Tag Archives: NASA

New Books: NASA’s Suborbital Flight Program, Infectious Diseases, and more

We have a slight change to Notes From NAP: the weekly list of new publications on our site will now be on Mondays rather than the end of the day on Friday. As always, anyone interested in staying informed of the new books on the day they’re published can subscribe to the New From NAP RSS feed.

Featured Publication

Revitalizing NASA’s Suborbital Program: Advancing Science, Driving Innovation, and Developing Workforce (final)

Suborbital flight activities, including the use of sounding rockets, aircraft, and high-altitude balloons, and suborbital reusable launch vehicles, offer valuable opportunities to advance science, train the next generation of scientists and engineers, and provide opportunities for participants in the programs to acquire skills in systems engineering and systems integration that are critical to maintaining the nation’s leadership in space programs. Furthermore, the NASA Authorization Act of 2008 finds it in the national interest to expand the size of NASA’s suborbital research program and to consider increased funding.

The Space Studies Board assessed the current state and potential of NASA’s suborbital research programs and conduct a review of NASA’s capabilities in this area. The scope of this review included: existing programs that make use of suborbital flights; the status, capability, and availability of suborbital platforms; the existing or planned launch facilities for suborbital missions; and opportunities for scientific research, training, and educational collaboration in the conduct of suborbital missions by NASA.

The findings were that suborbital program elements–airborne, balloon, and sounding rockets–play vital and necessary strategic roles in NASA’s research, innovation, education, employee development, and spaceflight mission success, thus providing the foundation for achievement of agency goals.

All New Publications

Infectious Disease Movement in a Borderless World: Workshop Summary (final)

Grand Challenges of Our Aging Society: Workshop Summary (final)

Information Assurance for Network-Centric Naval Forces (final)

Mitigating the Nutritional Impacts of the Global Food Price Crisis: Workshop Summary (final)


New This Week: Physical & Life Sciences, NASA, and Hypertension

The end of another week brings us the roundup of all of the new publications that hit our site. If you like any of these pubs, you can use the share buttons to share the article on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media site that you can think of, as well as email it to a friend.

Featured Publication

Research at the Intersection of the Physical and Life Sciences (final)

Traditionally, the natural sciences have been divided into two branches: the biological sciences and the physical sciences. Today, an increasing number of scientists are addressing problems lying at the intersection of the two. These problems are most often biological in nature, but examining them through the lens of the physical sciences can yield exciting results and opportunities. For example, one area producing effective cross-discipline research opportunities centers on the dynamics of systems. Equilibrium, multistability, and stochastic behavior–concepts familiar to physicists and chemists–are now being used to tackle issues associated with living systems such as adaptation, feedback, and emergent behavior.

Research at the Intersection of the Physical and Life Sciences discusses how some of the most important scientific and societal challenges can be addressed, at least in part, by collaborative research that lies at the intersection of traditional disciplines, including biology, chemistry, and physics. This book describes how some of the mysteries of the biological world are being addressed using tools and techniques developed in the physical sciences, and identifies five areas of potentially transformative research. Work in these areas would have significant impact in both research and society at large by expanding our understanding of the physical world and by revealing new opportunities for advancing public health, technology, and stewardship of the environment.

This book recommends several ways to accelerate such cross-discipline research. Many of these recommendations are directed toward those administering the faculties and resources of our great research institutions–and the stewards of our research funders, making this book an excellent resource for academic and research institutions, scientists, universities, and federal and private funding agencies.

All New Publications This Week

Revitalizing NASA’s Suborbital Program: Advancing Science, Driving Innovation, and Developing Workforce (prepublication)

Envisioning the 2020 Census (prepublication)

A Population-Based Policy and Systems Change Approach to Prevent and Control Hypertension (prepublication)

Private-Public Sector Collaboration to Enhance Community Disaster Resilience: A Workshop Report (prepublication)

Spectrum Management for Science in the 21st Century (final)

An Enabling Foundation for NASA’s Space and Earth Science Missions (final)

New Publications: Near-Earth Objects, Engineering, Zoonotic Diseases and More

Happy new year! Things have been a little bit quiet around here with the winter holidays, so we’re listing out all the new publications for the last three weeks in one fell swoop to get the year started with a bang.

Also, don’t forget to check out the YouTube video that accompanies Sustaining Global Surveillance and Response to Emerging Zoonotic Disease.

