Office of the NASA Chief Engineer
The NASA Inventions and Contributions Board (ICB) was established by the Space Act of 1958 which created the National Aeronautics and Space Agency in 1958. The mission of the ICB is to reward and promote outstanding scientific or technical contributions sponsored, adopted, supported, or used by NASA which are significant to aeronautics and space activities.
The Board's schedule of events is posted here. For more information on past awards, see the ICB Annual Report to the Administrator.
All awards are submitted through the Awards Liaison Officers for the Center that sponsors the candidate technology. The Board approves awards Tech Brief Articles, Software Releases, Patent Applications, and issues Board Action Awards on an ongoing basis. Click here to learn more about the requirements for these ongoing awards.
The Board Award is also the mechanism for awarding competitors in two Yearly Competitions: Software of the Year and Invention of the Year. Please click here for Board Award application forms.
Operations at the ICB are governed by three sections of the United States Code of Federal Regulations: 14CFR1209, 14CFR1240, and 14CFR1245.
The lead contact for the Inventions and Contributions Board is Mr. Anthony J. Maturo, ICB Staff Director, while questions pertaining to the NASA Space Act Awards Program may be addressed to Mr. Jesse Midgett, ICB Technologist. Questions on ICB records may be addressed to Ms. Iona Butler, ICB Records Manager. The key contact in the process for an application for patent waiver, and for advance patent waivers, is Ms. Gail M. Sawyer, ICB Staff Specialist.