May 11, 2005

Dryden Flight Research Center

P.O. Box 273
Edwards, California 93523
Phone 661/276-3449
FAX 661/276-3566

Roberta Ross
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
Phone: 661/276-3143
roberta.j.ross@nasa.gov

<u>Business & Technology Editors</u>

NOTE TO EDITORS: 05-31

MENLO PARK TECHNOLOGY FIRM AWARDED NASA RESEARCH GRANT

A Menlo Park high-technology firm has won a NASA research grant under
the aerospace agency's Small Business Technology Transfer Research
(STTR) program that could improve the efficiency of computer flight
simulation for a wide variety of aircraft.

Intelligent Aerodynamics, working with Stanford University, will

receive one of two grants that will be awarded by NASA's Dryden
Flight Research Center at Edwards, Calif., under an STTR Phase II
research and development proposal in late May. The firm's proposal
was one of 27 funded by NASA under the agency's 2003 STTR program,
and is valued at up to $600,000 over a two-year performance period.

The NASA grant will fund Intelligent Aerodynamics' development of

mathematical algorithms for steady and unsteady multi-disciplinary
simulation of flight vehicles.

"Current simulation techniques require the use of many programs to

address the broad range of flight conditions commonly encountered by
a single aircraft during different phases of flight, such as takeoff
and landing, subsonic cruise and supersonic dash or cruise," said
Rodney Bogue, STTR program manager at NASA Dryden.

"Once these tools are developed, they will enable more optimized
designs, resulting in safer and cheaper products for a broad range of
both new and existing aircraft ranging from missiles and high
performance military aircraft to tiltrotors and unmanned aerial
vehicles," he added. "The code resulting from this effort will reduce
this effort, and streamline and integrate the results for a broad
range of engineering disciplines."

Bogue noted that Intelligent Aerodynamics' proposal was chosen based

upon technical merit and innovation, value to NASA, commercial
potential, company capabilities, and the firm's performance under an
earlier Phase I STTR grant.

"Phase I awards are for the purpose of proving a proposed concept, and
are funded up to a maximum of $70,000 for a six-month period," Bogue
explained. "Phase II selections are made from high-performing Phase I
projects, and are oriented to development of a marketable product.
Between 40 and 50 percent of Phase I contracts are selected for the
Phase II follow-on."

Overall, 24 small, high-technology firms in 15 states will share in

about $16 million in STTR Phase II grants awarded by NASA this year,
with a couple receiving more than one contract.

The 27 projects funded were selected from 41 proposals submitted by

firms completing STTR Phase I projects. Each proposal was evaluated
to determine if it met STTR Phase I objectives and if it was a
feasible research innovation to meet the aerospace agency's needs.

The NASA STTR program is intended to stimulate technological

innovation, increase the use of small business -- including
women-owned and disadvantaged firms -- in meeting federal research
and development needs, and increase private sector commercialization
of innovations derived from federally funded research. The program is
managed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., with
oversight from NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate,
Washington, D.C. Individual STTR projects are selected and managed by
each of NASA's 10 field centers.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Further information about Intelligent Aerodynamics

and its NASA STTR project can be obtained by contacting Charlotte
Jameson at (650) 854-6710. The firm is located at 845 Sharon Park
Drive, Menlo Park, Calif. 94025-6739.

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