs Ezekiel Merriam, University of Utah student Joe Brink and Utah State Universitys Daniel Merkley.

Grant recipients are matched with a NASA researcher who will help them with their projects. Students then conduct their research on campus and in U.S. non-profit and NASA labs.

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NASA selects 4 Utah students for research grants

Nuclea Biotechnologies, Suny’s Nanocollege announce partnership to advance nanotechnology-enabled cancer research

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ALBANY, N.Y. -- SUNY's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) and Pittsfield, Massachusetts-based Nuclea Biotechnologies, Inc. (Nuclea) announced Thursday the launch of a $1 million research partnership to enable the development and commercialization of a high-throughput nanochip to accelerate the diagnosis and treatment of breast, colon, prostate and other cancers. "This public-private partnership with Nuclea Biotechnologies expands CNSE's cutting-edge research in the nanobioscience arena, and further illustrates its role in accelerating advanced technologies and attracting high-tech companies to New York," said Dr. Alain E. Kaloyeros, CNSE Senior Vice President and CEO. "This research agreement is a perfect marriage of biotechnology and nanotechnology," said Patrick Muraca, President and CEO of Nuclea. "CNSE's global reputation as the world leader in nanoscale engineering will lend critical expertise in developing the miniature version of our protein chip, which is an important element for us as we work toward commercialization. We've assembled a great team and look forward to this collaboration with CNSE." "This partnership targets important research that offers great promise for improving the quality of life for those stricken with cancer and other deadly diseases," said Dr. James Castracane, Professor and Head of CNSE's Nanobioscience Constellation. In 2005, Nuclea patented an Antibody Protein Analysis Chip to be used in their fatty acid synthase (FAS) analysis. Currently, Nuclea is able to conduct roughly 300 tests per run using the protein chip. Through this partnership with CNSE, the company expects to triple the number of tests that can be performed during each run. CNSE will utilize its state-of-the-art nanofabrication capabilities to help Nuclea develop a high-throughput nanochip, which would be used as a sensing platform for the analysis of biomarkers associated with cancer and other diseases. This will not only increase the number of tests per run, but will also result in smaller amounts of the biological sample necessary for testing. Concurrently, CNSE will explore methods to support the miniaturization of the protein chip. Nuclea and CNSE are also discussing additional opportunities for collaboration, which may include the location of a Nuclea office and personnel at CNSE, as well as joint educational and workforce training programs.

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Nuclea Biotechnologies, Suny's Nanocollege announce partnership to advance nanotechnology-enabled cancer research

Czech Nanotechnology Offers China Solutions for the Future

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BEIJING, June 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In the last few days, Czech nanotechnology pioneers have been presenting possible ways of utilizing Czech nanotechnology with specific examples taken from the Clean Air Nanosolution and Clean Water Nanosolution projects to representatives of the most significant Chinese companies at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Beijing. There is a lot of interest in the new technology because it solves fundamental problems in air and water cleaning. At the same time the Czech Republic is the world leader in the field of nanofibers and has much to offer China, from cooperation in research and development to putting specific innovative approaches into practice. Cooperation in this field could become an important new branch of mutual trade and scientific and technological exchanges and bring qualitative changes in the life of Chinese society, said H. E. Mr. Libor Secka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Peoples Republic of China.

The signing of the Letter of Intent between NAFIGATE China (a subsidiary of the Czech company NAFIGATE Corporation( http://www.nafigate.com ) JSC) and their Chinese partner Guodian Technology & Environment Group Corporation Limited (a subsidiary of one of the most prominent Chinese energy companies) is a significant milestone in Czech-Chinese cooperation in nanotechnology sector. Since January 2013 both companies have been preparing the foundation of the NANODEC (Nanofiber Development Center) project for the development of final applications for water and air cleaning.

The establishment of the center will be a major breakthrough with a global impact in the field of nanofiber applications. The aim of this initiative is to build a center of excellence which will utilize the best available worldwide know-how, the technological and infrastructural potential of one of the most significant Chinese companies and the potential of the market for new low carbon and green technologies. The Letter of Intent specifies the steps required to open the center according to the schedule in the last quarter of 2013.

We have been working intensively on the preparation of the whole project for months. As a result we expect the center to yield its first final applications just 6 months after opening, declared Ladislav Mares, CEO of NAFIGATE China. The project is divided into 3 phases. The first focuses on materials that already exist on the market, the second on equipping the center with the latest technologies and starting development of new filtering materials and the third stage will be the preparation and optimization of applications for industrial production.

Overall almost one hundred representatives from two dozens of Chinese companies attended the presentations of Czech nanotechnology. Both events, like previous NAFIGATE presentations at the Embassy, were met with great enthusiasm and interest from the Chinese side, which illustrates the good timing, interesting products and extraordinary potential that nanotechnology brings. We are delighted that the Embassy has been able to cooperate with Czech entrepreneurs and, with the financial support of the Czech Ministry for Foreign Affairs, prepare a suitable environment for specific business collaborations within the framework of economic diplomacy, said Petr Vavra, Economic Counsellor of the Embassy, in evaluating the event.

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Czech Nanotechnology Offers China Solutions for the Future