2013 NASA IV&V Workshop Call for Papers

The Fifth International Workshop on Independent Verification & Validation (IV&V) of Software

West Virginia University’s Erickson Alumni Center

Morgantown, West Virginia, USA

September 10-12, 2013

The NASA IV&V Annual Workshop offers an in-depth understanding of the challenges that V&V organizations face in assuring that system software operates safely and reliably. The goal of the workshop is to generate solutions to these challenges. This year, we will be offering topics in three different tracks, as indicated in the tables below. To participate in this workshop, you must submit an abstract (maximum 4000 characters, including spaces) by April 15, 2013. Abstracts will be reviewed for relevancy to this workshop. A new feature of this year’s workshop will give authors the option of preparing a paper that will be presented in proceedings to be published at the completion of the workshop. If an abstract is deemed relevant, the author will be invited to prepare a draft of his or her final paper. All final paper drafts will be reviewed for acceptance as either a poster presentation or an oral presentation at this year's workshop.

All abstracts are to be written in English. An electronic version (PDF or MS Word format) should be submitted via email to Lisa Downs at Sadie.E.Downs@nasa.gov.

Important Dates

April 15, 2013              Abstract submission Due

May 15, 2013              Notification of Acceptance

June 1, 2013               Attendee Registration Opens

August 31, 2013          Final Papers/Presentations Due

August 31, 2013          Attendee Registration Closes

Contact Information

Annual IV&V Workshop Chair: Lisa Downs, Sadie.E.Downs@nasa.gov

Registration and Social Media: Bailee Morris, Bailee.R.Morris@ivv.nasa.gov and Jennifer Neptune, Jennifer.D.Neptune@ivv.nasa.gov

Corporate Sponsorships: Phil Loftis, Philip.D.Loftis@ivv.nasa.gov

Technical Committee and Annual IV&V Workshop Co-Chair: Stephen Husty, Stephen.Husty@nasa.gov

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ivv/workshops/index.html

We are currently seeking technical paper, poster and demo submissions in the areas noted below.

Josh Revels in an intern in the IV&V Program's Educator Resource Center (ERC). He played an active role in the executing of the FIRST LEGO League Robotics Competition.  

On December 8th, 2012, Fairmont State University echoed with the cheers of the 54 West Virginia FIRST LEGO League (FLL) teams. I was fortunate enough, as an ERC intern, to experience the event from working volunteer aspect. It was easy to spot the teams because members either wore colorful shirts with team designs or had on a fun costume. In the pit area, teams operated on their robots so that they could perform various tasks during the table competition such as scoring a strike in a bowling challenge. One team even managed to program their robot to climb an incline then balance it on a tilt table! It was hard to hide from the excitement of the event. Located next to the pit area, I saw teams dancing and building LEGO communities. Although the event was entertaining, I can’t help but to remember how great it felt when I witnessed a team graciously sharing a lap top charger with another team.

In the end, it became clear that the best aspect of being a part of FLL is the difference it makes in our lives. Whether it is the advancement of technology for society or working as a member of a team to accomplish a difficult test, FLL is clearly all about collaborative innovation.

Josh Revels
ERC Intern
NASA’s Independent Verification & Validation Program

Jess White is the STEM Initiatives Lead at NASA's IV&V Program. He is the current coordinator for the Careers in the Corridor event.  

NASA’s IV&V Program STEM Initiatives Office held the fourth annual Careers in the Corridor (CIC) exhibition on Friday November 30, 2012. The event showcased the variety of high tech careers available in West Virginia and featured a presentation by a former space shuttle astronaut and West Virginia native, Capt. Jon McBride.

The objective of CIC is to help sophomores, juniors and seniors imagine the future they can realize by studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Astronaut McBride spoke about his journey to become what is now West Virginia’s only astronaut. Afterwards, he joined the students on a tour of job fair exhibits staffed by NASA and other corporate and academic recruiters.  

Among the exhibitors there were West Virginia University’s Dr. Powsiri Klinkhachorn and a few members of his WVU Robotics Team. Along with them they brought the WVU Mars Rover, which was built by the WVU Robotics Team and competed in the MARS RASC-AL RoboOps Challenge. Although the robotics held the students’ interest, many of the other vendors had the opportunity to interact with the students one-on-one, which was something they felt was very important.  

“Careers in the Corridor is one of the best communication platforms I have seem for the promotion of NASA’s STEM initiatives and inspiring the next generation of West Virginians,” vendor and TASC Office Manager Bree Layton said.  

The vendors certainly weren’t the only ones who saw the benefit of this annual event. Cynthia Howell of Heritage Christian School stated that this event was very good for her students and that she hoped that their school can participate in future IV&V educational outreach opportunities.  

A big thanks to all of those who helped make this event happen. It was a great success and one that we hope to continue for many years to come. If you are interested in becoming a vendor for next year’s event, please contact STEM Initiatives Lead Jess White at jesse.e.white@nasa.gov or Bailee Morris at bailee.r.morris@ivv.nasa.gov.

Jess White
STEM Initiatives Lead
NASA’s Independent Verification & Validation Program

The IV&V Program's Independent Test Capability team is chartered to acquire, develop and maintain simulation and test environments for NASA's IV&V Program to enable dynamic analysis of NASA IV&V-supported projects. The team has worked with Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), International Space Station, Juno, Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), Autonomous Flight Safety System (AFSS) and Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center (GMSEC).  