Featured Publication

Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies: Interim Report (final)

The United States is currently the only country with an active, government-sponsored effort to detect and track potentially hazardous near-Earth objects (NEOs). Congress has mandated that NASA detect and track 90 percent of NEOs that are 1 kilometer in diameter or larger. These objects represent a great potential hazard to life on Earth and could cause global destruction. NASA is close to accomplishing this goal. Congress has more recently mandated that by 2020 NASA should detect and track 90 percent of NEOs that are 140 meters in diameter or larger, a category of objects that is generally recognized to represent a very significant threat to life on Earth if they strike in or near urban areas. Achieving this goal may require the building of one or more additional observatories, possibly including a space-based observatory.

Congress directed NASA to ask the National Research Council to review NASA’s near-Earth object programs. This interim report addresses some of the issues associated with the survey and detection of NEOs. The final report will contain findings and recommendations for survey and detection, characterization, and mitigation of near-Earth objects based on an integrated assessment of the problem.

All New Publications, 12/21/09 – 01/08/09

Phase I Report on Review of the Testing of Body Armor Materials for Use by the U.S. Army: Letter Report (final)

Information Assurance for Network-Centric Naval Forces (prepublication)

Engineering Curricula: Understanding the Design Space and Exploiting the Opportunities: Summary of a Workshop (final)

The Domestic and International Impacts of the 2009-H1N1 Influenza A Pandemic: Global Challenges, Global Solutions: Workshop Summary (prepublication)

Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass: Technological Status, Costs, and Environmental Impacts (final)

Sustaining Global Surveillance and Response to Emerging Zoonotic Diseases (final)

Intangible Assets: Measuring and Enhancing Their Contribution to Corporate Value and Economic Growth: Summary of a Workshop (final)

Evaluation of NSF’s Program of Grants and Vertical Integration of Research and Education in the Mathematical Sciences (VIGRE) (final)

An Assessment of NASA’s National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service (final)

New This Week: NASA, Evolution, Childhood Obesity

New this week we have two publications on the prevention of childhood obesity, continuing education in the health professions, humane issues in the use of random source dogs and cats in research, and one of the books from the In The Light Of Evolution series.

Featured New Publication

Mitigating the Nutritional Impacts of the Global Food Price Crisis: Workshop Summary (prepublication)


In 2007 and 2008, the world witnessed a dramatic increase in food prices. The global financial crisis that began in 2008 compounded the burden of high food prices, exacerbating the problems of hunger and malnutrition in developing countries. The tandem food price and economic crises struck amidst the massive, chronic problem of hunger and undernutrition in developing countries. National governments and international actors have taken a variety of steps to mitigate the negative effects of increased food prices on particular groups. The recent abrupt increase in food prices, in tandem with the current global economic crisis, threatens progress already made in these areas, and could inhibit future efforts.

The Institute of Medicine held a workshop, summarized in this volume, to describe the dynamic technological, agricultural, and economic issues contributing to the food price increases of 2007 and 2008 and their impacts on health and nutrition in resource-poor regions. The compounding effects of the current global economic downturn on nutrition motivated additional discussions on these dual crises, their impacts on the nutritional status of vulnerable populations, and opportunities to mitigate their negative nutritional effects.

All New Publications

Redesigning Continuing Education in the Health Professions (prepublication)

An Enabling Foundation for NASA’s Space and Earth Science Missions (prepublication)

A Database for a Changing Economy: Review of the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) (prepublication)

Benefit-Cost Analysis for Early Childhood Interventions: Workshop Summary (final)

In the Light of Evolution III: Two Centuries of Darwin (final)

Scientific and Humane Issues in the Use of Random Source Dogs and Cats in Research (final)

Race, Ethnicity, and Language Data: Standardization for Health Care Quality Improvement (final)

A Review of the NIOSH Roadmap for Research on Asbestos Fibers and Other Elongate Mineral Particles (final)

Community Perspectives on Obesity Prevention in Children: Workshop Summaries (final)

Childhood Obesity Prevention in Texas: Workshop Summary (final)

New Publications Released This Week

It’s Friday, which means we take our weekly look back at the new publications on the NAP website. We’re spotlighting the prepublication of Surrounded By Science: Learning Science in Informal Environments, and just below that is a list of all the publications that have hit the website in the past week.

Feel free to use the icons at the bottom of this post to share it on Facebook, Twitter or other social sharing and bookmarking sites.

