Software Management Metrics

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-05-01

obtained from Dr. Barry Boehm’s Software 5650, Contract No. F19628-86-C-O001, Engineering Economics [1] and from T. J. ESD/MITRE Software Center Acquisition...of References 1. Boehm, Barry W., SoJtware Engineering 3. Halstead, M. H., Elements of SoJhtare Economics, Englewood Cliffs, New Science, New York...1983, pp. 639-648. 35 35 - Bibliography Beizer, B., Software System Testing and Pressman , Roger S., Software Engineering:QualtyO Assurance, New York: Van

Microsoft Excel Software Usage for Teaching Science and Engineering Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singh, Gurmukh; Siddiqui, Khalid

2009-01-01

In this article, our main objective is to present the use of Microsoft Software Excel 2007/2003 for teaching college and university level curriculum in science and engineering. In particular, we discuss two interesting and fascinating examples of interactive applications of Microsoft Excel targeted for undergraduate students in: 1) computational…

A Quantitative Model for Assessing Visual Simulation Software Architecture

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-01

Software Engineering Arnold Buss Research Associate Professor of MOVES LtCol Jeff Boleng, PhD Associate Professor of Computer Science U.S. Air Force Academy... science (operating and programming systems series). New York, NY, USA: Elsevier Science Ltd. Henry, S., & Kafura, D. (1984). The evaluation of software...Rudy Darken Professor of Computer Science Dissertation Supervisor Ted Lewis Professor of Computer Science Richard Riehle Professor of Practice

Ten recommendations for software engineering in research.

PubMed

Hastings, Janna; Haug, Kenneth; Steinbeck, Christoph

2014-01-01

Research in the context of data-driven science requires a backbone of well-written software, but scientific researchers are typically not trained at length in software engineering, the principles for creating better software products. To address this gap, in particular for young researchers new to programming, we give ten recommendations to ensure the usability, sustainability and practicality of research software.

Distance Learning and Skill Acquisition in Engineering Sciences: Present State and Prospects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Potkonjak, Veljko; Jovanovic, Kosta; Holland, Owen; Uhomoibhi, James

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present an improved concept of software-based laboratory exercises, namely a Virtual Laboratory for Engineering Sciences (VLES). Design/methodology/approach: The implementation of distance learning and e-learning in engineering sciences (such as Mechanical and Electrical Engineering) is still far behind…

A Guideline of Using Case Method in Software Engineering Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zainal, Dzulaiha Aryanee Putri; Razali, Rozilawati; Shukur, Zarina

2014-01-01

Software Engineering (SE) education has been reported to fall short in producing high quality software engineers. In seeking alternative solutions, Case Method (CM) is regarded as having potential to solve the issue. CM is a teaching and learning (T&L) method that has been found to be effective in Social Science education. In principle,…

Laptop Use, Interactive Science Software, and Science Learning among At-Risk Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zheng, Binbin; Warschauer, Mark; Hwang, Jin Kyoung; Collins, Penelope

2014-01-01

This year-long, quasi-experimental study investigated the impact of the use of netbook computers and interactive science software on fifth-grade students' science learning processes, academic achievement, and interest in further science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) study within a linguistically diverse school district in…

Software Engineering Education Directory. Software Engineering Curriculum Project

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-05-01

1986 with a questionnaire mailed to schools selected from Peterson’s Graduate Programs in Engineering and Applied Sciences 1986. We contacted schools...the publi- cation more complete. To discuss any issues related to this report, please contact: Education Program Software Engineering Institute...considered to be required course reading. How to Use This Section This portion of the directory is organized by state (in the U.S.), province (in

Reverse Engineering and Software Products Reuse to Teach Collaborative Web Portals: A Case Study with Final-Year Computer Science Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Medina-Dominguez, Fuensanta; Sanchez-Segura, Maria-Isabel; Mora-Soto, Arturo; Amescua, Antonio

2010-01-01

The development of collaborative Web applications does not follow a software engineering methodology. This is because when university students study Web applications in general, and collaborative Web portals in particular, they are not being trained in the use of software engineering techniques to develop collaborative Web portals. This paper…

A Multidimensional Software Engineering Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barzilay, O.; Hazzan, O.; Yehudai, A.

2009-01-01

Software engineering (SE) is a multidimensional field that involves activities in various areas and disciplines, such as computer science, project management, and system engineering. Though modern SE curricula include designated courses that address these various subjects, an advanced summary course that synthesizes them is still missing. Such a…

ICESat (GLAS) Science Processing Software Document Series. Volume 1; Science Software Management Plan; 3.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hancock, David W., III

1999-01-01

This document provides the Software Management Plan for the GLAS Standard Data Software (SDS) supporting the GLAS instrument of the EOS ICESat Spacecraft. The SDS encompasses the ICESat Science Investigator-led Processing System (I-SIPS) Software and the Instrument Support Terminal (IST) Software. For the I-SIPS Software, the SDS will produce Level 0, Level 1, and Level 2 data products as well as the associated product quality assessments and descriptive information. For the IST Software, the SDS will accommodate the GLAS instrument support areas of engineering status, command, performance assessment, and instrument health status.

The Many Faces of a Software Engineer in a Research Community

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marinovici, Maria C.; Kirkham, Harold

2013-10-14

The ability to gather, analyze and make decisions based on real world data is changing nearly every field of human endeavor. These changes are particularly challenging for software engineers working in a scientific community, designing and developing large, complex systems. To avoid the creation of a communications gap (almost a language barrier), the software engineers should possess an ‘adaptive’ skill. In the science and engineering research community, the software engineers must be responsible for more than creating mechanisms for storing and analyzing data. They must also develop a fundamental scientific and engineering understanding of the data. This paper looks atmore » the many faces that a software engineer should have: developer, domain expert, business analyst, security expert, project manager, tester, user experience professional, etc. Observations made during work on a power-systems scientific software development are analyzed and extended to describe more generic software development projects.« less

Technical Writing for Software Engineers

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-01

Writing models 3. Analogies: Software Development and Composing 3.1 Art / Science /Design 3.2 General Correspondence Between the Disciplines 3.3...The first subsection describes a dialogue common to both fields, one that considers these disciplines as art , science , and design. The second notes...find additional similarities between software development and composing in these and other sources. 3.1 Art / Science /Design Ongoing discussions about

Technical Writing for Software Engineers

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-11-01

3 Analogies: Software Development and Composing 3.1 Art / Science /Design 3.2 General Correspondences Between the Disciplines 3.3 Specific Analogies...domains. The first subsection describes a dialogue common to both fields, one that considers these disciplines as art , science , and design. The second...will find additional similarities between software development and composing in these and other sources. 3.1 Art / Science /Design Ongoing discussions

Engineering bioinformatics: building reliability, performance and productivity into bioinformatics software.

PubMed

Lawlor, Brendan; Walsh, Paul

2015-01-01

There is a lack of software engineering skills in bioinformatic contexts. We discuss the consequences of this lack, examine existing explanations and remedies to the problem, point out their shortcomings, and propose alternatives. Previous analyses of the problem have tended to treat the use of software in scientific contexts as categorically different from the general application of software engineering in commercial settings. In contrast, we describe bioinformatic software engineering as a specialization of general software engineering, and examine how it should be practiced. Specifically, we highlight the difference between programming and software engineering, list elements of the latter and present the results of a survey of bioinformatic practitioners which quantifies the extent to which those elements are employed in bioinformatics. We propose that the ideal way to bring engineering values into research projects is to bring engineers themselves. We identify the role of Bioinformatic Engineer and describe how such a role would work within bioinformatic research teams. We conclude by recommending an educational emphasis on cross-training software engineers into life sciences, and propose research on Domain Specific Languages to facilitate collaboration between engineers and bioinformaticians.

Engineering bioinformatics: building reliability, performance and productivity into bioinformatics software

PubMed Central

Lawlor, Brendan; Walsh, Paul

2015-01-01

There is a lack of software engineering skills in bioinformatic contexts. We discuss the consequences of this lack, examine existing explanations and remedies to the problem, point out their shortcomings, and propose alternatives. Previous analyses of the problem have tended to treat the use of software in scientific contexts as categorically different from the general application of software engineering in commercial settings. In contrast, we describe bioinformatic software engineering as a specialization of general software engineering, and examine how it should be practiced. Specifically, we highlight the difference between programming and software engineering, list elements of the latter and present the results of a survey of bioinformatic practitioners which quantifies the extent to which those elements are employed in bioinformatics. We propose that the ideal way to bring engineering values into research projects is to bring engineers themselves. We identify the role of Bioinformatic Engineer and describe how such a role would work within bioinformatic research teams. We conclude by recommending an educational emphasis on cross-training software engineers into life sciences, and propose research on Domain Specific Languages to facilitate collaboration between engineers and bioinformaticians. PMID:25996054

Research on Visualization Design Method in the Field of New Media Software Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deqiang, Hu

2018-03-01

In the new period of increasingly developed science and technology, with the increasingly fierce competition in the market and the increasing demand of the masses, new design and application methods have emerged in the field of new media software engineering, that is, the visualization design method. Applying the visualization design method to the field of new media software engineering can not only improve the actual operation efficiency of new media software engineering but more importantly the quality of software development can be enhanced by means of certain media of communication and transformation; on this basis, the progress and development of new media software engineering in China are also continuously promoted. Therefore, the application of visualization design method in the field of new media software engineering is analysed concretely in this article from the perspective of the overview of visualization design methods and on the basis of systematic analysis of the basic technology.

The Human Side of Information's Converging Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Berney

1982-01-01

Discusses current issues in the design of information systems, noting contributions from three professions--computer science, human factors engineering, and information science. The eclectic nature of human factors engineering and the difficulty of drawing together studies with human engineering or software psychological components from diverse…

A Middleware Platform for Providing Mobile and Embedded Computing Instruction to Software Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mattmann, C. A.; Medvidovic, N.; Malek, S.; Edwards, G.; Banerjee, S.

2012-01-01

As embedded software systems have grown in number, complexity, and importance in the modern world, a corresponding need to teach computer science students how to effectively engineer such systems has arisen. Embedded software systems, such as those that control cell phones, aircraft, and medical equipment, are subject to requirements and…

The Software Engineering Laboratory: An operational software experience factory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Basili, Victor R.; Caldiera, Gianluigi; Mcgarry, Frank; Pajerski, Rose; Page, Gerald; Waligora, Sharon

1992-01-01

For 15 years, the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) has been carrying out studies and experiments for the purpose of understanding, assessing, and improving software and software processes within a production software development environment at NASA/GSFC. The SEL comprises three major organizations: (1) NASA/GSFC, Flight Dynamics Division; (2) University of Maryland, Department of Computer Science; and (3) Computer Sciences Corporation, Flight Dynamics Technology Group. These organizations have jointly carried out several hundred software studies, producing hundreds of reports, papers, and documents, all of which describe some aspect of the software engineering technology that was analyzed in the flight dynamics environment at NASA. The studies range from small, controlled experiments (such as analyzing the effectiveness of code reading versus that of functional testing) to large, multiple project studies (such as assessing the impacts of Ada on a production environment). The organization's driving goal is to improve the software process continually, so that sustained improvement may be observed in the resulting products. This paper discusses the SEL as a functioning example of an operational software experience factory and summarizes the characteristics of and major lessons learned from 15 years of SEL operations.

Towards understanding software: 15 years in the SEL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcgarry, Frank; Pajerski, Rose

1990-01-01

For 15 years, the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) at GSFC has been carrying out studies and experiments for the purpose of understanding, assessing, and improving software, and software processes within a production software environment. The SEL comprises three major organizations: (1) the GSFC Flight Dynamics Division; (2) the University of Maryland Computer Science Department; and (3) the Computer Sciences Corporation Flight Dynamics Technology Group. These organizations have jointly carried out several hundred software studies, producing hundreds of reports, papers, and documents: all describing some aspect of the software engineering technology that has undergone analysis in the flight dynamics environment. The studies range from small controlled experiments (such as analyzing the effectiveness of code reading versus functional testing) to large, multiple-project studies (such as assessing the impacts of Ada on a production environment). The key findings that NASA feels have laid the foundation for ongoing and future software development and research activities are summarized.

Stateless Programming as a Motif for Teaching Computer Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cohen, Avi

2004-01-01

With the development of XML Web Services, the Internet could become an integral part of and the basis for teaching computer science and software engineering. The approach has been applied to a university course for students studying introduction to computer science from the point of view of software development in a stateless, Internet…

Key ingredients needed when building large data processing systems for scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, K. C.

2002-01-01

Why is building a large science software system so painful? Weren't teams of software engineers supposed to make life easier for scientists? Does it sometimes feel as if it would be easier to write the million lines of code in Fortran 77 yourself? The cause of this dissatisfaction is that many of the needs of the science customer remain hidden in discussions with software engineers until after a system has already been built. In fact, many of the hidden needs of the science customer conflict with stated needs and are therefore very difficult to meet unless they are addressed from the outset in a system's architectural requirements. What's missing is the consideration of a small set of key software properties in initial agreements about the requirements, the design and the cost of the system.

Maximizing reuse: Applying common sense and discipline

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Waligora, Sharon; Langston, James

1992-01-01

Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)/System Sciences Division (SSD) has maintained a long-term relationship with NASA/Goddard, providing satellite mission ground-support software and services for 23 years. As a partner in the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) since 1976, CSC has worked closely with NASA/Goddard to improve the software engineering process. This paper examines the evolution of reuse programs in this uniquely stable environment and formulates certain recommendations for developing reuse programs as a business strategy and as an integral part of production. It focuses on the management strategy and philosophy that have helped make reuse successful in this environment.

Overview of the TriBITS Lifecycle Model: Lean/Agile Software Lifecycle Model for Research-based Computational Science and Engineering Software

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bartlett, Roscoe A; Heroux, Dr. Michael A; Willenbring, James

2012-01-01

Software lifecycles are becoming an increasingly important issue for computational science & engineering (CSE) software. The process by which a piece of CSE software begins life as a set of research requirements and then matures into a trusted high-quality capability is both commonplace and extremely challenging. Although an implicit lifecycle is obviously being used in any effort, the challenges of this process--respecting the competing needs of research vs. production--cannot be overstated. Here we describe a proposal for a well-defined software lifecycle process based on modern Lean/Agile software engineering principles. What we propose is appropriate for many CSE software projects thatmore » are initially heavily focused on research but also are expected to eventually produce usable high-quality capabilities. The model is related to TriBITS, a build, integration and testing system, which serves as a strong foundation for this lifecycle model, and aspects of this lifecycle model are ingrained in the TriBITS system. Indeed this lifecycle process, if followed, will enable large-scale sustainable integration of many complex CSE software efforts across several institutions.« less

Comment on "Most computational hydrology is not reproducible, so is it really science?" by Christopher Hutton et al.: Let hydrologists learn the latest computer science by working with Research Software Engineers (RSEs) and not reinvent the waterwheel ourselves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hut, R. W.; van de Giesen, N. C.; Drost, N.

2017-05-01

The suggestions by Hutton et al. might not be enough to guarantee reproducible computational hydrology. Archiving software code and research data alone will not be enough. We add to the suggestion of Hutton et al. that hydrologists not only document their (computer) work, but that hydrologists use the latest best practices in designing research software, most notably the use of containers and open interfaces. To make sure hydrologists know of these best practices, we urge close collaboration with Research Software Engineers (RSEs).

