National Academies Press: OpenBook

Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station (1997)

Chapter: 2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process

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Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
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2
NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Processes

The general goal of NASA's microgravity materials-science research program is to conduct basic and applied research under microgravity conditions (10-6g) that expands the knowledge base of materials behavior. To accomplish this goal, the research program must be able to stimulate and identify research proposals of the highest caliber. The inventory of materials-science research experiments in the microgravity research program ultimately depends on the success of the proposal solicitation and selection processes.

This chapter is divided into two sections. The first section is an overview of the solicitation and selection processes of NASA's microgravity materials-science program. The second section is a discussion of the inventory of research projects in NASA's microgravity materials-science program and an evaluation of the effectiveness of these processes. Committee recommendations are contained in both sections.

Overview

All scientific organizations stimulate and identify research proposals in a two-step process. The first step is the solicitation or announcement process, through which the agency advertises research grant opportunities. The second step is the evaluation and selection of the proposals. The following sections contain overviews of these two steps in NASA's materials-science microgravity research program.

Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×

Solicitation Process

The solicitation process affects the range and quality of proposals that are stimulated within a research community. The manner in which program goals and characteristics are defined and articulated to the community determines who responds and how they respond.

The materials-science microgravity program solicits research proposals through NASA Research Announcements (NRAs). An example is the NRA issued on December 4, 1996, for awards for the government fiscal year 1998. In the opinion of the committee, the 1996 NRA is thorough and well conceived, and the recommended areas of research are described in great detail. The in-depth description of both flight-and ground-based facilities are particularly important. In the former case, both baseline capabilities and options for investigator-initiated enhancements are described. The descriptions generally indicate the flexibility of available baseline systems and NASA's willingness to work with investigators to customize portions of the facility for special experiments.

Another strength of the 1996 solicitation is that it prominently encourages undergraduate participation in the microgravity research enterprise. In addition to the intrinsic merit of providing opportunities for undergraduates to participate in real research projects, this initiative could significantly increase interest in the microgravity program among future professionals.

Unfortunately, the sections concerning the current SSFF Core concept are not of the same high quality. Whereas the descriptions of the ground-based facilities provide researchers with sufficient descriptions and parameters for reduced gravity environments, the description of the current Core concept does not provide an adequate description of its flexibility. The very name of the SSFF, in fact, suggests that it can only support high-temperature experiments. Although the committee recognizes that the SSFF Core is still in the concept and development stages, the key issue is whether the baseline facilities will be sufficiently flexible to support a broad range of research opportunities.

Finding. The 1996 NRA is well conceived and thoroughly describes the research areas, the ground-based and flight-based facilities, and the desirability of undergraduate participation. The NRA does not provide a similar level of detail about the flexibility and usefulness of the current SSFF Core concept.

Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×

Recommendation. NASA should provide more information in future NRAs on the flexibility and usefulness of the current SSFF Core concept. NASA should also consider changing the name of the SSFF Core to the Space Station Materials Research Facility or some other more inclusive title that would give researchers more insight into its scientific objectives and experimental flexibility.

Evaluation and Selection Process

The evaluation and selection process is also effectively conceived and designed. A strong feature of the process is that it contains extensive external peer-review by scientists both with and without microgravity materials-science research experience. Another proven evaluation strategy that is incorporated in the present external peer-review process is the grouping of proposals according to common themes, which facilitates comparative evaluations.

The total review process has been divided into three stages: (1) Initial Proposal Review, which leads to initial funding decisions for basic ground-based microgravity research; (2) Science Concept Review, which recommends further ground-based research in preparation for potential flight-based experimentation; and (3) Requirements Definition Review, which recommends hardware design and development in preparation for final flight-based experimentation (i.e., Flight Definition). The Requirements Definition Review process is also divided into three sections: (1) Objectives of Requirement Definition Review, (2) Science Review, and (3) Engineering Review. The evaluation factors for each stage of the review process appear to be defined precisely and appropriately.

