NASA Experts Offer Help to Area Business
YOUNGSTOWN, OHio -- Resolving a business’ engineering or technology concern might not be rocket science, but NASA representatives will be available to meet with selected area companies during a program Oct. 23 at Youngstown State University.
The one-day initiative grew out of an introduction brokered by the federal Strong Cities Strong Communities program, NASA and Youngstown State University’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, said Michael Hripko, director of research and economic development at the STEM College. That introduction turned into an opportunity for small and medium-sized companies to receive no-cost consulting from subject matter experts from NASA’s Glenn Research Center who will come to YSU.
Companies interested in consulting with the NASA experts are asked to apply online at by Sept. 25. Proposal winners will be selected early in October. NASA Glenn’s areas of expertise include energy, propulsion and materials science.
“We’re trying to solve problems on Earth that they’ve already solved in space,” Hripko explained. “Many of the engineering challenges are similar to what we might see in today’s small and medium-sized businesses, so what we’re trying to do is take that expertise from rocket scientists and from engineers and transfer that down to businesses in the Youngstown community.”
The Oct. 23 program is based on an initiative that took place in Cleveland to encourage companies there to implement new processes or try new products. In conjunction with a joint low-interest loan program involving the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, the director of the NASA Glenn Center agreed to donate 40 hours per participating company of engineering time by NASA Glenn experts in their subject matter.
“The idea was that would be enough time to work with the company on an idea and to see if there was something we could assist them with,” said Carol Torbert, project manager for NASA Glenn’s manufacturing innovation project.
Torbert described the “road show” at YSU as “a first-time endeavor” so it will serve as a learning experience. “We’re trying out this model to see if it’s useful or helpful,” she remarked.
Proposals will be reviewed by a committee of YSU and Magnet representatives who will pare the list “that looks very consistent with our expertise,” Torbert said. NASA will then bring the appropriate subject matter experts to YSU to meet with the companies chosen.
Subject matter experts from NASA Glenn will meet two or three companies in the morning and other companies in the afternoon. “What we want to do is see if there are things we can do on short order that may be helpful,” Torbert said.
Just as space technology has trickled down to Earth in unexpected ways over the decades, the NASA experts have provided assistance to industries that might not have been seen as conventional fits for technology applications, she elaborated.
For example, Torbert related, a northeastern Ohio company that cuts vinyl records, which have recently seen a resurgence in popularity, wanted to be more productive with its existing equipment to keep up with the new demand.
“They didn’t want to change out their systems – that would have been very expensive – but they had a few issues where the vinyl records were sticking and it would impact their production. They couldn’t produce as fast,” Torbert recalls.
“What we learned is they had thermocouples in their systems that were the original thermocouples because they were over 20 years old. So we updated a lot of those kinds of things within their process and it significantly improved their ability to produce the records they needed to produce.”
The Oct. 23 program is being presented by YSU; NASA; the federal Strong Cities, Strong Communities Initiative; Magnet, a nonprofit organization that promotes manufacturing in the 18-county northeastern Ohio region; and Magnet’s Partnership for Regional Innovation Services to Manufacturers, or Prism, program.
Participants must be U.S.-owned companies and agree to other provisions, including reporting any economic impact such as a new product resulting from the consultation, said Debra Yarwood, business development manager for Magnet. Proposals must also be relevant to NASA’s capabilities.
“We will meet with the companies and talk with them about what are their technical challenges and see if there’s anything that we can talk with them about at that point,” Torbert said. If there are some longer-term projects, NASA Glenn could donate 40 hours of time pro bono. “That’s something we’re still working on. We wouldn’t be able to do all of the companies that we meet with on the road show but maybe one or two,” she said.
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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