Developing the Next Generation of Science Data System Engineers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moses, John F.; Behnke, Jeanne; Durachka, Christopher D.

2016-01-01

At Goddard, engineers and scientists with a range of experience in science data systems are needed to employ new technologies and develop advances in capabilities for supporting new Earth and Space science research. Engineers with extensive experience in science data, software engineering and computer-information architectures are needed to lead and perform these activities. The increasing types and complexity of instrument data and emerging computer technologies coupled with the current shortage of computer engineers with backgrounds in science has led the need to develop a career path for science data systems engineers and architects.The current career path, in which undergraduate students studying various disciplines such as Computer Engineering or Physical Scientist, generally begins with serving on a development team in any of the disciplines where they can work in depth on existing Goddard data systems or serve with a specific NASA science team. There they begin to understand the data, infuse technologies, and begin to know the architectures of science data systems. From here the typical career involves peermentoring, on-the-job training or graduate level studies in analytics, computational science and applied science and mathematics. At the most senior level, engineers become subject matter experts and system architect experts, leading discipline-specific data centers and large software development projects. They are recognized as a subject matter expert in a science domain, they have project management expertise, lead standards efforts and lead international projects. A long career development remains necessary not only because of the breadth of knowledge required across physical sciences and engineering disciplines, but also because of the diversity of instrument data being developed today both by NASA and international partner agencies and because multidiscipline science and practitioner communities expect to have access to all types of observational data.This paper describes an approach to defining career-path guidance for college-bound high school and undergraduate engineering students, junior and senior engineers from various disciplines.

Developing the Next Generation of Science Data System Engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moses, J. F.; Durachka, C. D.; Behnke, J.

2015-12-01

At Goddard, engineers and scientists with a range of experience in science data systems are needed to employ new technologies and develop advances in capabilities for supporting new Earth and Space science research. Engineers with extensive experience in science data, software engineering and computer-information architectures are needed to lead and perform these activities. The increasing types and complexity of instrument data and emerging computer technologies coupled with the current shortage of computer engineers with backgrounds in science has led the need to develop a career path for science data systems engineers and architects. The current career path, in which undergraduate students studying various disciplines such as Computer Engineering or Physical Scientist, generally begins with serving on a development team in any of the disciplines where they can work in depth on existing Goddard data systems or serve with a specific NASA science team. There they begin to understand the data, infuse technologies, and begin to know the architectures of science data systems. From here the typical career involves peer mentoring, on-the-job training or graduate level studies in analytics, computational science and applied science and mathematics. At the most senior level, engineers become subject matter experts and system architect experts, leading discipline-specific data centers and large software development projects. They are recognized as a subject matter expert in a science domain, they have project management expertise, lead standards efforts and lead international projects. A long career development remains necessary not only because of the breath of knowledge required across physical sciences and engineering disciplines, but also because of the diversity of instrument data being developed today both by NASA and international partner agencies and because multi-discipline science and practitioner communities expect to have access to all types of observational data. This paper describes an approach to defining career-path guidance for college-bound high school and undergraduate engineering students, junior and senior engineers from various disciplines.

The State of Software for Evolutionary Biology.

PubMed

Darriba, Diego; Flouri, Tomáš; Stamatakis, Alexandros

2018-05-01

With Next Generation Sequencing data being routinely used, evolutionary biology is transforming into a computational science. Thus, researchers have to rely on a growing number of increasingly complex software. All widely used core tools in the field have grown considerably, in terms of the number of features as well as lines of code and consequently, also with respect to software complexity. A topic that has received little attention is the software engineering quality of widely used core analysis tools. Software developers appear to rarely assess the quality of their code, and this can have potential negative consequences for end-users. To this end, we assessed the code quality of 16 highly cited and compute-intensive tools mainly written in C/C++ (e.g., MrBayes, MAFFT, SweepFinder, etc.) and JAVA (BEAST) from the broader area of evolutionary biology that are being routinely used in current data analysis pipelines. Because, the software engineering quality of the tools we analyzed is rather unsatisfying, we provide a list of best practices for improving the quality of existing tools and list techniques that can be deployed for developing reliable, high quality scientific software from scratch. Finally, we also discuss journal as well as science policy and, more importantly, funding issues that need to be addressed for improving software engineering quality as well as ensuring support for developing new and maintaining existing software. Our intention is to raise the awareness of the community regarding software engineering quality issues and to emphasize the substantial lack of funding for scientific software development.

Software Engineering Laboratory Ada performance study: Results and implications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Booth, Eric W.; Stark, Michael E.

1992-01-01

The SEL is an organization sponsored by NASA/GSFC to investigate the effectiveness of software engineering technologies applied to the development of applications software. The SEL was created in 1977 and has three organizational members: NASA/GSFC, Systems Development Branch; The University of Maryland, Computer Sciences Department; and Computer Sciences Corporation, Systems Development Operation. The goals of the SEL are as follows: (1) to understand the software development process in the GSFC environments; (2) to measure the effect of various methodologies, tools, and models on this process; and (3) to identify and then to apply successful development practices. The activities, findings, and recommendations of the SEL are recorded in the Software Engineering Laboratory Series, a continuing series of reports that include the Ada Performance Study Report. This paper describes the background of Ada in the Flight Dynamics Division (FDD), the objectives and scope of the Ada Performance Study, the measurement approach used, the performance tests performed, the major test results, and the implications for future FDD Ada development efforts.

Proceedings of the Annual Ada Software Engineering Education and Training Symposium (6th), Held in Alexandria, Virginia on September 11-13, 1991

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-09-01

level are, by necessity, designed to be accomplished by one or a few students in the course of a single academic term. Moreover, the software is seldom...that are covered in Computer Science curricula today, but with more of an engineering structure added. A stronger engineering design component is...ing, and sound software design principles found throughout Ada, and they are unambiguously specified. These are not features which were grafted onto a

Laval University and Lakehead University Experiments at TREC 2015 Contextual Suggestion Track

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-11-20

Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Laval University 2 Department of Software Engineering, Lakehead University Abstract—In this...Linear Regression and Lambda Mart perform poorly in this case, be- cause the size of the training data per user is small (less than 50 samples). On the

An Empirical Study on Students' Ability to Comprehend Design Patterns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chatzigeorgiou, Alexander; Tsantalis, Nikolaos; Deligiannis, Ignatios

2008-01-01

Design patterns have become a widely acknowledged software engineering practice and therefore have been incorporated in the curricula of most computer science departments. This paper presents an observational study on students' ability to understand and apply design patterns. Within the context of a postgraduate software engineering course,…

Collaborative Approach in Software Engineering Education: An Interdisciplinary Case

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vicente, Aileen Joan; Tan, Tiffany Adelaine; Yu, Alvin Ray

2018-01-01

Aim/Purpose: This study was aimed at enhancing students' learning of software engineering methods. A collaboration between the Computer Science, Business Management, and Product Design programs was formed to work on actual projects with real clients. This interdisciplinary form of collaboration simulates the realities of a diverse Software…

Software Writing Skills for Your Research - Lessons Learned from Workshops in the Geosciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammitzsch, Martin

2016-04-01

Findings presented in scientific papers are based on data and software. Once in a while they come along with data - but not commonly with software. However, the software used to gain findings plays a crucial role in the scientific work. Nevertheless, software is rarely seen publishable. Thus researchers may not reproduce the findings without the software which is in conflict with the principle of reproducibility in sciences. For both, the writing of publishable software and the reproducibility issue, the quality of software is of utmost importance. For many programming scientists the treatment of source code, e.g. with code design, version control, documentation, and testing is associated with additional work that is not covered in the primary research task. This includes the adoption of processes following the software development life cycle. However, the adoption of software engineering rules and best practices has to be recognized and accepted as part of the scientific performance. Most scientists have little incentive to improve code and do not publish code because software engineering habits are rarely practised by researchers or students. Software engineering skills are not passed on to followers as for paper writing skill. Thus it is often felt that the software or code produced is not publishable. The quality of software and its source code has a decisive influence on the quality of research results obtained and their traceability. So establishing best practices from software engineering to serve scientific needs is crucial for the success of scientific software. Even though scientists use existing software and code, i.e., from open source software repositories, only few contribute their code back into the repositories. So writing and opening code for Open Science means that subsequent users are able to run the code, e.g. by the provision of sufficient documentation, sample data sets, tests and comments which in turn can be proven by adequate and qualified reviews. This assumes that scientist learn to write and release code and software as they learn to write and publish papers. Having this in mind, software could be valued and assessed as a contribution to science. But this requires the relevant skills that can be passed to colleagues and followers. Therefore, the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences performed three workshops in 2015 to address the passing of software writing skills to young scientists, the next generation of researchers in the Earth, planetary and space sciences. Experiences in running these workshops and the lessons learned will be summarized in this presentation. The workshops have received support and funding by Software Carpentry, a volunteer organization whose goal is to make scientists more productive, and their work more reliable, by teaching them basic computing skills, and by FOSTER (Facilitate Open Science Training for European Research), a two-year, EU-Funded (FP7) project, whose goal to produce a European-wide training programme that will help to incorporate Open Access approaches into existing research methodologies and to integrate Open Science principles and practice in the current research workflow by targeting the young researchers and other stakeholders.

Easier Analysis With Rocket Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

Analyzing rocket engines is one of Marshall Space Flight Center's specialties. When Marshall engineers lacked a software program flexible enough to meet their needs for analyzing rocket engine fluid flow, they overcame the challenge by inventing the Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP), which was named the co-winner of the NASA Software of the Year award in 2001. This paper describes the GFSSP in a wide variety of applications

Judicious use of custom development in an open source component architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bristol, S.; Latysh, N.; Long, D.; Tekell, S.; Allen, J.

2014-12-01

Modern software engineering is not as much programming from scratch as innovative assembly of existing components. Seamlessly integrating disparate components into scalable, performant architecture requires sound engineering craftsmanship and can often result in increased cost efficiency and accelerated capabilities if software teams focus their creativity on the edges of the problem space. ScienceBase is part of the U.S. Geological Survey scientific cyberinfrastructure, providing data and information management, distribution services, and analysis capabilities in a way that strives to follow this pattern. ScienceBase leverages open source NoSQL and relational databases, search indexing technology, spatial service engines, numerous libraries, and one proprietary but necessary software component in its architecture. The primary engineering focus is cohesive component interaction, including construction of a seamless Application Programming Interface (API) across all elements. The API allows researchers and software developers alike to leverage the infrastructure in unique, creative ways. Scaling the ScienceBase architecture and core API with increasing data volume (more databases) and complexity (integrated science problems) is a primary challenge addressed by judicious use of custom development in the component architecture. Other data management and informatics activities in the earth sciences have independently resolved to a similar design of reusing and building upon established technology and are working through similar issues for managing and developing information (e.g., U.S. Geoscience Information Network; NASA's Earth Observing System Clearing House; GSToRE at the University of New Mexico). Recent discussions facilitated through the Earth Science Information Partners are exploring potential avenues to exploit the implicit relationships between similar projects for explicit gains in our ability to more rapidly advance global scientific cyberinfrastructure.

The State of Software for Evolutionary Biology

PubMed Central

Darriba, Diego; Flouri, Tomáš; Stamatakis, Alexandros

2018-01-01

Abstract With Next Generation Sequencing data being routinely used, evolutionary biology is transforming into a computational science. Thus, researchers have to rely on a growing number of increasingly complex software. All widely used core tools in the field have grown considerably, in terms of the number of features as well as lines of code and consequently, also with respect to software complexity. A topic that has received little attention is the software engineering quality of widely used core analysis tools. Software developers appear to rarely assess the quality of their code, and this can have potential negative consequences for end-users. To this end, we assessed the code quality of 16 highly cited and compute-intensive tools mainly written in C/C++ (e.g., MrBayes, MAFFT, SweepFinder, etc.) and JAVA (BEAST) from the broader area of evolutionary biology that are being routinely used in current data analysis pipelines. Because, the software engineering quality of the tools we analyzed is rather unsatisfying, we provide a list of best practices for improving the quality of existing tools and list techniques that can be deployed for developing reliable, high quality scientific software from scratch. Finally, we also discuss journal as well as science policy and, more importantly, funding issues that need to be addressed for improving software engineering quality as well as ensuring support for developing new and maintaining existing software. Our intention is to raise the awareness of the community regarding software engineering quality issues and to emphasize the substantial lack of funding for scientific software development. PMID:29385525

In the right order of brush strokes: a sketch of a software philosophy retrospective.

PubMed

Pyshkin, Evgeny

2014-01-01

This paper follows a discourse on software recognized as a product of art and human creativity progressing probably for as long as software exists. A retrospective view on computer science and software philosophy development is introduced. In so doing we discover parallels between software and various branches of human creative manifestations. Aesthetic properties and mutual dependency of the form and matter of art works are examined in their application to software programs. While exploring some philosophical and even artistic reflection on software we consider extended comprehension of technical sciences of programming and software engineering within the realm of liberal arts.

ICESat (GLAS) Science Processing Software Document Series. Volume 3; GLAS Science Software Requirements Document; Ver 2.1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jester, Peggy L.; Lee, Jeffrey; Zukor, Dorothy J. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

This document addresses the software requirements of the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) Standard Data Software (SDS) supporting the GLAS instrument on the EOS ICESat Spacecraft. This Software Requirements Document represents the initial collection of the technical engineering information for the GLAS SDS. This information is detailed within the second of four main volumes of the Standard documentation, the Product Specification volume. This document is a "roll-out" from the governing volume outline containing the Concept and Requirements sections.

Integrating Requirements Engineering, Modeling, and Verification Technologies into Software and Systems Engineering

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-10-28

Software Engineering, FASE󈧉, volume 3442 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 175--189. Springer, 2005. Andreas Bauer, Martin Leucker, and Jonathan ...of Personnel receiving masters degrees NAME Markus Strohmeier Gerrit Hanselmann Jonathan Streit Ernst Sassen 4Total Number: Names of personnel...developed and documented mainly within the master thesis by Jonathan Streit [Str06]: • Jonathan Streit. Development of a programming language like tem

Teaching Agile Software Development: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Devedzic, V.; Milenkovic, S. R.

2011-01-01

This paper describes the authors' experience of teaching agile software development to students of computer science, software engineering, and other related disciplines, and comments on the implications of this and the lessons learned. It is based on the authors' eight years of experience in teaching agile software methodologies to various groups…

Common Database Interface for Heterogeneous Software Engineering Tools.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-12-01

SUB-GROUP Database Management Systems ;Programming(Comuters); 1e 05 Computer Files;Information Transfer;Interfaces; 19. ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse...Air Force Institute of Technology Air University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Information Systems ...Literature ..... 8 System 690 Configuration ......... 8 Database Functionis ............ 14 Software Engineering Environments ... 14 Data Manager

Computer Sciences and Data Systems, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

Topics addressed include: software engineering; university grants; institutes; concurrent processing; sparse distributed memory; distributed operating systems; intelligent data management processes; expert system for image analysis; fault tolerant software; and architecture research.

