GRC NEWS RELEASE 00-053 00-053 For Release: September 27, 2000 Pamelia Caswell Media Relations Office (216) 433-5795 p.caswell@grc.nasa.gov Lori J. Rachul Media Relations Office (216) 433-8806 lori.j.rachul@grc.nasa.gov

NASA Glenn Innovators Win Awards

Two project teams from the NASA Glenn Research Center are recipients of Enterprise Development, Inc.'s annual Innovation Award. The award winners were recognized in the spring and being featured in the Fall 2000 issue of Cleveland Enterprise Magazine. James Sovey (of Strongsville) and Vincent Rawlin (of Wellington), both aerospace engineers in the On-Board Propulsion Technology Division, and Robert Roman (of Brook Park), an aerospace technician in the Test Installations Division, received the award for their "ring cusp ion engine". Their 1984 design of the discharge chamber, where electrons collide with atoms to form the ions that, by spewing out of the rear of a rocket propel it, improved both the performance and durability of ion engines. The design has been used in 10 commercial satellites for stationkeeping, or orbit adjustments, and in the Deep Space 1 ion engine that is propelling the probe toward its encounter with the comet Borelly. Dr. Mrityunjay Singh (of Strongsville), a scientist, and Richard Dacek (of Parma), a research technician, are employees of Dynacs Inc., and work in Glenn's Materials Division. Their winning innovation is the affordable robust ceramic joining technology (ARCJoinT) used to both manufacture and repair high-temperature ceramic and fiber-reinforced composite components. The joints produced are dense, strong and can accommodate complex shapes. The joining technology provides a low-cost manufacturing approach that is both practical and reliable. A wide variety of silicon carbide-based ceramics and fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composite components have been joined using this method. The work was funded by the Glenn Commercial Technology Office and the Center's discretionary fund for cutting-edge research not directly related to a NASA mission. The EDI Innovation Award program recognizes successful innovators in Northeast Ohio who, through the creation and use of their product, service or business practice, have measurably enhanced the value of their organization or its ability to carry out its mission. Enterprise Development, Inc., is a not-for- profit subsidiary of Case Western Reserve University and a cooperative venture with its Weatherhead School of Management. EDI manages three business incubators, including the Edison Technology Incubator, the Lewis Incubator for Technology and BioEnterprise. # # # -end-