For the Initial Proposal Review, the evaluation factors are related to scientific merit. Although the proposals must articulate a need for a microgravity environment—preferably quantitatively—arguments for the ultimate viability of the research as a flight experiment are not required. Thus, decisions are not based on perceptions of present or future hardware capabilities, which is critically important both for ensuring opportunities for investigators who may not be knowledgeable initially about the details of flight systems and operations and for ensuring that hardware-based biases do not inadvertently work against scientific experiments with high intrinsic merit.

Finding. System design should not be the criterion that defines program opportunities. The programs selected for flight must be those

Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×

that will benefit science, engineering, and technology, and thus society, most significantly.

Recommendation. NASA should continue to ensure that perceived flight viability (i.e., current and projected hardware capabilities) does not influence the Initial Proposal Review segment of the selection process.

The assignment by NASA of a project scientist to work with the Principal Investigator to develop the Science Requirements Document, which is the basis for the second stage of the review cycle (i.e., the Science Concept Review), is an effective method of assisting Principal Investigators in making the transition from fundamental research idea to flight experiment concept.

In the committee's opinion, a possible weakness in the current NASA review process is that the same panel is used both for the second-phase Science Concept Review and for the Science Review component of the third-phase Requirements Definition Review. Although the committee recognizes that continuity and familiarity with a given research project are important, NASA must ensure that reviewer ownership and advocacy do not compromise the evaluation process. One way to do this is to use only a fraction (e.g., less than half) of the Science Concept Review panel members in the later Science Review.

Inventory of Research Projects

One indication of the success of a solicitation and selection process is by the scientific balance of the inventory of research experiments that are chosen. Although the first priority must always be scientific merit, a concentration of proposals in a subset of research areas could indicate that the solicitation process is not reaching the entire community or that a segment of the community has not been convinced of the merit of the program and the applicability of the facilities.

As Table 2-1 shows, the greatest number of materials-science microgravity projects in 1997 was in the area of metals and alloys (i.e., 32 of 71 Principal Investigators have expertise in this area). The number of projects in the area of electronic and photonic materials was also high (26 Principal Investigators), with most involving semiconductor research. The current selection procedure has had less

Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×

TABLE 2-1 Expertise of Materials-Science Microgravity Principal Investigators in 1997

 

Number of Principal Investigators (PIs) in Ground-Based Research

Number of PIs in Flight Definition Research

Number of PIs in Flight Research

Total

 

Ongoing

New

Ongoing

New

 

 

Metals and Alloys

9

11

1

3

8

32

Electronics and Photonics

6

11

1

2

6

26

Glasses and Ceramics

3

4

 

 

 

7

Polymers

1

5

 

 

 

6

Total

19

31

2

5

14

71

success in developing a broad-based, high-impact program of research for either polymeric materials (6 Principal Investigators) or glasses and ceramics (7 Principal Investigators). Only 22 polymer proposals were received in response to the 1996 NRA compared with 75 proposals in metals and alloys and 70 proposals in electronic and photonic materials.

Many factors may have contributed to this imbalance in the research program, chief among them the nature of the materials themselves. The nature of the sintering process in ceramics and the viscous character of typical high-polymer melts greatly desensitizes their responses to gravitational acceleration, making the value of a microgravity environment in experiments on these classes of materials less obvious than on metals and semiconductors. The underrepresentation of polymeric, glass, and ceramics materials research within the materials-science microgravity program may thus result from a perceived lack of benefits of the microgravity environment by these research communities. Promising areas of microgravity research do exist for these materials classes, however, as will be seen in Chapter 3. To increase their participation, the communities must be effectively informed of the potential benefits of the research program as well as opportunities for participation. NASA needs to develop effective outreach methods to establish links to the best and brightest members of the community and thus to promote an

Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×

understanding and appreciation of the microgravity research program, the opportunities it offers, and the ways researchers can make contact with relevant personnel within the NASA-affiliated programs and organizations.