Dave Roberts | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Engineer in Colorado. He has expertise in building science, building energy simulation, and software simulation and software development projects, and served as product manager for the REM/Rate(tm) home energy

Developing Engineering and Science Process Skills Using Design Software in an Elementary Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fusco, Christopher

This paper examines the development of process skills through an engineering design approach to instruction in an elementary lesson that combines Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). The study took place with 25 fifth graders in a public, suburban school district. Students worked in groups of five to design and construct model bridges based on research involving bridge building design software. The assessment was framed around individual student success as well as overall group processing skills. These skills were assessed through an engineering design packet rubric (student work), student surveys of learning gains, observation field notes, and pre- and post-assessment data. The results indicate that students can successfully utilize design software to inform constructions of model bridges, develop science process skills through problem based learning, and understand academic concepts through a design project. The final result of this study shows that design engineering is effective for developing cooperative learning skills. The study suggests that an engineering program offered as an elective or as part of the mandatory curriculum could be beneficial for developing students' critical thinking, inter- and intra-personal skills, along with an increased their understanding and awareness for scientific phenomena. In conclusion, combining a design approach to instruction with STEM can increase efficiency in these areas, generate meaningful learning, and influence student attitudes throughout their education.

A Grid Infrastructure for Supporting Space-based Science Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bradford, Robert N.; Redman, Sandra H.; McNair, Ann R. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Emerging technologies for computational grid infrastructures have the potential for revolutionizing the way computers are used in all aspects of our lives. Computational grids are currently being implemented to provide a large-scale, dynamic, and secure research and engineering environments based on standards and next-generation reusable software, enabling greater science and engineering productivity through shared resources and distributed computing for less cost than traditional architectures. Combined with the emerging technologies of high-performance networks, grids provide researchers, scientists and engineers the first real opportunity for an effective distributed collaborative environment with access to resources such as computational and storage systems, instruments, and software tools and services for the most computationally challenging applications.

CASL Dakota Capabilities Summary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adams, Brian M.; Simmons, Chris; Williams, Brian J.

2017-10-10

The Dakota software project serves the mission of Sandia National Laboratories and supports a worldwide user community by delivering state-of-the-art research and robust, usable software for optimization and uncertainty quantification. These capabilities enable advanced exploration and riskinformed prediction with a wide range of computational science and engineering models. Dakota is the verification and validation (V&V) / uncertainty quantification (UQ) software delivery vehicle for CASL, allowing analysts across focus areas to apply these capabilities to myriad nuclear engineering analyses.

Are Earth System model software engineering practices fit for purpose? A case study.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Easterbrook, S. M.; Johns, T. C.

2009-04-01

We present some analysis and conclusions from a case study of the culture and practices of scientists at the Met Office and Hadley Centre working on the development of software for climate and Earth System models using the MetUM infrastructure. The study examined how scientists think about software correctness, prioritize their requirements in making changes, and develop a shared understanding of the resulting models. We conclude that highly customized techniques driven strongly by scientific research goals have evolved for verification and validation of such models. In a formal software engineering context these represents costly, but invaluable, software integration tests with considerable benefits. The software engineering practices seen also exhibit recognisable features of both agile and open source software development projects - self-organisation of teams consistent with a meritocracy rather than top-down organisation, extensive use of informal communication channels, and software developers who are generally also users and science domain experts. We draw some general conclusions on whether these practices work well, and what new software engineering challenges may lie ahead as Earth System models become ever more complex and petascale computing becomes the norm.

Sculpting in cyberspace: Parallel processing the development of new software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fisher, Rob

1993-01-01

Stimulating creativity in problem solving, particularly where software development is involved, is applicable to many disciplines. Metaphorical thinking keeps the problem in focus but in a different light, jarring people out of their mental ruts and sparking fresh insights. It forces the mind to stretch to find patterns between dissimilar concepts, in the hope of discovering unusual ideas in odd associations (Technology Review January 1993, p. 37). With a background in Engineering and Visual Design from MIT, I have for the past 30 years pursued a career as a sculptor of interdisciplinary monumental artworks that bridge the fields of science, engineering and art. Since 1979, I have pioneered the application of computer simulation to solve the complex problems associated with these projects. A recent project for the roof of the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh made particular use of the metaphoric creativity technique described above. The problem-solving process led to the creation of hybrid software combining scientific, architectural and engineering visualization techniques. David Steich, a Doctoral Candidate in Electrical Engineering at Penn State, was commissioned to develop special software that enabled me to create innovative free-form sculpture. This paper explores the process of inventing the software through a detailed analysis of the interaction between an artist and a computer programmer.

Facilities | Computational Science | NREL

Science.gov Websites

technology innovation by providing scientists and engineers the ability to tackle energy challenges that scientists and engineers to take full advantage of advanced computing hardware and software resources

National Science Foundation 1989 Engineering Senior Design Projects To Aid the Disabled.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enderle, John D., Ed.

Through the Bioengineering and Research to Aid the Disabled program of the National Science Foundation, design projects were awarded competitively to 16 universities. Senior engineering students at each of the universities constructed custom devices and software for disabled individuals. This compendium contains a description of each project in…

Information Systems and Software Engineering Research and Education in Oulu until the 1990s

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oinas-Kukkonen, Henry; Kerola, Pentti; Oinas-Kukkonen, Harri; Similä, Jouni; Pulli, Petri

This paper discusses the internationalization of software business in the Oulu region. Despite its small size, the region grew rapidly and very successfully into a global information and communication technology business center. The University of Oulu, which was the northern most university in the world at the time of its establishment (1958) had a strong emphasis on engineering since its very beginning. Research on electronics was carried out since the early 1960s. Later, when the Department of Information Processing Science was founded in 1969, research on information systems and later also on software engineering was carried out. This paper discusses the role of the information systems and software engineering research for the business growth of the region. Special emphasis is put on understanding the role of system-theoretical and software development expertise for transferring research knowledge into practice.

Towards a controlled vocabulary on software engineering education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pizard, Sebastián; Vallespir, Diego

2017-11-01

Software engineering is the discipline that develops all the aspects of the production of software. Although there are guidelines about what topics to include in a software engineering curricula, it is usually unclear which are the best methods to teach them. In any science discipline the construction of a classification schema is a common approach to understand a thematic area. This study examines previous publications in software engineering education to obtain a first controlled vocabulary (a more formal definition of a classification schema) in the field. Publications from 1988 to 2014 were collected and processed using automatic clustering techniques and the outcomes were analysed manually. The result is an initial controlled vocabulary with a taxonomy form with 43 concepts that were identified as the most used in the research publications. We present the classification of the concepts in three facets: 'what to teach', 'how to teach' and 'where to teach' and the evolution of concepts over time.

TriBITS lifecycle model. Version 1.0, a lean/agile software lifecycle model for research-based computational science and engineering and applied mathematical software.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Willenbring, James M.; Bartlett, Roscoe Ainsworth; Heroux, Michael Allen

2012-01-01

Software lifecycles are becoming an increasingly important issue for computational science and engineering (CSE) software. The process by which a piece of CSE software begins life as a set of research requirements and then matures into a trusted high-quality capability is both commonplace and extremely challenging. Although an implicit lifecycle is obviously being used in any effort, the challenges of this process - respecting the competing needs of research vs. production - cannot be overstated. Here we describe a proposal for a well-defined software lifecycle process based on modern Lean/Agile software engineering principles. What we propose is appropriate for manymore » CSE software projects that are initially heavily focused on research but also are expected to eventually produce usable high-quality capabilities. The model is related to TriBITS, a build, integration and testing system, which serves as a strong foundation for this lifecycle model, and aspects of this lifecycle model are ingrained in the TriBITS system. Here, we advocate three to four phases or maturity levels that address the appropriate handling of many issues associated with the transition from research to production software. The goals of this lifecycle model are to better communicate maturity levels with customers and to help to identify and promote Software Engineering (SE) practices that will help to improve productivity and produce better software. An important collection of software in this domain is Trilinos, which is used as the motivation and the initial target for this lifecycle model. However, many other related and similar CSE (and non-CSE) software projects can also make good use of this lifecycle model, especially those that use the TriBITS system. Indeed this lifecycle process, if followed, will enable large-scale sustainable integration of many complex CSE software efforts across several institutions.« less

Software process improvement in the NASA software engineering laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcgarry, Frank; Pajerski, Rose; Page, Gerald; Waligora, Sharon; Basili, Victor; Zelkowitz, Marvin

1994-01-01

The Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) was established in 1976 for the purpose of studying and measuring software processes with the intent of identifying improvements that could be applied to the production of ground support software within the Flight Dynamics Division (FDD) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The SEL has three member organizations: NASA/GSFC, the University of Maryland, and Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). The concept of process improvement within the SEL focuses on the continual understanding of both process and product as well as goal-driven experimentation and analysis of process change within a production environment.

What Does CALL Have to Offer Computer Science and What Does Computer Science Have to Offer CALL?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cushion, Steve

2006-01-01

We will argue that CALL can usefully be viewed as a subset of computer software engineering and can profit from adopting some of the recent progress in software development theory. The unified modelling language has become the industry standard modelling technique and the accompanying unified process is rapidly gaining acceptance. The manner in…

Guidance and Control Software,

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-05-01

commitments of function, cost, and schedule . The phrase "software engineering" was intended to contrast with the phrase "computer science" the latter aims...the software problems of cost, delivery schedule , and quality were gradually being recognized at the highest management levels. Thus, in a project... schedule dates. Although the analysis of software problems indicated that the entire software development process (figure 1) needed new methods, only

Computer science: Key to a space program renaissance. The 1981 NASA/ASEE summer study on the use of computer science and technology in NASA. Volume 2: Appendices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freitas, R. A., Jr. (Editor); Carlson, P. A. (Editor)

1983-01-01

Adoption of an aggressive computer science research and technology program within NASA will: (1) enable new mission capabilities such as autonomous spacecraft, reliability and self-repair, and low-bandwidth intelligent Earth sensing; (2) lower manpower requirements, especially in the areas of Space Shuttle operations, by making fuller use of control center automation, technical support, and internal utilization of state-of-the-art computer techniques; (3) reduce project costs via improved software verification, software engineering, enhanced scientist/engineer productivity, and increased managerial effectiveness; and (4) significantly improve internal operations within NASA with electronic mail, managerial computer aids, an automated bureaucracy and uniform program operating plans.

Research in applied mathematics, numerical analysis, and computer science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

Research conducted at the Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE) in applied mathematics, numerical analysis, and computer science is summarized and abstracts of published reports are presented. The major categories of the ICASE research program are: (1) numerical methods, with particular emphasis on the development and analysis of basic numerical algorithms; (2) control and parameter identification; (3) computational problems in engineering and the physical sciences, particularly fluid dynamics, acoustics, and structural analysis; and (4) computer systems and software, especially vector and parallel computers.

Development of teaching material to integrate GT-POWER into combustion courses for IC engine simulations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-02-01

The main objective of this project was to develop instructional engineering projects that utilize the newly-offered PACE software GT-POWER for engine simulations in combustion-related courses at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Stud...

NASA Tech Briefs, May 2002. Volume 26, No. 5

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Topics include: a technology focus on engineering materials, electronic components and circuits, software, mechanics, machinery/automation, manufacturing, physical sciences, information sciences, book and reports, and a special section of Photonics Tech Briefs.

Proceedings of the Twenty-Fourth Annual Software Engineering Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

On December 1 and 2, the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL), a consortium composed of NASA/Goddard, the University of Maryland, and CSC, held the 24th Software Engineering Workshop (SEW), the last of the millennium. Approximately 240 people attended the 2-day workshop. Day 1 was composed of four sessions: International Influence of the Software Engineering Laboratory; Object Oriented Testing and Reading; Software Process Improvement; and Space Software. For the first session, three internationally known software process experts discussed the influence of the SEL with respect to software engineering research. In the Space Software session, prominent representatives from three different NASA sites- GSFC's Marti Szczur, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Rick Doyle, and the Ames Research Center IV&V Facility's Lou Blazy- discussed the future of space software in their respective centers. At the end of the first day, the SEW sponsored a reception at the GSFC Visitors' Center. Day 2 also provided four sessions: Using the Experience Factory; A panel discussion entitled "Software Past, Present, and Future: Views from Government, Industry, and Academia"; Inspections; and COTS. The day started with an excellent talk by CSC's Frank McGarry on "Attaining Level 5 in CMM Process Maturity." Session 2, the panel discussion on software, featured NASA Chief Information Officer Lee Holcomb (Government), our own Jerry Page (Industry), and Mike Evangelist of the National Science Foundation (Academia). Each presented his perspective on the most important developments in software in the past 10 years, in the present, and in the future.

NASA Tech Briefs, March 1998. Volume 22, No. 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Topics include: special coverage of computer aided design and engineering, electronic components and circuits, electronic systems, physical sciences, materials, computer software, special coverage on mechanical technology, machinery/automation, manufacturing/fabrication, mathematics and information sciences, book and reports, and a special section of Electronics Tech Briefs. Profiles of the exhibitors at the National Design Engineering show are also included in this issue.

NASA Tech Briefs, November 2002. Volume 26, No. 11

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Topics include: a technology focus on engineering materials, electronic components and systems, software, mechanics, machinery/automation, manufacturing, bio-medical, physical sciences, information sciences book and reports, and a special section of Photonics Tech Briefs.

Software Carpentry In The Hydrological Sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmadia, A. J.; Kees, C. E.

2014-12-01

Scientists are spending an increasing amount of time building and using hydrology software. However, most scientists are never taught how to do this efficiently. As a result, many are unaware of tools and practices that would allow them to write more reliable and maintainable code with less effort. As hydrology models increase in capability and enter use by a growing number of scientists and their communities, it is important that the scientific software development practices scale up to meet the challenges posed by increasing software complexity, lengthening software lifecycles, a growing number of stakeholders and contributers, and a broadened developer base that extends from application domains to high performance computing centers. Many of these challenges in complexity, lifecycles, and developer base have been successfully met by the open source community, and there are many lessons to be learned from their experiences and practices. Additionally, there is much wisdom to be found in the results of research studies conducted on software engineering itself. Software Carpentry aims to bridge the gap between the current state of software development and these known best practices for scientific software development, with a focus on hands-on exercises and practical advice. In 2014, Software Carpentry workshops targeting earth/environmental sciences and hydrological modeling have been organized and run at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System Annual Meeting, and the Earth Science Information Partners Summer Meeting. In this presentation, we will share some of the successes in teaching this material, as well as discuss and present instructional material specific to hydrological modeling.

ISEES: an institute for sustainable software to accelerate environmental science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, M. B.; Schildhauer, M.; Fox, P. A.

