I got involved through former SPO Chief Nona Cheeks, who had a conversation with Dave Naves, a former Harlem Globetrotter and board member of National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA). Dave also worked in our office years ago. Nona and Dave discussed how a collaboration between NASA and NBRPA would be beneficial to both parties. NASA would license its technologies, and the NBRPA would have technology startup companies founded by its members. Since Nona knew of my love for sports, she asked me to draft the Space Act Agreement. And as they say, “the rest is history.” Following this success, we now have agreements with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA).
WHAT DID YOU DO AT NASA BEFORE BECOMING A TECHNOLOGY MANAGER AT GODDARD?
Before becoming a technology manager, I worked in the area of ground systems development. I was the government lead working with teams that develop mission control centers for Goddard-led missions. I served as Mission Operation Implementation Manager for the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope mission. Once that mission was in maintenance, I served as the Earth Observing System Mission Operations System (EMOS) Manager. I was responsible for maintenance and enhancement of the highly complex telemetry and command (T&C) ground system, as well as online and analysis subsystems needed for planning, analysis, and real-time operational support for the Aqua, Aura, Terra, and TRMM missions. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR NASA TO PARTICIPATE IN TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER?
Technology transfer is the process by which existing knowledge, facilities, or capabilities developed under federal research and development (R&D) funding are utilized to fulfill public and private needs. NASA’s participation in technology transfer helps the nation’s economy. At Goddard, there are close to 200 new technologies reported every year created by the brightest scientists and engineers in the world. In some cases with further R&D of spacecraft, instruments, and software could lead to the development of new technologies called spinoffs, which create new businesses that lead to new jobs. Technology transfer also helps NASA establish partnerships with industry and universities in areas of mutual technology interests.
Photo Credit: NASA/Johnson Space Center/Bill Stafford
Q&A w/TECH MANAGER
WHAT IS THE NASA COMMERCIALIZATION TRAINING CAMP AND HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED?
The NASA Commercialization Training Camp is a three-day workshop at a NASA center where professional athletes learn about NASA programs that are available to entrepreneurs interested in utilizing NASA technology to create businesses. At the camp, they learn about our programs such as technology transfer, Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/ STTR), licensing of NASA technology, and other programs, such as Startup NASA. They also gain the opportunity to speak with former athletes who began their own startup businesses using NASA technologies.
DENNIS SMALL
NASA is full of passionate people, and though everyone at NASA loves space, there’s plenty of room for other interests. “I’ve always loved sports,” says Dennis Small, a technology manager with the Strategic Partnerships Office (SPO) at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “Since I began playing organized ball in Baltimore City, the love of the game has never changed.” Small found a way to merge his love for space and sports by leading the NASA Commercialization Training Camp, an agency-wide initiative started by Goddard to introduce professional athletes to technology transfer and commercialization. The program is in its second year, with multiple cohorts of athletes completing the training. As a technology manager at Goddard, Small facilitates technology licensing and partnerships, and through workshops like the NASA Commercialization Training Camp, he finds creative ways to achieve these goals. The Spark magazine recently caught up with Small to ask him about his work at NASA.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING A TECHNOLOGY MANAGER AT GODDARD?
What I enjoy about this job is it incorporates all that I love to do. I get the opportunity to learn about new technologies. I get the opportunity to meet and work with some of the greatest minds in the world. Finally yet importantly, I have the opportunity to reach out to industry, colleges, high schools, grade schools, students, and the community to talk about what I do and how the Strategic Partnerships Office is beneficial to them and NASA. Caption: Attendees of the NASA Commercialization Training Camp celebrate with Dennis Small (back row, third from the right) in February 2020 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. 10 The Spark - Spring 2020
11 The Spark - Spring 2020