The IV&V Program’s Independent Test Capability team had the opportunity to compete in the 2012 NASA Software of the Year competition. The competition is sponsored by the NASA Chief Engineer, the NASA Chief Information Officer and the NASA Office of Safety and Mission Assurance. The purpose of the competition is to allow the agency to recognize and appreciate NASA’s team members who set high standards for significant software that is creative, usable, transferable and possesses inherent quality.

The competition requires that teams prepare and submit a significantly large packet of information detailing the characteristics of the software including commercialization potential, uniqueness and creativity, to name a few. In addition to the packet submission, each team prepares and gives a 30 minute presentation on the software. Initial submissions are evaluated at each respective NASA center and final submissions are evaluated by a software advisory panel, with representatives from across the agency.  

It was an honor for the Independent Test Capability team to be involved in this competition and to represent the IV&V Program and Goddard Space Flight Center. The team received honorable mention recognition and was the first submission from the IV&V Program. Thank you to everyone that supported the submission and especially those who provided peer reviews and letters of support. The team looks forward to its next opportunity to compete!

Independent Test Capability Team
NASA’s Independent Verification & Validation Program

Jess White is the STEM Initiatives Lead at NASA's IV&V Program. He is the current coordinator for the Day in the Park event.  

Thirteen years of Day in the Park events has impacted over 10,000 West Virginia citizens with high quality NASA Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) educational content. This year’s Day in the Park event was no different. On October 23-24, 2012, approximately 1,200 fifth and seventh-grade students had the unique opportunity to learn about STEM careers, NASA’s mission and what it takes to be an astronaut. With a goal of inspiring, educating and engaging learners about NASA and STEM careers, students experienced hands-on scientific and engineering presentations by former astronaut Ken Cameron, the Carnegie Science Center and the Seattle-based Museum of Flight. Also attending and serving as Master of Ceremonies was former West Virginia Congressman Alan Mollohan.

Day in the Park is provided to students each year to fight against the trend of students losing interest in science and math during pre-adolescent formative years of development. Day in the Park vendors strive to provide content that is jam packed full of the “WOW” factor in regards to science and math. While eating lunch, a student told me that they are now torn between working for NASA’s IV&V Program in Fairmont and becoming an astronaut after hearing about Mr. Cameron’s experience as a NASA astronaut. Teachers attending the event were equally impressed, stating they think these types of STEM awareness opportunities are exactly what their students need as motivation to take the steps necessary to become our nations next generation of STEM professionals.  

I could not have 'daydreamed' better responses from guests of our Day in the Park events!  

For more photos, visit NASA's IV&V Program page on Facebook.

Jess White
STEM Initiatives Lead
NASA's Independent Verification & Validation Program

Former SEAP, NEAP, and SCIP Intern Joel Abraham graduated summa cum laude from South Harrison High School with a 4.0 un-weighted grade point average. He currently attends West Virginia Wesleyan College and is double majoring in Computer Information Science and Mathematics while pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. Joel has also interned at the NASA IV&V Facility each summer since 2008.  

“Try for this, I know you can do it,” my teacher said as she handed me a piece of paper. Glancing down, I saw the words ‘Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program.’ I politely took the paper and continued with my class work. Later that night my mom found the application on the floor beside my backpack with a slew of books strung around it.

“Do you realize what this is?” my mom asked holding up the paper.  

“Yeah, it’s an application I got at school today,” I replied.

“But do you realize what it is? It’s an application for an internship at the NASA IV&V Facility.”

I had no idea that this brief dialog would lead to five amazing summer internships with NASA's IV&V Program.

Each summer, interns just like me, take on projects that give them the opportunity to develop their analytical and communication skills. Some of the challenging and diverse tasks I have been given have enabled me to polish these proficiencies by participating in hands-on projects, writing formal reports, and conducting various presentations. The unique internship programs offered at the NASA IV&V Program have provided me with remarkable opportunities to apply this knowledge while learning IV&V techniques, engineering principles, and office etiquette.

During the internship, each student is paired with a mentor. These mentors invest their time and efforts in order to help the interns succeed. Being able to work with many great mentors has been a blessing. Their support allowed me to work with NASA software and create tools to be used by the IV&V Program in the future! I’m not the only one who has reaped the benefits of this program. Students from north central West Virginia and, more recently, all over the United States have benefited from these programs, as well.

So, to all of those who have sacrificed their time and efforts to invest in the lives of young people, on behalf of all of the NASA IV&V interns, I would like to extend a very sincere thank you! For more information about NASA IV&V internships, please contact STEM Initiatives Lead Jess White at Jesse.E.White@nasa.gov or visit this link.

Joel Abraham
IV&V Intern
NASA’s Independent Verification & Validation Program

Steven Hard is the Project Manager for IV&V’s OC Flight-1 effort. He is also a member of the West Virginia University (WVU) Robotics Team in Morgantown, West Virginia.  

OC Flight-1 development team member Alan Didion and I went to the State Fair of West Virginia to join the West Virginia University Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources (CEMR) booth set up within the West Virginia University building on the grounds. We represented WVU’s chapter of the Student Partnership for Cosmic Exploration (SPACE), which is a multi-disciplinary student group aimed at helping students get internships with NASA and broadening student awareness of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) opportunities. Alan is the co-president of SPACE, whereas I’m just a member spreading the word.

Steven Hard
Project Manager
NASA’s Independent Verification & Validation Program