2013-12-01

Software is essential to the full science lifecycle, spanning data acquisition, processing, quality assessment, data integration, analysis, modeling, and visualization. Software runs our meteorological sensor systems, our data loggers, and our ocean gliders. Every aspect of science is impacted by, and improved by, software. Scientific advances ranging from modeling climate change to the sequencing of the human genome have been rendered possible in the last few decades due to the massive improvements in the capabilities of computers to process data through software. This pivotal role of software in science is broadly acknowledged, while simultaneously being systematically undervalued through minimal investments in maintenance and innovation. As a community, we need to embrace the creation, use, and maintenance of software within science, and address problems such as code complexity, openness,reproducibility, and accessibility. We also need to fully develop new skills and practices in software engineering as a core competency in our earth science disciplines, starting with undergraduate and graduate education and extending into university and agency professional positions. The Institute for Sustainable Earth and Environmental Software (ISEES) is being envisioned as a community-driven activity that can facilitate and galvanize activites around scientific software in an analogous way to synthesis centers such as NCEAS and NESCent that have stimulated massive advances in ecology and evolution. We will describe the results of six workshops (Science Drivers, Software Lifecycles, Software Components, Workforce Development and Training, Sustainability and Governance, and Community Engagement) that have been held in 2013 to envision such an institute. We will present community recommendations from these workshops and our strategic vision for how ISEES will address the technical issues in the software lifecycle, sustainability of the whole software ecosystem, and the critical issue of computational training for the scientific community. Process for envisioning ISEES.

Computer Aided Teaching of Digital Signal Processing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castro, Ian P.

1990-01-01

Describes a microcomputer-based software package developed at the University of Surrey for teaching digital signal processing to undergraduate science and engineering students. Menu-driven software capabilities are explained, including demonstration of qualitative concepts and experimentation with quantitative data, and examples are given of…

Formal methods in computer system design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoare, C. A. R.

1989-12-01

This note expounds a philosophy of engineering design which is stimulated, guided and checked by mathematical calculations and proofs. Its application to software engineering promises the same benifits as those derived from the use of mathematics in all other branches of modern science.

An Automated Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-Based Nowcasting System: Software Description

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-01

14. ABSTRACT A Web service /Web interface software package has been engineered to address the need for an automated means to run the Weather Research...An Automated Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)- Based Nowcasting System: Software Description by Stephen F. Kirby, Brian P. Reen, and...Based Nowcasting System: Software Description Stephen F. Kirby, Brian P. Reen, and Robert E. Dumais Jr. Computational and Information Sciences

A Component Approach to Collaborative Scientific Software Development: Tools and Techniques Utilized by the Quantum Chemistry Science Application Partnership

DOE PAGES

Kenny, Joseph P.; Janssen, Curtis L.; Gordon, Mark S.; ...

2008-01-01

Cutting-edge scientific computing software is complex, increasingly involving the coupling of multiple packages to combine advanced algorithms or simulations at multiple physical scales. Component-based software engineering (CBSE) has been advanced as a technique for managing this complexity, and complex component applications have been created in the quantum chemistry domain, as well as several other simulation areas, using the component model advocated by the Common Component Architecture (CCA) Forum. While programming models do indeed enable sound software engineering practices, the selection of programming model is just one building block in a comprehensive approach to large-scale collaborative development which must also addressmore » interface and data standardization, and language and package interoperability. We provide an overview of the development approach utilized within the Quantum Chemistry Science Application Partnership, identifying design challenges, describing the techniques which we have adopted to address these challenges and highlighting the advantages which the CCA approach offers for collaborative development.« less

Supporting Weather Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

Since its founding in 1992, Global Science & Technology, Inc. (GST), of Greenbelt, Maryland, has been developing technologies and providing services in support of NASA scientific research. GST specialties include scientific analysis, science data and information systems, data visualization, communications, networking and Web technologies, computer science, and software system engineering. As a longtime contractor to Goddard Space Flight Center s Earth Science Directorate, GST scientific, engineering, and information technology staff have extensive qualifications with the synthesis of satellite, in situ, and Earth science data for weather- and climate-related projects. GST s experience in this arena is end-to-end, from building satellite ground receiving systems and science data systems, to product generation and research and analysis.

Nuclear Fuel Depletion Analysis Using Matlab Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faghihi, F.; Nematollahi, M. R.

Coupled first order IVPs are frequently used in many parts of engineering and sciences. In this article, we presented a code including three computer programs which are joint with the Matlab software to solve and plot the solutions of the first order coupled stiff or non-stiff IVPs. Some engineering and scientific problems related to IVPs are given and fuel depletion (production of the 239Pu isotope) in a Pressurized Water Nuclear Reactor (PWR) are computed by the present code.

Preface to MOST-ONISW 2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doerr, Martin; Freitas, Fred; Guizzardi, Giancarlo; Han, Hyoil

Ontology is a cross-disciplinary field concerned with the study of concepts and theories that can be used for representing shared conceptualizations of specific domains. Ontological Engineering is a discipline in computer and information science concerned with the development of techniques, methods, languages and tools for the systematic construction of concrete artifacts capturing these representations, i.e., models (e.g., domain ontologies) and metamodels (e.g., upper-level ontologies). In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the application of formal ontology and ontological engineering to solve modeling problems in diverse areas in computer science such as software and data engineering, knowledge representation, natural language processing, information science, among many others.

The Case for Improving U.S. Computer Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nager, Adams; Atkinson, Robert

2016-01-01

Despite the growing use of computers and software in every facet of our economy, not until recently has computer science education begun to gain traction in American school systems. The current focus on improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the U.S. School system has disregarded differences within STEM…

The EOSDIS software challenge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaworski, Allan

1993-08-01

The Earth Observing System (EOS) Data and Information System (EOSDIS) will serve as a major resource for the earth science community, supporting both command and control of complex instruments onboard the EOS spacecraft and the archiving, distribution, and analysis of data. The scale of EOSDIS and the volume of multidisciplinary research to be conducted using EOSDIS resources will produce unparalleled needs for technology transparency, data integration, and system interoperability. The scale of this effort far outscopes any previous scientific data system in its breadth or operational and performance needs. Modern hardware technology can meet the EOSDIS technical challenge. Multiprocessing speeds of many giga-flops are being realized by modern computers. Online storage disk, optical disk, and videocassette libraries with storage capacities of many terabytes are now commercially available. Radio frequency and fiber optics communications networks with gigabit rates are demonstrable today. It remains, of course, to perform the system engineering to establish the requirements, architectures, and designs that will implement the EOSDIS systems. Software technology, however, has not enjoyed the price/performance advances of hardware. Although we have learned to engineer hardware systems which have several orders of magnitude greater complexity and performance than those built in the 1960's, we have not made comparable progress in dramatically reducing the cost of software development. This lack of progress may significantly reduce our capabilities to achieve economically the types of highly interoperable, responsive, integraded, and productive environments which are needed by the earth science community. This paper describes some of the EOSDIS software requirements and current activities in the software community which are applicable to meeting the EOSDIS challenge. Some of these areas include intelligent user interfaces, software reuse libraries, and domain engineering. Also included are discussions of applicable standards in the areas of operating systems interfaces, user interfaces, communications interfaces, data transport, and science algorithm support, and their role in supporting the software development process.

The SEL Adapts to Meet Changing Times

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pajerski, Rose S.; Basili, Victor R.

1997-01-01

Since 1976, the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) has been dedicated to understanding and improving the way in which one NASA organization, the Flight Dynamics Division (FDD) at Goddard Space Flight Center, develops, maintains, and manages complex flight dynamics systems. It has done this by developing and refining a continual process improvement approach that allows an organization such as the FDD to fine-tune its process for its particular domain. Experimental software engineering and measurement play a significant role in this approach. The SEL is a partnership of NASA Goddard, its major software contractor, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), and the University of Maryland's (LTM) Department of Computer Science. The FDD primarily builds software systems that provide ground-based flight dynamics support for scientific satellites. They fall into two sets: ground systems and simulators. Ground systems are midsize systems that average around 250 thousand source lines of code (KSLOC). Ground system development projects typically last 1 - 2 years. Recent systems have been rehosted to workstations from IBM mainframes, and also contain significant new subsystems written in C and C++. The simulators are smaller systems averaging around 60 KSLOC that provide the test data for the ground systems. Simulator development lasts up to 1 year. Most of the simulators have been built in Ada on workstations. The SEL is responsible for the management and continual improvement of the software engineering processes used on these FDD projects.

Data collection and evaluation for experimental computer science research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zelkowitz, Marvin V.

1983-01-01

The Software Engineering Laboratory was monitoring software development at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center since 1976. The data collection activities of the Laboratory and some of the difficulties of obtaining reliable data are described. In addition, the application of this data collection process to a current prototyping experiment is reviewed.

When You Can’t Beat ’em, Join ’em: Leveraging ComplexityScience for Innovative Solutions

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-08-21

chemical reactions : • Belousov-Zhabotinskii reaction ... Engineering (ARE) Technical Interchange Meeting by: Dr. Josef Schaff, NAVAIR 4.5 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A • Commander’s intent: Networked Navy & the intent...Physics undergrad, software engineering jobs in comms, video games, robotics • Started NAWCAD (NADC) as a computer scientist / engineer

Semiannual report, 1 April - 30 September 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The major categories of the current Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE) research program are: (1) numerical methods, with particular emphasis on the development and analysis of basic numerical algorithms; (2) control and parameter identification problems, with emphasis on effective numerical methods; (3) computational problems in engineering and the physical sciences, particularly fluid dynamics, acoustics, and structural analysis; and (4) computer systems and software for parallel computers. Research in these areas is discussed.

Seeing beyond Computer Science and Software Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nori, Kesav Vithal

The boundaries of computer science are defined by what symbolic computation can accomplish. Software Engineering is concerned with effective use of computing technology to support automatic computation on a large scale so as to construct desirable solutions to worthwhile problems. Both focus on what happens within the machine. In contrast, most practical applications of computing support end-users in realizing (often unsaid) objectives. It is often said that such objectives cannot be even specified, e.g., what is the specification of MS Word, or for that matter, any flavour of UNIX? This situation points to the need for architecting what people do with computers. Based on Systems Thinking and Cybernetics, we present such a viewpoint which hinges on Human Responsibility and means of living up to it.

Software Development Standard Processes (SDSP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lavin, Milton L.; Wang, James J.; Morillo, Ronald; Mayer, John T.; Jamshidian, Barzia; Shimizu, Kenneth J.; Wilkinson, Belinda M.; Hihn, Jairus M.; Borgen, Rosana B.; Meyer, Kenneth N.;

Improving a data-acquisition software system with abstract data type components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, S. D.

1990-01-01

Abstract data types and object-oriented design are active research areas in computer science and software engineering. Much of the interest is aimed at new software development. Abstract data type packages developed for a discontinued software project were used to improve a real-time data-acquisition system under maintenance. The result saved effort and contributed to a significant improvement in the performance, maintainability, and reliability of the Goldstone Solar System Radar Data Acquisition System.

An Assessment of Software Safety as Applied to the Department of Defense Software Development Process

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-12-01

provide program 5 managers some level of confidence that their software will operate at an acceptable level of risk. A number of structured safety...safety within the constraints of operational effectiveness, schedule, and cost through timely application of system safety management and engineering...Master of Science in Software Systems Management Peter W. Colan, B.S.E. Robert W. Prouhet, B.S. Captain, USAF Captain, USAF December 1992 Approved for

The Australian Computational Earth Systems Simulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mora, P.; Muhlhaus, H.; Lister, G.; Dyskin, A.; Place, D.; Appelbe, B.; Nimmervoll, N.; Abramson, D.

2001-12-01

Numerical simulation of the physics and dynamics of the entire earth system offers an outstanding opportunity for advancing earth system science and technology but represents a major challenge due to the range of scales and physical processes involved, as well as the magnitude of the software engineering effort required. However, new simulation and computer technologies are bringing this objective within reach. Under a special competitive national funding scheme to establish new Major National Research Facilities (MNRF), the Australian government together with a consortium of Universities and research institutions have funded construction of the Australian Computational Earth Systems Simulator (ACcESS). The Simulator or computational virtual earth will provide the research infrastructure to the Australian earth systems science community required for simulations of dynamical earth processes at scales ranging from microscopic to global. It will consist of thematic supercomputer infrastructure and an earth systems simulation software system. The Simulator models and software will be constructed over a five year period by a multi-disciplinary team of computational scientists, mathematicians, earth scientists, civil engineers and software engineers. The construction team will integrate numerical simulation models (3D discrete elements/lattice solid model, particle-in-cell large deformation finite-element method, stress reconstruction models, multi-scale continuum models etc) with geophysical, geological and tectonic models, through advanced software engineering and visualization technologies. When fully constructed, the Simulator aims to provide the software and hardware infrastructure needed to model solid earth phenomena including global scale dynamics and mineralisation processes, crustal scale processes including plate tectonics, mountain building, interacting fault system dynamics, and micro-scale processes that control the geological, physical and dynamic behaviour of earth systems. ACcESS represents a part of Australia's contribution to the APEC Cooperation for Earthquake Simulation (ACES) international initiative. Together with other national earth systems science initiatives including the Japanese Earth Simulator and US General Earthquake Model projects, ACcESS aims to provide a driver for scientific advancement and technological breakthroughs including: quantum leaps in understanding of earth evolution at global, crustal, regional and microscopic scales; new knowledge of the physics of crustal fault systems required to underpin the grand challenge of earthquake prediction; new understanding and predictive capabilities of geological processes such as tectonics and mineralisation.

Post-Modern Software Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Filman, Robert E.

2005-01-01

The history of software development includes elements of art, science, engineering, and fashion(though very little manufacturing). In all domains, old ideas give way or evolve to new ones: in the fine arts, the baroque gave way to rococo, romanticism, modernism, postmodernism, and so forth. What is the postmodern programming equivalent? That is, what comes after object orientation?

Proposing a Mathematical Software Tool in Physics Secondary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baltzis, Konstantinos B.

2009-01-01

MathCad® is a very popular software tool for mathematical and statistical analysis in science and engineering. Its low cost, ease of use, extensive function library, and worksheet-like user interface distinguish it among other commercial packages. Its features are also well suited to educational process. The use of natural mathematical notation…

The deep space network, Volume 11

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

Deep Space Network progress in flight project support, Tracking and Data Acquisition research and technology, network engineering, hardware and software implementation, and operations are presented. Material is presented in each of the following categories: description of DSN; mission support; radio science; support research and technology; network engineering and implementation; and operations and facilities.

Business Technology Education in the Early 21st Century: The Ongoing Quest for Relevance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andriole, Stephen J.

2006-01-01

The field of information technology is changing and those responsible for educating the next generation of technology professionals have responded with a new computing curriculum, which identifies five distinct technology majors: computer engineering, computer science, software engineering, information systems and information technology.…

Cumulative reports and publications through December 31, 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

A reports and publications list is given from the Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE) through December 31, 1991. The major categories of the current ICASE research program are; numerical methods, control and parameter identification problems, computational problems in engineering and the physical sciences, and computer systems and software. Since ICASE reports are intended to be preprints of articles that will appear in journals or conference proceedings, the published reference is included when available.

Preparing systems engineering and computing science students in disciplined methods, quantitative, and advanced statistical techniques to improve process performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCray, Wilmon Wil L., Jr.

