Spinoff 2002: Fortieth Anniversary Technology Utilization Program

Publisher Marketing: Since its inception 40 years ago, NASA's Technology Transfer Program has led the way for our Nation to benefit from cutting-edge aerospace technologies. In addition to contributing to U. S. economic growth, these technologies are improving the quality of life on Earth while finding new ways to protect and preserve it. NASA's research and development efforts have advanced areas in medicine, communications, manufacturing, computer technology, and homeland security. These breakthroughs, translated into commercial products, are enhancing the lives of Americans everywhere. When a congressional mandate led NASA to develop the Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Program, the Agency began a wide dissemination of its research and development results. In doing so, NASA recognized that many of its technologies were transferable to industry for the development of commercial products. As a result, the Technology Utilization Program was born in 1962. The successful program went through several changes over the years, as its philosophy, mission, and goals adapted into the Technology Transfer Program we know today. The program strives to make the latest technologies available to industry as soon as they are developed. Each year, NASA's Spinoff publication showcases new products and services resulting from commercial partnerships between NASA and private industry. In the 2002 issue, the NASA field centers reflect upon the growth that has made these innovations available to the public. The Research and Development section examines past achievements, current successes, and future goals for each of the 10 centers. The Commercial Benefits section proudly highlights 51 new spinoff products, including a heart pump for patients needing a heart transplant, as well as an air purifier that destroys anthrax spores. The Technology Transfer and Outreach section describes the outreach achievements and educational successes made possible through the NASA Commercial Technology Network. Each section of Spinoff 2002 provides compelling evidence of the Technology Transfer Program's success and value. With commercial products and successes spanning from work on the Apollo missions to the International Space Station, the 40th anniversary of the Technology Transfer Program invites us to celebrate our history while planning the future. Contributor Bio:  Administration, National Aeronautics and Edward Clinton Ezell, born in Indianapolis, Indiana (1939), received his A. B. from Butler University (1961); M. A. from the University of Delaware (1963), where he was a Hagley Fellow; and Ph. D. in the history of science and technology from Case Institute of Technology, Cleveland (1969). He taught at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, and Sangamon State University, Springfield, Illinois, before contracting with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to write The Partnership (Linda N. Ezell, coauthor, 1978), a history of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. In 1980, Ezell became the historian at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. Also active in the field of military technology, Ezell had recently written Handguns of the World (1981), a companion volume to the 12th edition of Small Arms of the World (in press) (Harrisburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books). He is now a curator of military history at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington. Linda Neuman Ezell, born in Fulton County, Illinois (1951), graduated from Sangamon State University in 1974. Under contract to NASA Headquarters, she has also written NASA Historical Data Book, 1958-1968, vol. 2, Programs and Major Projects (in press) and is working on another volume that will describe NASA programs during the agency's second decade. Ms. Ezell, a part-time graduate student at George Washington University in Washington, is also an emergency medical technician and firefighter for a volunteer fire department in northern Virginia.