Featured Publication

Surrounded by Science: Learning Science in Informal Environments (prepublication)

Practitioners in informal science settings–museums, after-school programs, science and technology centers, media enterprises, aquariums, zoos, and botanical gardens–are interested in finding out what learning looks like, how to measure it, and what they can do to ensure that people of all ages, from different backgrounds and cultures, have a positive learning experience.

Surrounded by Science: Learning Science in Informal Environments, is designed to make that task easier. Based on the National Research Council study, Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits, this book is a tool that provides case studies, illustrative examples, and probing questions for practitioners. In short, this book makes valuable research accessible to those working in informal science: educators, museum professionals, university faculty, youth leaders, media specialists, publishers, broadcast journalists, and many others.

All Publications This Week

Nanotechnology in Food Products: Workshop Summary (final)

A Review of the NIOSH Roadmap for Research on Asbestos Fibers and Other Elongate Mineral Particles (prepublication)

A Transportation Research Program for Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change and Conserving Energy Special Report 299 (prepublication)

An Assessment of NASA’s National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service (prepublication)

Frontiers in Crystalline Matter: From Discovery to Technology (final)

Technology, Policy, Law, and Ethics Regarding U.S. Acquisition and Use of Cyberattack Capabilities (final)

Reengineering the Survey of Income and Program Participation (final)

New Publications This Week (10/19-10/23)

Some weeks are bigger than others, and this week is one of those big weeks. Two of our publications got a lot of attention—School Meals and Hidden Costs of Energy—so we thought we’d feature both of them.

There are plenty more, though: two publications on childhood obesity, as well as publications covering tobacco use in the military, the Department of Defense’s Fast Track of SBIR, NASA, and state voter registration.

If you’d like faster notification of our new publications, subscribe to the New From NAP RSS feed, or connect with us on Twitter or Facebook for featured books and articles.

Featured Publications

School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children (prepublication)


Ensuring that the foods provided to children in schools are consistent with current dietary recommendations is an important national focus. Various laws and regulations govern the operation of school meal programs. In 1995, Nutrition Standards and Meal Requirements were put in place to ensure that all meals offered would be high in nutritional quality.

School Meals: Building Blocks For Healthy Children reviews and provides recommendations to update the nutrition standard and the meal requirements for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. The recommendations reflect new developments in nutrition science, increase the availability of key food groups in the school meal programs, and allow these programs to better meet the nutritional needs of children, foster healthy eating habits, and safeguard children’s health.

School Meals sets standards for menu planning that focus on food groups, calories, saturated fat, and sodium and that incorporate Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Dietary Reference Intakes. This book will be used as a guide for school food authorities, food producers, policy leaders, state/local government and parents.

Hidden Costs of Energy: Unpriced Consequences of Energy Production and Use (prepublication)


Despite the many benefits of energy, most of which are reflected in energy market prices, the production, distribution, and use of energy causes negative effects. Many of these negative effects are not reflected in energy market prices. When market failures like this occur, there may be a case for government interventions in the form of regulations, taxes, fees, tradable permits or other instruments that will motivate recognition of these external or hidden costs.

Hidden Costs of Energy defines and evaluates key external costs and benefits that are associated with the production, distribution, and use of energy, but not reflected in market prices. In aggregate, the damage estimates presented here are substantial, and reflect damages from air pollution associated with electricity generation, motor vehicle transportation, and heat generation. The book also considers other effects not quantified in dollar amounts, such as damages from climate change, effects of some air pollutants such as mercury, and risks to national security.

While not a comprehensive guide to policy, this analysis indicates that major initiatives to further reduce other emissions, improve energy efficiency, or shift to a cleaner electricity-generating mix could substantially reduce the damages of external effects. A first step in minimizing the adverse consequences of new energy technologies is to better understand these external effects and damages. Hidden Costs of Energy will therefore be a vital informational tool for government policy makers, scientists, and economists in even the earliest stages of research and development on energy technologies.

All Publications This Week

Protecting and Accessing Data from the Survey of Earned Doctorates: A Workshop Summary (prepublication)

Improving State Voter Registration Databases Final Report (prepublication)

Childhood Obesity Prevention in Texas: Workshop Summary (prepublication)

Community Perspectives on Obesity Prevention in Children: Workshop Summary (prepublication)

Revisiting the Department of Defense SBIR Fast Track Initiative (final)

Combating Tobacco Use in Military and Veteran Populations (final)

Fostering Visions for the Future: A Review of the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (final)