The research was prompted by a need to conduct a study that assesses process improvement, quality management and analytical techniques taught to students in U.S. colleges and universities undergraduate and graduate systems engineering and the computing science discipline (e.g., software engineering, computer science, and information technology) degree programs during their academic training that can be applied to quantitatively manage processes for performance. Everyone involved in executing repeatable processes in the software and systems development lifecycle processes needs to become familiar with the concepts of quantitative management, statistical thinking, process improvement methods and how they relate to process-performance. Organizations are starting to embrace the de facto Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI RTM) Models as process improvement frameworks to improve business processes performance. High maturity process areas in the CMMI model imply the use of analytical, statistical, quantitative management techniques, and process performance modeling to identify and eliminate sources of variation, continually improve process-performance; reduce cost and predict future outcomes. The research study identifies and provides a detail discussion of the gap analysis findings of process improvement and quantitative analysis techniques taught in U.S. universities systems engineering and computing science degree programs, gaps that exist in the literature, and a comparison analysis which identifies the gaps that exist between the SEI's "healthy ingredients " of a process performance model and courses taught in U.S. universities degree program. The research also heightens awareness that academicians have conducted little research on applicable statistics and quantitative techniques that can be used to demonstrate high maturity as implied in the CMMI models. The research also includes a Monte Carlo simulation optimization model and dashboard that demonstrates the use of statistical methods, statistical process control, sensitivity analysis, quantitative and optimization techniques to establish a baseline and predict future customer satisfaction index scores (outcomes). The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) model and industry benchmarks were used as a framework for the simulation model.

NASA's computer science research program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larsen, R. L.

1983-01-01

Following a major assessment of NASA's computing technology needs, a new program of computer science research has been initiated by the Agency. The program includes work in concurrent processing, management of large scale scientific databases, software engineering, reliable computing, and artificial intelligence. The program is driven by applications requirements in computational fluid dynamics, image processing, sensor data management, real-time mission control and autonomous systems. It consists of university research, in-house NASA research, and NASA's Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science (RIACS) and Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE). The overall goal is to provide the technical foundation within NASA to exploit advancing computing technology in aerospace applications.

ICASE semiannual report, April 1 - September 30, 1989

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The Institute conducts unclassified basic research in applied mathematics, numerical analysis, and computer science in order to extend and improve problem-solving capabilities in science and engineering, particularly in aeronautics and space. The major categories of the current Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE) research program are: (1) numerical methods, with particular emphasis on the development and analysis of basic numerical algorithms; (2) control and parameter identification problems, with emphasis on effective numerical methods; (3) computational problems in engineering and the physical sciences, particularly fluid dynamics, acoustics, and structural analysis; and (4) computer systems and software, especially vector and parallel computers. ICASE reports are considered to be primarily preprints of manuscripts that have been submitted to appropriate research journals or that are to appear in conference proceedings.

The Mars Science Laboratory Entry, Descent, and Landing Flight Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gostelow, Kim P.

2013-01-01

This paper describes the design, development, and testing of the EDL program from the perspective of the software engineer. We briefly cover the overall MSL flight software organization, and then the organization of EDL itself. We discuss the timeline, the structure of the GNC code (but not the algorithms as they are covered elsewhere in this conference) and the command and telemetry interfaces. Finally, we cover testing and the influence that testability had on the EDL flight software design.

Proceedings of the Workshop on software tools for distributed intelligent control systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Herget, C.J.

1990-09-01

The Workshop on Software Tools for Distributed Intelligent Control Systems was organized by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the United States Army Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The goals of the workshop were to the identify the current state of the art in tools which support control systems engineering design and implementation, identify research issues associated with writing software tools which would provide a design environment to assist engineers in multidisciplinary control design and implementation, formulate a potential investment strategy to resolve the research issues and develop public domain code which can formmore » the core of more powerful engineering design tools, and recommend test cases to focus the software development process and test associated performance metrics. Recognizing that the development of software tools for distributed intelligent control systems will require a multidisciplinary effort, experts in systems engineering, control systems engineering, and compute science were invited to participate in the workshop. In particular, experts who could address the following topics were selected: operating systems, engineering data representation and manipulation, emerging standards for manufacturing data, mathematical foundations, coupling of symbolic and numerical computation, user interface, system identification, system representation at different levels of abstraction, system specification, system design, verification and validation, automatic code generation, and integration of modular, reusable code.« less

Sustainability of Open-Source Software Organizations as Underpinning for Sustainable Interoperability on Large Scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fulker, D. W.; Gallagher, J. H. R.

2015-12-01

OPeNDAP's Hyrax data server is an open-source framework fostering interoperability via easily-deployed Web services. Compatible with solutions listed in the (PA001) session description—federation, rigid standards and brokering/mediation—the framework can support tight or loose coupling, even with dependence on community-contributed software. Hyrax is a Web-services framework with a middleware-like design and a handler-style architecture that together reduce the interoperability challenge (for N datatypes and M user contexts) to an O(N+M) problem, similar to brokering. Combined with an open-source ethos, this reduction makes Hyrax a community tool for gaining interoperability. E.g., in its response to the Big Earth Data Initiative (BEDI), NASA references OPeNDAP-based interoperability. Assuming its suitability, the question becomes: how sustainable is OPeNDAP, a small not-for-profit that produces open-source software, i.e., has no software-sales? In other words, if geoscience interoperability depends on OPeNDAP and similar organizations, are those entities in turn sustainable? Jim Collins (in Good to Great) highlights three questions that successful companies can answer (paraphrased here): What is your passion? Where is your world-class excellence? What drives your economic engine? We attempt to shed light on OPeNDAP sustainability by examining these. Passion: OPeNDAP has a focused passion for improving the effectiveness of scientific data sharing and use, as deeply-cooperative community endeavors. Excellence: OPeNDAP has few peers in remote, scientific data access. Skills include computer science with experience in data science, (operational, secure) Web services, and software design (for servers and clients, where the latter vary from Web pages to standalone apps and end-user programs). Economic Engine: OPeNDAP is an engineering services organization more than a product company, despite software being key to OPeNDAP's reputation. In essence, provision of engineering expertise, via contracts and grants, is the economic engine. Hence sustainability, as needed to address global grand challenges in geoscience, depends on agencies' and others' abilities and willingness to offer grants and let contracts for continually upgrading open-source software from OPeNDAP and others.

Reviews Equipment: Data logger Book: Imagined Worlds Equipment: Mini data loggers Equipment: PICAXE-18M2 data logger Books: Engineering: A Very Short Introduction and To Engineer Is Human Book: Soap, Science, & Flat-Screen TVs Equipment: uLog and SensorLab Web Watch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2012-07-01

WE RECOMMEND Data logger Fourier NOVA LINK: data logging and analysis To Engineer is Human Engineering: essays and insights Soap, Science, & Flat-Screen TVs People, politics, business and science overlap uLog sensors and sensor adapter A new addition to the LogIT range offers simplicity and ease of use WORTH A LOOK Imagined Worlds Socio-scientific predictions for the future Mini light data logger and mini temperature data logger Small-scale equipment for schools SensorLab Plus LogIT's supporting software, with extra features HANDLE WITH CARE CAXE110P PICAXE-18M2 data logger Data logger 'on view' but disappoints Engineering: A Very Short Introduction A broad-brush treatment fails to satisfy WEB WATCH Two very different websites for students: advanced physics questions answered and a more general BBC science resource

Promoting Science Software Best Practices: A Scientist's Perspective (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blanton, B. O.

2013-12-01

Software is at the core of most modern scientific activities, and as societal awareness of, and impacts from, extreme weather, disasters, and climate and global change continue to increase, the roles that scientific software play in analyses and decision-making are brought more to the forefront. Reproducibility of research results (particularly those that enter into the decision-making arena) and open access to the software is essential for scientific and scientists' credibility. This has been highlighted in a recent article by Joppa et al (Troubling Trends in Scientific Software Use, Science Magazine, May 2013) that describes reasons for particular software being chosen by scientists, including that the "developer is well-respected" and on "recommendation from a close colleague". This reliance on recommendation, Joppa et al conclude, is fraught with risks to both sciences and scientists. Scientists must frequently take software for granted, assuming that it performs as expected and advertised and that the software itself has been validated and results verified. This is largely due to the manner in which much software is written and developed; in an ad hoc manner, with an inconsistent funding stream, and with little application of core software engineering best practices. Insufficient documentation, limited test cases, and code unavailability are significant barriers to informed and intelligent science software usage. This situation is exacerbated when the scientist becomes the software developer out of necessity due to resource constraints. Adoption of, and adherence to, best practices in scientific software development will substantially increase intelligent software usage and promote a sustainable evolution of the science as encoded in the software. We describe a typical scientist's perspective on using and developing scientific software in the context of storm surge research and forecasting applications that have real-time objectives and regulatory constraints. This include perspectives on what scientists/users of software can contribute back to the software development process and examples of successful scientist/developer interactions, and the competition between "getting it done" and "getting it done right".

Towards Test Driven Development for Computational Science with pFUnit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rilee, Michael L.; Clune, Thomas L.

2014-01-01

Developers working in Computational Science & Engineering (CSE)/High Performance Computing (HPC) must contend with constant change due to advances in computing technology and science. Test Driven Development (TDD) is a methodology that mitigates software development risks due to change at the cost of adding comprehensive and continuous testing to the development process. Testing frameworks tailored for CSE/HPC, like pFUnit, can lower the barriers to such testing, yet CSE software faces unique constraints foreign to the broader software engineering community. Effective testing of numerical software requires a comprehensive suite of oracles, i.e., use cases with known answers, as well as robust estimates for the unavoidable numerical errors associated with implementation with finite-precision arithmetic. At first glance these concerns often seem exceedingly challenging or even insurmountable for real-world scientific applications. However, we argue that this common perception is incorrect and driven by (1) a conflation between model validation and software verification and (2) the general tendency in the scientific community to develop relatively coarse-grained, large procedures that compound numerous algorithmic steps.We believe TDD can be applied routinely to numerical software if developers pursue fine-grained implementations that permit testing, neatly side-stepping concerns about needing nontrivial oracles as well as the accumulation of errors. We present an example of a successful, complex legacy CSE/HPC code whose development process shares some aspects with TDD, which we contrast with current and potential capabilities. A mix of our proposed methodology and framework support should enable everyday use of TDD by CSE-expert developers.

Report on the Second Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE2)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katz, Daniel S.; Choi, Sou-Cheng T.; Wilkins-Diehr, Nancy; Chue Hong, Neil; Venters, Colin C.; Howison, James; Seinstra, Frank; Jones, Matthew; Cranston, Karen; Clune, Thomas L.; de Val-Borro, Miguel; Littauer, Richard

2016-02-01

This technical report records and discusses the Second Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE2). The report includes a description of the alternative, experimental submission and review process, two workshop keynote presentations, a series of lightning talks, a discussion on sustainability, and five discussions from the topic areas of exploring sustainability; software development experiences; credit & incentives; reproducibility & reuse & sharing; and code testing & code review. For each topic, the report includes a list of tangible actions that were proposed and that would lead to potential change. The workshop recognized that reliance on scientific software is pervasive in all areas of world-leading research today. The workshop participants then proceeded to explore different perspectives on the concept of sustainability. Key enablers and barriers of sustainable scientific software were identified from their experiences. In addition, recommendations with new requirements such as software credit files and software prize frameworks were outlined for improving practices in sustainable software engineering. There was also broad consensus that formal training in software development or engineering was rare among the practitioners. Significant strides need to be made in building a sense of community via training in software and technical practices, on increasing their size and scope, and on better integrating them directly into graduate education programs. Finally, journals can define and publish policies to improve reproducibility, whereas reviewers can insist that authors provide sufficient information and access to data and software to allow them reproduce the results in the paper. Hence a list of criteria is compiled for journals to provide to reviewers so as to make it easier to review software submitted for publication as a "Software Paper."

Technology 2000, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

Technology 2000 was the first major industrial conference and exposition spotlighting NASA technology and technology transfer. It's purpose was, and continues to be, to increase awareness of existing NASA-developed technologies that are available for immediate use in the development of new products and processes, and to lay the groundwork for the effective utilization of emerging technologies. Included are sessions on: computer technology and software engineering; human factors engineering and life sciences; materials science; sensors and measurement technology; artificial intelligence; environmental technology; optics and communications; and superconductivity.

R and T report: Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soffen, Gerald A. (Editor)

1993-01-01

The 1993 Research and Technology Report for Goddard Space Flight Center is presented. Research covered areas such as (1) flight projects; (2) space sciences including cosmology, high energy, stars and galaxies, and the solar system; (3) earth sciences including process modeling, hydrology/cryology, atmospheres, biosphere, and solid earth; (4) networks, planning, and information systems including support for mission operations, data distribution, advanced software and systems engineering, and planning/scheduling; and (5) engineering and materials including spacecraft systems, material and testing, optics and photonics and robotics.

Technology 2000, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The purpose of the conference was to increase awareness of existing NASA developed technologies that are available for immediate use in the development of new products and processes, and to lay the groundwork for the effective utilization of emerging technologies. There were sessions on the following: Computer technology and software engineering; Human factors engineering and life sciences; Information and data management; Material sciences; Manufacturing and fabrication technology; Power, energy, and control systems; Robotics; Sensors and measurement technology; Artificial intelligence; Environmental technology; Optics and communications; and Superconductivity.

Enabling Arctic Research Through Science and Engineering Partnerships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kendall, E. A.; Valentic, T. A.; Stehle, R. H.

2014-12-01

Under an Arctic Research Support and Logistics contract from NSF (GEO/PLR), SRI International, as part of the CH2M HILL Polar Services (CPS) program, forms partnerships with Arctic research teams to provide data transfer, remote operations, and safety/operations communications. This teamwork is integral to the success of real-time science results and often allows for unmanned operations which are both cost-effective and safer. The CPS program utilizes a variety of communications networks, services and technologies to support researchers and instruments throughout the Arctic, including Iridium, VSAT, Inmarsat BGAN, HughesNet, TeleGreenland, radios, and personal locator beacons. Program-wide IT and communications limitations are due to the broad categories of bandwidth, availability, and power. At these sites it is essential to conserve bandwidth and power through using efficient software, coding and scheduling techniques. There are interesting new products and services on the horizon that the program may be able to take advantage of in the future such as Iridium NEXT, Inmarsat Xpress, and Omnispace mobile satellite services. Additionally, there are engineering and computer software opportunities to develop more efficient products. We will present an overview of science/engineering partnerships formed by the CPS program, discuss current limitations and identify future technological possibilities that could further advance Arctic science goals.

The Development of Computational Thinking in a High School Chemistry Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matsumoto, Paul S.; Cao, Jiankang

2017-01-01

Computational thinking is a component of the Science and Engineering Practices in the Next Generation Science Standards, which were adopted by some states. We describe the activities in a high school chemistry course that may develop students' computational thinking skills by primarily using Excel, a widely available spreadsheet software. These…

Onboard Science Data Analysis: Opportunities, Benefits, and Effects on Mission Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stolorz, P.; Cheeseman, P.

1998-01-01

Much of the initial focus for spacecraft autonomy has been on developing new software and systems concepts to automate engineering functions of the spacecraft: guidance, navigation and control, fault protection, and resources management. However, the ultimate objectives of NASA missions are science objectives, which implies that we need a new framework for perfoming science data evaluation and observation planning autonomously onboard spacecraft.

The Open Source DataTurbine Initiative: Streaming Data Middleware for Environmental Observing Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fountain T.; Tilak, S.; Shin, P.; Hubbard, P.; Freudinger, L.

