NASA News: NASA Announces Aeronautics Research Institute

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA's Ames Research Center will host a
virtual institute to solicit and foster innovative ideas that address
technological challenges facing aviation and the U.S. air
transportation system today and in the future.

Jaiwon Shin, NASA's associate administrator for aeronautics research
in Washington, and Ames Director S. Pete Worden signed an agreement
Tuesday establishing the NASA Aeronautics Research Institute (NARI).

"This institute will fulfill NASA's desire to make deliberate
investments in innovative, early stage and potentially revolutionary
aviation concepts and technologies," Shin said. "We want innovation
not only within our technical portfolio, but also in the management
of it. NARI represents a new approach to introduce fresh lines of research."

NARI will be comprised of multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary
research teams creating new tools and technologies for reducing air
traffic congestion and environmental impacts, improving safety and
designing aircraft with unconventional capabilities. One goal of the
institute is to stimulate collaboration between technical disciplines
and among NASA, academic institutions, and other government and
industry organizations dedicated to aeronautics research.

With $10 million per year to distribute for early stage concepts, the
institute will complement NASA's existing research programs. As a
virtual institute, NARI will facilitate technical exchanges, solicit
research proposals, award research grants and use advanced
communication technologies such as Web-based seminars to disseminate
research findings.

NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate will provide policy
guidance for the institute, including review and approval of
implementation plans; review and concurrence for interagency
agreements; and compliance with agency requirements. Ames, which also
manages similar virtual institutes focused on astrobiology and lunar
science, will host NARI in its NASA Research Park and provide staff
and infrastructure for the institute.

"Ames is delighted to host a third virtual institute, focused on
another one of our core areas of expertise," Worden said. "We look
forward to building new communities of innovation around aeronautics."

For more information on aeronautics at NASA, visit:

http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov

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NASA's Twitter Account Receives Shorty Award

WASHINGTON -- NASA's activities in social media were recognized on
Monday in New York when the agency's official Twitter feed, @NASA,
received a Shorty Award for the best government use of social media.

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media across sites such as
Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Foursquare and others. NASA's
nomination cited multiple aspects of the agency's social-media
efforts, including the popular Angry Birds in Space game and
encouragement of science among young people.

"The Obama administration has placed a high priority on openness and
on-line communications, and @NASA is honored to be recognized for its
social media efforts with a Shorty Award," said David Weaver, NASA's
associate administrator for communications. "We are inspired by the
social media community and their passion for sharing our compelling
story of reaching for new heights and keeping America the world
leader in space exploration."

The award is NASA's third for social media. The agency won the Shorty
Award in 2009 for its use of Twitter for the Mars Phoenix Lander
mission, and astronaut Doug Wheelock was awarded the Real Time Photo
of the Year in 2011 for his "Moon from Space" picture.

NASA uses many social media sites to communicate its mission to a wide
range of followers. The @NASA twitter account has more than 2 million
followers, and NASA maintains presences on Facebook , Google+,
Flickr, and other popular platforms. NASA Socials, formerly known as
NASA Tweetups, allow social media followers to attend functions and
interact with NASA's engineers and scientists.

To view all of NASA's social media sites, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/connect

For more information about the Shorty Awards:

http://shortyawards.com

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