NASA must also determine how programs of microgravity research in these areas can best be identified and developed, given a flight schedule that provides limited opportunities and requires lengthy lead-times. The current average time to reach flight status—seven years—is an extremely long event horizon for a senior scientist and an eternity for a junior one. The time factor is especially important if the NRA process is to attract the best possible proposals. To ensure the strong growth of the program and the selection of cutting-edge research, topics and areas previously identified by NASA for support must be continually challenged by new program ideas. The strongest possible programs will only evolve through broad-based, open competition.

Recommendation. Although the first priority in selection must always be scientific merit, the microgravity materials-science program should be proactive in developing an effective outreach program (e.g., via organized sessions at professional society meetings) that conveys the benefits of the microgravity research program and stimulates proposals from segments of the materials research community that appear to be underrepresented in the current research portfolio.

In the opinion of the committee, identifying research opportunities in ceramic, glass, and polymeric materials and disseminating them to the targeted communities would be aided by increasing the representation of these research areas on the DWG and SWG. The DWG and SWG have made significant contributions to the materials-science microgravity program, but their membership is currently weighted toward metallurgical and semiconductor research. Broader expertise would enable both groups to identify high-impact research opportunities, develop an active program in those areas, and ensure that the SSFF Core can meet their needs. For example, limitations on the Core capabilities at low temperatures (less than 500°C) and lack of other specialized needs will limit its usefulness for research on polymeric, ceramic, or glass materials.

A significant number of members of the DWG and SWG are also recipients of NASA funds to conduct microgravity research. Although NASA made a concerted effort to limit the number of DWG members

Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×

receiving NASA funds, many of the members have applied for and received microgravity research grants since joining the DWG. Two members of each group are also NASA employees.

Recommendation. The membership of the DWG and the SWG should be reconstituted so that their collective expertise covers not only the scientific areas of the current microgravity experiments but all materials areas with the potential for meaningful microgravity research (e.g., ceramics, glasses, polymers, and biomaterials). To ensure objectivity, the MRD should also institute and vigorously maintain a protocol for the DWG and the SWG that ensures a proper balance between recipients and nonrecipients of NASA funds (e.g., 1:1) and independence from NASA personnel, who may be directly involved in the program.

The committee believes that some aspects of polymer, ceramic, and glass research merit serious consideration for inclusion in the microgravity materials research program (see Chapter 3), but enlarging the program raises two issues of concern. First, the desire to expand the program could unintentionally cause the implementation of a quota system. In expanding the range of the microgravity research program, NASA must not allow diversity to become a driver unto itself, which could result in the displacement of projects with great potential value or impact. Second, the current SSFF Core concept is best suited for experiments on metals and semiconductors in which high temperatures and their rates of change are the principal variables. The desirability of substantially redesigning the SSFF Core hardware systems to enable research on polymer, ceramic, or glass materials requires careful consideration. Redesigns should probably be undertaken in areas where modifications will clearly enable a broader program with little effort or collateral costs. Any substantial redefinition of the microgravity materials science research plan or redesign of the SSFF Core must be driven by the needs of a coherent, broad-based, high-impact program of materials research carried out in a microgravity environment, and any potential studies of polymeric, ceramic, and glass materials must be evaluated in the context of this larger research program.

Recommendation. If potentially high-impact polymeric, glass, and ceramic materials research is to be pursued, NASA should make it a priority of the reconstituted DWG and SWG to determine which

Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×

programs have the highest potential for making significant contributions to the field of microgravity materials science research, what ranking among these programs is appropriate when they are placed in competition with each other, and what design modifications to the SSFF Core concept should be implemented to accommodate these new areas. These determinations will only be valid, however, if they are performed by new working groups with representatives from all the possible areas of microgravity materials science research and thus can debate the issues in a balanced and objective manner.

Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×
Page 21
Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×
Page 22
Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×
Page 23
Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×
Page 24
Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×
Page 25
Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×
Page 26
Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×
Page 27
Suggested Citation:"2 NASA's Microgravity Research Solicitation and Selection Process." National Research Council. 1997. Future Materials Science Research on the International Space Station. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5971.
×
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