2009-01-01

The Open Source DataTurbine Initiative is an international community of scientists and engineers sharing a common interest in real-time streaming data middleware and applications. The technology base of the OSDT Initiative is the DataTurbine open source middleware. Key applications of DataTurbine include coral reef monitoring, lake monitoring and limnology, biodiversity and animal tracking, structural health monitoring and earthquake engineering, airborne environmental monitoring, and environmental sustainability. DataTurbine software emerged as a commercial product in the 1990 s from collaborations between NASA and private industry. In October 2007, a grant from the USA National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Cyberinfrastructure allowed us to transition DataTurbine from a proprietary software product into an open source software initiative. This paper describes the DataTurbine software and highlights key applications in environmental monitoring.

Mechanistic modelling of cancer: some reflections from software engineering and philosophy of science.

PubMed

Cañete-Valdeón, José M; Wieringa, Roel; Smallbone, Kieran

2012-12-01

There is a growing interest in mathematical mechanistic modelling as a promising strategy for understanding tumour progression. This approach is accompanied by a methodological change of making research, in which models help to actively generate hypotheses instead of waiting for general principles to become apparent once sufficient data are accumulated. This paper applies recent research from philosophy of science to uncover three important problems of mechanistic modelling which may compromise its mainstream application, namely: the dilemma of formal and informal descriptions, the need to express degrees of confidence and the need of an argumentation framework. We report experience and research on similar problems from software engineering and provide evidence that the solutions adopted there can be transferred to the biological domain. We hope this paper can provoke new opportunities for further and profitable interdisciplinary research in the field.

PREFACE: International Conference on Applied Sciences 2015 (ICAS2015)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemle, Ludovic Dan; Jiang, Yiwen

2016-02-01

The International Conference on Applied Sciences ICAS2015 took place in Wuhan, China on June 3-5, 2015 at the Military Economics Academy of Wuhan. The conference is regularly organized, alternatively in Romania and in P.R. China, by Politehnica University of Timişoara, Romania, and Military Economics Academy of Wuhan, P.R. China, with the joint aims to serve as a platform for exchange of information between various areas of applied sciences, and to promote the communication between the scientists of different nations, countries and continents. The topics of the conference cover a comprehensive spectrum of issues from: >Economical Sciences and Defense: Management Sciences, Business Management, Financial Management, Logistics, Human Resources, Crisis Management, Risk Management, Quality Control, Analysis and Prediction, Government Expenditure, Computational Methods in Economics, Military Sciences, National Security, and others... >Fundamental Sciences and Engineering: Interdisciplinary applications of physics, Numerical approximation and analysis, Computational Methods in Engineering, Metallic Materials, Composite Materials, Metal Alloys, Metallurgy, Heat Transfer, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Reliability, Electrical Engineering, Circuits and Systems, Signal Processing, Software Engineering, Data Bases, Modeling and Simulation, and others... The conference gathered qualified researchers whose expertise can be used to develop new engineering knowledge that has applicability potential in Engineering, Economics, Defense, etc. The number of participants was 120 from 11 countries (China, Romania, Taiwan, Korea, Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, USA, Jamaica, and Bosnia and Herzegovina). During the three days of the conference four invited and 67 oral talks were delivered. Based on the work presented at the conference, 38 selected papers have been included in this volume of IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. These papers present new research in the various fields of Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computers Engineering, and Electrical Engineering. It's our great pleasure to present this volume of IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering to the scientific community to promote further research in these areas. We sincerely hope that the papers published in this volume will contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the respective fields.

Voices of Women in a Software Engineering Course: Reflections on Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berenson, Sarah B.; Slaten, Kelli M.; Williams, Laurie; Ho, Chih-Wei

2004-01-01

Those science, mathematics, and engineering faculty who are serious about making the education they offer as available to their daughters as to their sons are, we posit, facing the prospect of dismantling a large part of its traditional pedagogical structure, along with the assumptions and practice which support it. [Seymour and Hewett 1997].Prior…

Changes and challenges in the Software Engineering Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pajerski, Rose

1994-01-01

Since 1976, the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) has been dedicated to understanding and improving the way in which one NASA organization, the Flight Dynamics Division (FDD), develops, maintains, and manages complex flight dynamics systems. The SEL is composed of three member organizations: NASA/GSFC, the University of Maryland, and Computer Sciences Corporation. During the past 18 years, the SEL's overall goal has remained the same: to improve the FDD's software products and processes in a measured manner. This requires that each development and maintenance effort be viewed, in part, as a SEL experiment which examines a specific technology or builds a model of interest for use on subsequent efforts. The SEL has undertaken many technology studies while developing operational support systems for numerous NASA spacecraft missions.

A New Overview of The Trilinos Project

DOE PAGES

Heroux, Michael A.; Willenbring, James M.

2012-01-01

Since An Overview of the Trilinos Project [ACM Trans. Math. Softw. 31(3) (2005), 397–423] was published in 2005, Trilinos has grown significantly. It now supports the development of a broad collection of libraries for scalable computational science and engineering applications, and a full-featured software infrastructure for rigorous lean/agile software engineering. This growth has created significant opportunities and challenges. This paper focuses on some of the most notable changes to the Trilinos project in the last few years. At the time of the writing of this article, the current release version of Trilinos was 10.12.2.

Computer sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Paul H.

1988-01-01

The Computer Science Program provides advanced concepts, techniques, system architectures, algorithms, and software for both space and aeronautics information sciences and computer systems. The overall goal is to provide the technical foundation within NASA for the advancement of computing technology in aerospace applications. The research program is improving the state of knowledge of fundamental aerospace computing principles and advancing computing technology in space applications such as software engineering and information extraction from data collected by scientific instruments in space. The program includes the development of special algorithms and techniques to exploit the computing power provided by high performance parallel processors and special purpose architectures. Research is being conducted in the fundamentals of data base logic and improvement techniques for producing reliable computing systems.

Research and technology 1995 annual report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

As the NASA Center responsible for assembly, checkout, servicing, launch, recovery, and operational support of Space Transportation System elements and payloads, the John F. Kennedy Space Center is placing increasing emphasis on its advanced technology development program. This program encompasses the efforts of the Engineering Development Directorate laboratories, most of the KSC operations contractors, academia, and selected commercial industries - all working in a team effort within their own areas of expertise. This edition of the Kennedy Space Center Research and Technology 1995 Annual Report covers efforts of all these contributors to the KSC advanced technology development program, as well as technology transfer activities. Major areas of research include environmental engineering, automation, robotics, advanced software, materials science, life sciences, mechanical engineering, nondestructive evaluation, and industrial engineering.

Laptop Use, Interactive Science Software, and Science Learning Among At-Risk Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Binbin; Warschauer, Mark; Hwang, Jin Kyoung; Collins, Penelope

2014-08-01

This year-long, quasi-experimental study investigated the impact of the use of netbook computers and interactive science software on fifth-grade students' science learning processes, academic achievement, and interest in further science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) study within a linguistically diverse school district in California. Analysis of students' state standardized science test scores indicated that the program helped close gaps in scientific achievement between at-risk learners (i.e., English learners, Hispanics, and free/reduced-lunch recipients) and their counterparts. Teacher and student interviews and classroom observations suggested that computer-supported visual representations and interactions supported diverse learners' scientific understanding and inquiry and enabled more individualized and differentiated instruction. Finally, interviews revealed that the program had a positive impact on students' motivation in science and on their interest in pursuing science-related careers. This study suggests that technology-facilitated science instruction is beneficial for improving at-risk students' science achievement, scaffolding students' scientific understanding, and strengthening students' motivation to pursue STEM-related careers.

Operation of the Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

The ICASE research program is described in detail; it consists of four major categories: (1) efficient use of vector and parallel computers, with particular emphasis on the CDC STAR-100; (2) numerical analysis, with particular emphasis on the development and analysis of basic numerical algorithms; (3) analysis and planning of large-scale software systems; and (4) computational research in engineering and the natural sciences, with particular emphasis on fluid dynamics. The work in each of these areas is described in detail; other activities are discussed, a prognosis of future activities are included.

The 1991 research and technology report, Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soffen, Gerald (Editor); Ottenstein, Howard (Editor); Montgomery, Harry (Editor); Truszkowski, Walter (Editor); Frost, Kenneth (Editor); Sullivan, Walter (Editor); Boyle, Charles (Editor)

1991-01-01

The 1991 Research and Technology Report for Goddard Space Flight Center is presented. Research covered areas such as (1) earth sciences including upper atmosphere, lower atmosphere, oceans, hydrology, and global studies; (2) space sciences including solar studies, planetary studies, Astro-1, gamma ray investigations, and astrophysics; (3) flight projects; (4) engineering including robotics, mechanical engineering, electronics, imaging and optics, thermal and cryogenic studies, and balloons; and (5) ground systems, networks, and communications including data and networks, TDRSS, mission planning and scheduling, and software development and test.

Fiji: an open-source platform for biological-image analysis.

PubMed

Schindelin, Johannes; Arganda-Carreras, Ignacio; Frise, Erwin; Kaynig, Verena; Longair, Mark; Pietzsch, Tobias; Preibisch, Stephan; Rueden, Curtis; Saalfeld, Stephan; Schmid, Benjamin; Tinevez, Jean-Yves; White, Daniel James; Hartenstein, Volker; Eliceiri, Kevin; Tomancak, Pavel; Cardona, Albert

2012-06-28

Fiji is a distribution of the popular open-source software ImageJ focused on biological-image analysis. Fiji uses modern software engineering practices to combine powerful software libraries with a broad range of scripting languages to enable rapid prototyping of image-processing algorithms. Fiji facilitates the transformation of new algorithms into ImageJ plugins that can be shared with end users through an integrated update system. We propose Fiji as a platform for productive collaboration between computer science and biology research communities.

Technology 2001: The Second National Technology Transfer Conference and Exposition, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

Papers from the technical sessions of the Technology 2001 Conference and Exposition are presented. The technical sessions featured discussions of advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, computer graphics and simulation, communications, data and information management, electronics, electro-optics, environmental technology, life sciences, materials science, medical advances, robotics, software engineering, and test and measurement.

Improving Software Sustainability: Lessons Learned from Profiles in Science.

PubMed

Gallagher, Marie E

2013-01-01

The Profiles in Science® digital library features digitized surrogates of historical items selected from the archival collections of the U.S. National Library of Medicine as well as collaborating institutions. In addition, it contains a database of descriptive, technical and administrative metadata. It also contains various software components that allow creation of the metadata, management of the digital items, and access to the items and metadata through the Profiles in Science Web site [1]. The choices made building the digital library were designed to maximize the sustainability and long-term survival of all of the components of the digital library [2]. For example, selecting standard and open digital file formats rather than proprietary formats increases the sustainability of the digital files [3]. Correspondingly, using non-proprietary software may improve the sustainability of the software--either through in-house expertise or through the open source community. Limiting our digital library software exclusively to open source software or to software developed in-house has not been feasible. For example, we have used proprietary operating systems, scanning software, a search engine, and office productivity software. We did this when either lack of essential capabilities or the cost-benefit trade-off favored using proprietary software. We also did so knowing that in the future we would need to replace or upgrade some of our proprietary software, analogous to migrating from an obsolete digital file format to a new format as the technological landscape changes. Since our digital library's start in 1998, all of its software has been upgraded or replaced, but the digitized items have not yet required migration to other formats. Technological changes that compelled us to replace proprietary software included the cost of product licensing, product support, incompatibility with other software, prohibited use due to evolving security policies, and product abandonment. Sometimes these changes happen on short notice, so we continually monitor our library's software for signs of endangerment. We have attempted to replace proprietary software with suitable in-house or open source software. When the replacement involves a standalone piece of software with a nearly equivalent version, such as replacing a commercial HTTP server with an open source HTTP server, the replacement is straightforward. Recently we replaced software that functioned not only as our search engine but also as the backbone of the architecture of our Web site. In this paper, we describe the lessons learned and the pros and cons of replacing this software with open source software.

Digitized Educational Technology: A Learning Tool Using Remotely Sensed Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Love, Gloria Carter

1999-01-01

Digitized Educational software for different levels of instruction were developed and placed on the web (geocities). Students attending the Pre-Engineering Summer 1998 Camp at Dillard University explored the use of the software which included presentations, applications, and special exercises. Student comments were received and considered for adjustments. The second outreach program included students from Colton Junior High School and Natural Science Majors at Dillard University. The Natural Majors completed a second survey concerning reasons why students selected majors in the Sciences and Mathematics. Two student research assistants (DU) and faculty members/parents of Colton Junior High assisted.

Reviews Book: Extended Project Student Guide Book: My Inventions Book: ASE Guide to Research in Science Education Classroom Video: The Science of Starlight Software: SPARKvue Book: The Geek Manifesto Ebook: A Big Ball of Fire Apps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2014-05-01

WE RECOMMEND Level 3 Extended Project Student Guide A non-specialist, generally useful and nicely put together guide to project work ASE Guide to Research in Science Education Few words wasted in this handy introduction and reference The Science of Starlight Slow but steady DVD covers useful ground SPARKvue Impressive software now available as an app WORTH A LOOK My Inventions and Other Writings Science, engineering, autobiography, visions and psychic phenomena mixed in a strange but revealing concoction The Geek Manifesto: Why Science Matters More enthusiasm than science, but a good motivator and interesting A Big Ball of Fire: Your questions about the Sun answered Free iTunes download made by and for students goes down well APPS Collider visualises LHC experiments ... Science Museum app enhances school trips ... useful information for the Cambridge Science Festival

Spacecraft Software Maintenance: An Effective Approach to Reducing Costs and Increasing Science Return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shell, Elaine M.; Lue, Yvonne; Chu, Martha I.

1999-01-01

Flight software is a mission critical element of spacecraft functionality and performance. When ground operations personnel interface to a spacecraft, they are typically dealing almost entirely with the capabilities of onboard software. This software, even more than critical ground/flight communications systems, is expected to perform perfectly during all phases of spacecraft life. Due to the fact that it can be reprogrammed on-orbit to accommodate degradations or failures in flight hardware, new insights into spacecraft characteristics, new control options which permit enhanced science options, etc., the on- orbit flight software maintenance team is usually significantly responsible for the long term success of a science mission. Failure of flight software to perform as needed can result in very expensive operations work-around costs and lost science opportunities. There are three basic approaches to maintaining spacecraft software--namely using the original developers, using the mission operations personnel, or assembling a center of excellence for multi-spacecraft software maintenance. Not planning properly for flight software maintenance can lead to unnecessarily high on-orbit costs and/or unacceptably long delays, or errors, in patch installations. A common approach for flight software maintenance is to access the original development staff. The argument for utilizing the development staff is that the people who developed the software will be the best people to modify the software on-orbit. However, it can quickly becomes a challenge to obtain the services of these key people. They may no longer be available to the organization. They may have a more urgent job to perform, quite likely on another project under different project management. If they havn't worked on the software for a long time, they may need precious time for refamiliarization to the software, testbeds and tools. Further, a lack of insight into issues related to flight software in its on-orbit environment, may find the developer unprepared for the challenges. The second approach is to train a member of the flight operations team to maintain the spacecraft software. This can prove to be a costly and inflexible solution. The person assigned to this duty may not have enough work to do during a problem free period and may have too much to do when a problem arises. If the person is a talented software engineer, he/she may not enjoy the limited software opportunities available in this position; and may eventually leave for newer technology computer science opportunities. Training replacement flight software personnel can be a difficult and lengthy process. The third approach is to assemble a center of excellence for on-orbit spacecraft software maintenance. Personnel in this specialty center can be managed to support flight software of multiple missions at once. The variety of challenges among a set of on-orbit missions, can result in a dedicated, talented staff which is fully trained and available to support each mission's needs. Such staff are not software developers but are rather spacecraft software systems engineers. The cost to any one mission is extremely low because the software staff works and charges, minimally on missions with no current operations issues; and their professional insight into on-orbit software troubleshooting and maintenance methods ensures low risk, effective and minimal-cost solutions to on-orbit issues.

Model-Driven Useware Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meixner, Gerrit; Seissler, Marc; Breiner, Kai

User-oriented hardware and software development relies on a systematic development process based on a comprehensive analysis focusing on the users' requirements and preferences. Such a development process calls for the integration of numerous disciplines, from psychology and ergonomics to computer sciences and mechanical engineering. Hence, a correspondingly interdisciplinary team must be equipped with suitable software tools to allow it to handle the complexity of a multimodal and multi-device user interface development approach. An abstract, model-based development approach seems to be adequate for handling this complexity. This approach comprises different levels of abstraction requiring adequate tool support. Thus, in this chapter, we present the current state of our model-based software tool chain. We introduce the use model as the core model of our model-based process, transformation processes, and a model-based architecture, and we present different software tools that provide support for creating and maintaining the models or performing the necessary model transformations.

Computing, Environment and Life Sciences | Argonne National Laboratory

Science.gov Websites

engineer receives prestigious medal August 18, 2016 Software optimized on Mira advances design of mini » Back to top Twitter Flickr Facebook Linked In YouTube Pinterest Google Plus Computing, Environment and

An Overview of High Performance Computing and Challenges for the Future

ScienceCinema

Google Tech Talks

2017-12-09

In this talk we examine how high performance computing has changed over the last 10-year and look toward the future in terms of trends. These changes have had and will continue to have a major impact on our software. A new generation of software libraries and lgorithms are needed for the effective and reliable use of (wide area) dynamic, distributed and parallel environments. Some of the software and algorithm challenges have already been encountered, such as management of communication and memory hierarchies through a combination of compile--time and run--time techniques, but the increased scale of computation, depth of memory hierarchies, range of latencies, and increased run--time environment variability will make these problems much harder. We will focus on the redesign of software to fit multicore architectures. Speaker: Jack Dongarra University of Tennessee Oak Ridge National Laboratory University of Manchester Jack Dongarra received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Chicago State University in 1972 and a Master of Science in Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1973. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of New Mexico in 1980. He worked at the Argonne National Laboratory until 1989, becoming a senior scientist. He now holds an appointment as University Distinguished Professor of Computer Science in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of Tennessee, has the position of a Distinguished Research Staff member in the Computer Science and Mathematics Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Turing Fellow in the Computer Science and Mathematics Schools at the University of Manchester, and an Adjunct Professor in the Computer Science Department at Rice University. He specializes in numerical algorithms in linear algebra, parallel computing, the use of advanced-computer architectures, programming methodology, and tools for parallel computers. His research includes the development, testing and documentation of high quality mathematical software. He has contributed to the design and implementation of the following open source software packages and systems: EISPACK, LINPACK, the BLAS, LAPACK, ScaLAPACK, Netlib, PVM, MPI, NetSolve, Top500, ATLAS, and PAPI. He has published approximately 200 articles, papers, reports and technical memoranda and he is coauthor of several books. He was awarded the IEEE Sid Fernbach Award in 2004 for his contributions in the application of high performance computers using innovative approaches. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, ACM, and the IEEE and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

An Overview of High Performance Computing and Challenges for the Future

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Google Tech Talks

In this talk we examine how high performance computing has changed over the last 10-year and look toward the future in terms of trends. These changes have had and will continue to have a major impact on our software. A new generation of software libraries and lgorithms are needed for the effective and reliable use of (wide area) dynamic, distributed and parallel environments. Some of the software and algorithm challenges have already been encountered, such as management of communication and memory hierarchies through a combination of compile--time and run--time techniques, but the increased scale of computation, depth of memory hierarchies,more » range of latencies, and increased run--time environment variability will make these problems much harder. We will focus on the redesign of software to fit multicore architectures. Speaker: Jack Dongarra University of Tennessee Oak Ridge National Laboratory University of Manchester Jack Dongarra received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Chicago State University in 1972 and a Master of Science in Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1973. He received his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of New Mexico in 1980. He worked at the Argonne National Laboratory until 1989, becoming a senior scientist. He now holds an appointment as University Distinguished Professor of Computer Science in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of Tennessee, has the position of a Distinguished Research Staff member in the Computer Science and Mathematics Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Turing Fellow in the Computer Science and Mathematics Schools at the University of Manchester, and an Adjunct Professor in the Computer Science Department at Rice University. He specializes in numerical algorithms in linear algebra, parallel computing, the use of advanced-computer architectures, programming methodology, and tools for parallel computers. His research includes the development, testing and documentation of high quality mathematical software. He has contributed to the design and implementation of the following open source software packages and systems: EISPACK, LINPACK, the BLAS, LAPACK, ScaLAPACK, Netlib, PVM, MPI, NetSolve, Top500, ATLAS, and PAPI. He has published approximately 200 articles, papers, reports and technical memoranda and he is coauthor of several books. He was awarded the IEEE Sid Fernbach Award in 2004 for his contributions in the application of high performance computers using innovative approaches. He is a Fellow of the AAAS, ACM, and the IEEE and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.« less

Research and Technology Report. Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soffen, Gerald (Editor); Truszkowski, Walter (Editor); Ottenstein, Howard (Editor); Frost, Kenneth (Editor); Maran, Stephen (Editor); Walter, Lou (Editor); Brown, Mitch (Editor)

1996-01-01

This issue of Goddard Space Flight Center's annual report highlights the importance of mission operations and data systems covering mission planning and operations; TDRSS, positioning systems, and orbit determination; ground system and networks, hardware and software; data processing and analysis; and World Wide Web use. The report also includes flight projects, space sciences, Earth system science, and engineering and materials.

Summary of research in applied mathematics, numerical analysis, and computer sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

The major categories of current ICASE research programs addressed include: numerical methods, with particular emphasis on the development and analysis of basic numerical algorithms; control and parameter identification problems, with emphasis on effective numerical methods; computational problems in engineering and physical sciences, particularly fluid dynamics, acoustics, and structural analysis; and computer systems and software, especially vector and parallel computers.

A Computer Science Educational Program for Establishing an Entry Point into the Computing Community of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haberman, Bruria; Yehezkel, Cecile

2008-01-01

The rapid evolvement of the computing domain has posed challenges in attempting to bridge the gap between school and the contemporary world of computing, which is related to content, learning culture, and professional norms. We believe that the interaction of high-school students who major in computer science or software engineering with leading…

European Science Notes Information Bulletin Reports on Current European and Middle Eastern Science

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-01-01

evclopment in the Abbey-Polymer Processing and Properties ................... 524 J, Magill Corrosion and Protection Centre at the University of...34* Software Engineering and microprocessors and communication chips. The Information Processing Systems recently announced T9000 microprocessor will...computational fluid dynamics, struc- In addition to general and special-purpose tural mechanics, partial differential equations, processing , Europe has a

European Science Notes Information Bulletin Reports on Current European and Middle Eastern Science

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-01-01

Overcash MATERIALS Research and Development in the Abbey-Polymer Processing and Properties ................... 574 J. Magill Corrosion and Protection Centre...gressi• ely pursuing the development of powerful "* Software Engineering and microprocessors and communication chips. The Information Processing ...differential equations, processing , Europe has a number of fascinating weather forecasting) that are to be developed by a projects in distributed

Educational technologies and the teaching of ethics in science and engineering.

PubMed

Loui, Michael C

2005-07-01

To support the teaching of ethics in science and engineering, educational technologies offer a variety of functions: communication between students and instructors, production of documents, distribution of documents, archiving of class sessions, and access to remote resources. Instructors may choose to use these functions of the technologies at different levels of intensity, to support a variety of pedagogies, consistent with accepted good practices. Good pedagogical practices are illustrated in this paper with four examples of uses of educational technologies in the teaching of ethics in science and engineering. Educational technologies impose costs for the purchase of hardware, licensing of software, hiring of support personnel, and training of instructors. Whether the benefits justify these costs is an unsettled question. While many researchers are studying the possible benefits of educational technologies, all instructors should assess the effectiveness of their practices.

Report on the Third Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE3)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katz, Daniel S.; Choi, Sou-Cheng T.; Niemeyer, Kyle E.; Hetherington, James; Löffler, Frank; Gunter, Dan; Idaszak, Ray; Brandt, Steven R.; Miller, Mark A.; Gesing, Sandra; Jones, Nick D.; Weber, Nic; Marru, Suresh; Allen, Gabrielle; Penzenstadler, Birgit; Venters, Colin C.; Davis, Ethan; Hwang, Lorraine; Todorov, Ilian; Patra, Abani; de Val-Borro, Miguel

2016-02-01

This report records and discusses the Third Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE3). The report includes a description of the keynote presentation of the workshop, which served as an overview of sustainable scientific software. It also summarizes a set of lightning talks in which speakers highlighted to-the-point lessons and challenges pertaining to sustaining scientific software. The final and main contribution of the report is a summary of the discussions, future steps, and future organization for a set of self-organized working groups on topics including developing pathways to funding scientific software; constructing useful common metrics for crediting software stakeholders; identifying principles for sustainable software engineering design; reaching out to research software organizations around the world; and building communities for software sustainability. For each group, we include a point of contact and a landing page that can be used by those who want to join that group's future activities. The main challenge left by the workshop is to see if the groups will execute these activities that they have scheduled, and how the WSSSPE community can encourage this to happen.

Managing Complexity in the MSL/Curiosity Entry, Descent, and Landing Flight Software and Avionics Verification and Validation Campaign

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stehura, Aaron; Rozek, Matthew

2013-01-01

The complexity of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission presented the Entry, Descent, and Landing systems engineering team with many challenges in its Verification and Validation (V&V) campaign. This paper describes some of the logistical hurdles related to managing a complex set of requirements, test venues, test objectives, and analysis products in the implementation of a specific portion of the overall V&V program to test the interaction of flight software with the MSL avionics suite. Application-specific solutions to these problems are presented herein, which can be generalized to other space missions and to similar formidable systems engineering problems.

CPE--A New Perspective: The Impact of the Technology Revolution. Proceedings of the Computer Performance Evaluation Users Group Meeting (19th, San Francisco, California, October 25-28, 1983). Final Report. Reports on Computer Science and Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mobray, Deborah, Ed.

Papers on local area networks (LANs), modelling techniques, software improvement, capacity planning, software engineering, microcomputers and end user computing, cost accounting and chargeback, configuration and performance management, and benchmarking presented at this conference include: (1) "Theoretical Performance Analysis of Virtual…

International Assessment of Research and Development in Simulation-Based Engineering and Science. Panel Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

University of California, Berkeley. In this session, Dennis Gannon of Indiana University described the use of high performance computing for storm...Software Development (Session Introduction) Dennis Gannon Indiana University Software for Mesoscale Storm Prediction: Using Supercomputers for On...Ho, D. Ierardi, I. Kolossvary, J. Klepeis, T. Layman, C. McLeavey , M. Moraes, R. Mueller, E. Priest, Y. Shan, J. Spengler, M. Theobald, B. Towles

Prediction of Software Reliability using Bio Inspired Soft Computing Techniques.

PubMed

Diwaker, Chander; Tomar, Pradeep; Poonia, Ramesh C; Singh, Vijander

2018-04-10

A lot of models have been made for predicting software reliability. The reliability models are restricted to using particular types of methodologies and restricted number of parameters. There are a number of techniques and methodologies that may be used for reliability prediction. There is need to focus on parameters consideration while estimating reliability. The reliability of a system may increase or decreases depending on the selection of different parameters used. Thus there is need to identify factors that heavily affecting the reliability of the system. In present days, reusability is mostly used in the various area of research. Reusability is the basis of Component-Based System (CBS). The cost, time and human skill can be saved using Component-Based Software Engineering (CBSE) concepts. CBSE metrics may be used to assess those techniques which are more suitable for estimating system reliability. Soft computing is used for small as well as large-scale problems where it is difficult to find accurate results due to uncertainty or randomness. Several possibilities are available to apply soft computing techniques in medicine related problems. Clinical science of medicine using fuzzy-logic, neural network methodology significantly while basic science of medicine using neural-networks-genetic algorithm most frequently and preferably. There is unavoidable interest shown by medical scientists to use the various soft computing methodologies in genetics, physiology, radiology, cardiology and neurology discipline. CBSE boost users to reuse the past and existing software for making new products to provide quality with a saving of time, memory space, and money. This paper focused on assessment of commonly used soft computing technique like Genetic Algorithm (GA), Neural-Network (NN), Fuzzy Logic, Support Vector Machine (SVM), Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC). This paper presents working of soft computing techniques and assessment of soft computing techniques to predict reliability. The parameter considered while estimating and prediction of reliability are also discussed. This study can be used in estimation and prediction of the reliability of various instruments used in the medical system, software engineering, computer engineering and mechanical engineering also. These concepts can be applied to both software and hardware, to predict the reliability using CBSE.

Toward to Disaster Mitigation Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaneda, Yoshiyuki; Shiraki, Wataru; Tokozakura, Eiji

2016-04-01

Destructive natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis have occurred frequently in the world. For the reduction and mitigation of damages by destructive natural disasters, early detection of natural disasters and speedy and proper evacuations are indispensable. And hardware and software preparations for reduction and mitigation of natural disasters are quite important and significant. Finally, methods on restorations and revivals are necessary after natural disasters. We would like to propose natural disaster mitigation science for early detections, evacuations and restorations against destructive natural disasters. In natural disaster mitigation science, there are lots of research fields such as natural science, engineering, medical treatment, social science and literature/art etc. Especially, natural science, engineering and medical treatment are fundamental research fields for natural disaster mitigation, but social sciences such as sociology, psychology etc. are very important research fields for restorations after natural disasters. We have to progress the natural disaster mitigation science against destructive natural disaster mitigation. in the near future. We will present the details of natural disaster mitigation science.

Ground Data System Analysis Tools to Track Flight System State Parameters for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) and Beyond

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allard, Dan; Deforrest, Lloyd

2014-01-01

Flight software parameters enable space mission operators fine-tuned control over flight system configurations, enabling rapid and dynamic changes to ongoing science activities in a much more flexible manner than can be accomplished with (otherwise broadly used) configuration file based approaches. The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), Curiosity, makes extensive use of parameters to support complex, daily activities via commanded changes to said parameters in memory. However, as the loss of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) in 2006 demonstrated, flight system management by parameters brings with it risks, including the possibility of losing track of the flight system configuration and the threat of invalid command executions. To mitigate this risk a growing number of missions have funded efforts to implement parameter tracking parameter state software tools and services including MSL and the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. This paper will discuss the engineering challenges and resulting software architecture of MSL's onboard parameter state tracking software and discuss the road forward to make parameter management tools suitable for use on multiple missions.

The fusion of biology, computer science, and engineering: towards efficient and successful synthetic biology.

PubMed

Linshiz, Gregory; Goldberg, Alex; Konry, Tania; Hillson, Nathan J

2012-01-01

Synthetic biology is a nascent field that emerged in earnest only around the turn of the millennium. It aims to engineer new biological systems and impart new biological functionality, often through genetic modifications. The design and construction of new biological systems is a complex, multistep process, requiring multidisciplinary collaborative efforts from "fusion" scientists who have formal training in computer science or engineering, as well as hands-on biological expertise. The public has high expectations for synthetic biology and eagerly anticipates the development of solutions to the major challenges facing humanity. This article discusses laboratory practices and the conduct of research in synthetic biology. It argues that the fusion science approach, which integrates biology with computer science and engineering best practices, including standardization, process optimization, computer-aided design and laboratory automation, miniaturization, and systematic management, will increase the predictability and reproducibility of experiments and lead to breakthroughs in the construction of new biological systems. The article also discusses several successful fusion projects, including the development of software tools for DNA construction design automation, recursive DNA construction, and the development of integrated microfluidics systems.

Using the Eclipse Parallel Tools Platform to Assist Earth Science Model Development and Optimization on High Performance Computers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alameda, J. C.

2011-12-01

Development and optimization of computational science models, particularly on high performance computers, and with the advent of ubiquitous multicore processor systems, practically on every system, has been accomplished with basic software tools, typically, command-line based compilers, debuggers, performance tools that have not changed substantially from the days of serial and early vector computers. However, model complexity, including the complexity added by modern message passing libraries such as MPI, and the need for hybrid code models (such as openMP and MPI) to be able to take full advantage of high performance computers with an increasing core count per shared memory node, has made development and optimization of such codes an increasingly arduous task. Additional architectural developments, such as many-core processors, only complicate the situation further. In this paper, we describe how our NSF-funded project, "SI2-SSI: A Productive and Accessible Development Workbench for HPC Applications Using the Eclipse Parallel Tools Platform" (WHPC) seeks to improve the Eclipse Parallel Tools Platform, an environment designed to support scientific code development targeted at a diverse set of high performance computing systems. Our WHPC project to improve Eclipse PTP takes an application-centric view to improve PTP. We are using a set of scientific applications, each with a variety of challenges, and using PTP to drive further improvements to both the scientific application, as well as to understand shortcomings in Eclipse PTP from an application developer perspective, to drive our list of improvements we seek to make. We are also partnering with performance tool providers, to drive higher quality performance tool integration. We have partnered with the Cactus group at Louisiana State University to improve Eclipse's ability to work with computational frameworks and extremely complex build systems, as well as to develop educational materials to incorporate into computational science and engineering codes. Finally, we are partnering with the lead PTP developers at IBM, to ensure we are as effective as possible within the Eclipse community development. We are also conducting training and outreach to our user community, including conference BOF sessions, monthly user calls, and an annual user meeting, so that we can best inform the improvements we make to Eclipse PTP. With these activities we endeavor to encourage use of modern software engineering practices, as enabled through the Eclipse IDE, with computational science and engineering applications. These practices include proper use of source code repositories, tracking and rectifying issues, measuring and monitoring code performance changes against both optimizations as well as ever-changing software stacks and configurations on HPC systems, as well as ultimately encouraging development and maintenance of testing suites -- things that have become commonplace in many software endeavors, but have lagged in the development of science applications. We view that the challenge with the increased complexity of both HPC systems and science applications demands the use of better software engineering methods, preferably enabled by modern tools such as Eclipse PTP, to help the computational science community thrive as we evolve the HPC landscape.

Computer-aided design and computer science technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fulton, R. E.; Voigt, S. J.

1976-01-01

A description is presented of computer-aided design requirements and the resulting computer science advances needed to support aerospace design. The aerospace design environment is examined, taking into account problems of data handling and aspects of computer hardware and software. The interactive terminal is normally the primary interface between the computer system and the engineering designer. Attention is given to user aids, interactive design, interactive computations, the characteristics of design information, data management requirements, hardware advancements, and computer science developments.

An Interdisciplinary Approach Between Medical Informatics and Social Sciences to Transdisciplinary Requirements Engineering for an Integrated Care Setting.

PubMed

Vielhauer, Jan; Böckmann, Britta

2017-01-01

Requirements engineering of software products for elderly people faces some special challenges to ensure a maximum of user acceptance. Within the scope of a research project, a web-based platform and a mobile app are approached to enable people to live in their own home as long as possible. This paper is about a developed method of interdisciplinary requirements engineering by a team of social scientists in cooperation with computer scientists.

Large-Scale 3D Printing: The Way Forward

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jassmi, Hamad Al; Najjar, Fady Al; Ismail Mourad, Abdel-Hamid

2018-03-01

Research on small-scale 3D printing has rapidly evolved, where numerous industrial products have been tested and successfully applied. Nonetheless, research on large-scale 3D printing, directed to large-scale applications such as construction and automotive manufacturing, yet demands a great a great deal of efforts. Large-scale 3D printing is considered an interdisciplinary topic and requires establishing a blended knowledge base from numerous research fields including structural engineering, materials science, mechatronics, software engineering, artificial intelligence and architectural engineering. This review article summarizes key topics of relevance to new research trends on large-scale 3D printing, particularly pertaining (1) technological solutions of additive construction (i.e. the 3D printers themselves), (2) materials science challenges, and (3) new design opportunities.

Software engineering and data management for automated payload experiment tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maddux, Gary A.; Provancha, Anna; Chattam, David

1994-01-01

The Microgravity Projects Office identified a need to develop a software package that will lead experiment developers through the development planning process, obtain necessary information, establish an electronic data exchange avenue, and allow easier manipulation/reformatting of the collected information. An MS-DOS compatible software package called the Automated Payload Experiment Tool (APET) has been developed and delivered. The objective of this task is to expand on the results of the APET work previously performed by University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and provide versions of the software in a Macintosh and Windows compatible format. Appendix 1 science requirements document (SRD) Users Manual is attached.

Turbine Aeration Design Software for Mitigating Adverse Environmental Impacts Resulting From Conventional Hydropower Turbines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gulliver, John S.

2015-03-01

Conventional hydropower turbine aeration test-bed for computational routines and software tools for improving environmental mitigation technologies for conventional hydropower systems. In achieving this goal, we have partnered with Alstom, a global leader in energy technology development and United States power generation, with additional funding from the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE) and the College of Science and Engineering (CSE) at the UMN

Using Computing and Data Grids for Large-Scale Science and Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnston, William E.

2001-01-01

We use the term "Grid" to refer to a software system that provides uniform and location independent access to geographically and organizationally dispersed, heterogeneous resources that are persistent and supported. These emerging data and computing Grids promise to provide a highly capable and scalable environment for addressing large-scale science problems. We describe the requirements for science Grids, the resulting services and architecture of NASA's Information Power Grid (IPG) and DOE's Science Grid, and some of the scaling issues that have come up in their implementation.

Technology Horizons: A Vision for Air Force Science and Technology 2010-30

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-01

software, hardware, and networks, it is now recognized as en- compassing the entire system that couples information flow and decision processes across...acceleration, and scramjet cruise. Inward turning inlets and a dual- flow path design allow high volumetric efficiency, and high cruise speed provides...the same time, emerging “third- stream engine architectures” can enable constant-mass- flow engines that can provide further reductions in fuel

Design of web platform for science and engineering in the model of open market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demichev, A. P.; Kryukov, A. P.

2016-09-01

This paper presents a design and operation algorithms of a web-platform for convenient, secure and effective remote interaction on the principles of the open market of users and providers of scientific application software and databases.

Automating U-Pb IDTIMS data reduction and reporting: Cyberinfrastructure meets geochronology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowring, J. F.; McLean, N.; Walker, J. D.; Ash, J. M.

2009-12-01

We demonstrate the efficacy of an interdisciplinary effort between software engineers and geochemists to produce working cyberinfrastructure for geochronology. This collaboration between CIRDLES, EARTHTIME and EarthChem has produced the software programs Tripoli and U-Pb_Redux as the cyber-backbone for the ID-TIMS community. This initiative incorporates shared isotopic tracers, data-reduction algorithms and the archiving and retrieval of data and results. The resulting system facilitates detailed inter-laboratory comparison and a new generation of cooperative science. The resolving power of geochronological data in the earth sciences is dependent on the precision and accuracy of many isotopic measurements and corrections. Recent advances in U-Pb geochronology have reinvigorated its application to problems such as precise timescale calibration, processes of crustal evolution, and early solar system dynamics. This project provides a heretofore missing common data reduction protocol, thus promoting the interpretation of precise geochronology and enabling inter-laboratory comparison. U-Pb_Redux is an open-source software program that provides end-to-end support for the analysis of uranium-lead geochronological data. The system reduces raw mass spectrometer data to U-Pb dates, allows users to interpret ages from these data, and then provides for the seamless federation of the results, coming from many labs, into a community web-accessible database using standard and open techniques. This EarthChem GeoChron database depends also on keyed references to the SESAR sample database. U-Pb_Redux currently provides interactive concordia and weighted mean plots and uncertainty contribution visualizations; it produces publication-quality concordia and weighted mean plots and customizable data tables. This initiative has achieved the goal of standardizing the data elements of a complete reduction and analysis of uranium-lead data, which are expressed using extensible markup language schema definition (XSD) artifacts. U-Pb_Redux leverages the freeware program Tripoli, which imports raw mass spectrometer data files and supports interactive review and archiving of isotopic data. Tripoli facilitates the visualization of temporal trends and scatter during measurement, statistically rigorous filtering of data and supports oxide and fractionation corrections. The Cyber Infrastructure Research and Development Lab for the Earth Sciences (CIRDLES) collaboratively integrates domain-specific software engineering with the efforts EARTHTIME and Earthchem. The EARTHTIME initiative pursues consensus-based approaches to geochemical data reduction, and the EarthChem initiative pursues the creation of data repositories for all geochemical data. CIRDLES develops software and systems for geochronology. This collaboration benefits the earth sciences by enabling geochemists to focus on their specialties using robust software that produces reliable results. This collaboration benefits software engineering by providing research opportunities to improve process methodologies used in the design and implementation of domain-specific solutions.

Requirements Engineering in Building Climate Science Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Batcheller, Archer L.

Software has an important role in supporting scientific work. This dissertation studies teams that build scientific software, focusing on the way that they determine what the software should do. These requirements engineering processes are investigated through three case studies of climate science software projects. The Earth System Modeling Framework assists modeling applications, the Earth System Grid distributes data via a web portal, and the NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) Command Language is used to convert, analyze and visualize data. Document analysis, observation, and interviews were used to investigate the requirements-related work. The first research question is about how and why stakeholders engage in a project, and what they do for the project. Two key findings arise. First, user counts are a vital measure of project success, which makes adoption important and makes counting tricky and political. Second, despite the importance of quantities of users, a few particular "power users" develop a relationship with the software developers and play a special role in providing feedback to the software team and integrating the system into user practice. The second research question focuses on how project objectives are articulated and how they are put into practice. The team seeks to both build a software system according to product requirements but also to conduct their work according to process requirements such as user support. Support provides essential communication between users and developers that assists with refining and identifying requirements for the software. It also helps users to learn and apply the software to their real needs. User support is a vital activity for scientific software teams aspiring to create infrastructure. The third research question is about how change in scientific practice and knowledge leads to changes in the software, and vice versa. The "thickness" of a layer of software infrastructure impacts whether the software team or users have control and responsibility for making changes in response to new scientific ideas. Thick infrastructure provides more functionality for users, but gives them less control of it. The stability of infrastructure trades off against the responsiveness that the infrastructure can have to user needs.

Photo-realistic Terrain Modeling and Visualization for Mars Exploration Rover Science Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, Laurence; Sims, Michael; Kunz, Clayton; Lees, David; Bowman, Judd

2005-01-01

Modern NASA planetary exploration missions employ complex systems of hardware and software managed by large teams of. engineers and scientists in order to study remote environments. The most complex and successful of these recent projects is the Mars Exploration Rover mission. The Computational Sciences Division at NASA Ames Research Center delivered a 30 visualization program, Viz, to the MER mission that provides an immersive, interactive environment for science analysis of the remote planetary surface. In addition, Ames provided the Athena Science Team with high-quality terrain reconstructions generated with the Ames Stereo-pipeline. The on-site support team for these software systems responded to unanticipated opportunities to generate 30 terrain models during the primary MER mission. This paper describes Viz, the Stereo-pipeline, and the experiences of the on-site team supporting the scientists at JPL during the primary MER mission.

High End Computing Technologies for Earth Science Applications: Trends, Challenges, and Innovations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parks, John (Technical Monitor); Biswas, Rupak; Yan, Jerry C.; Brooks, Walter F.; Sterling, Thomas L.

2003-01-01

Earth science applications of the future will stress the capabilities of even the highest performance supercomputers in the areas of raw compute power, mass storage management, and software environments. These NASA mission critical problems demand usable multi-petaflops and exabyte-scale systems to fully realize their science goals. With an exciting vision of the technologies needed, NASA has established a comprehensive program of advanced research in computer architecture, software tools, and device technology to ensure that, in partnership with US industry, it can meet these demanding requirements with reliable, cost effective, and usable ultra-scale systems. NASA will exploit, explore, and influence emerging high end computing architectures and technologies to accelerate the next generation of engineering, operations, and discovery processes for NASA Enterprises. This article captures this vision and describes the concepts, accomplishments, and the potential payoff of the key thrusts that will help meet the computational challenges in Earth science applications.

Using Selection Pressure as an Asset to Develop Reusable, Adaptable Software Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berrick, Stephen; Lynnes, Christopher

2007-01-01

The Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) at NASA has over the years developed and honed several reusable architectural components for supporting large-scale data centers with a large customer base. These include a processing system (S4PM) and an archive system (S4PA) based upon a workflow engine called the Simple Scalable Script based Science Processor (S4P) and an online data visualization and analysis system (Giovanni). These subsystems are currently reused internally in a variety of combinations to implement customized data management on behalf of instrument science teams and other science investigators. Some of these subsystems (S4P and S4PM) have also been reused by other data centers for operational science processing. Our experience has been that development and utilization of robust interoperable and reusable software systems can actually flourish in environments defined by heterogeneous commodity hardware systems the emphasis on value-added customer service and the continual goal for achieving higher cost efficiencies. The repeated internal reuse that is fostered by such an environment encourages and even forces changes to the software that make it more reusable and adaptable. Allowing and even encouraging such selective pressures to software development has been a key factor In the success of S4P and S4PM which are now available to the open source community under the NASA Open source Agreement

Reviews Book: The 4% Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality Book: Quantitative Understanding of Biosystems: An Introduction to Biophysics Book: Edison's Electric Light: The Art of Invention Book: The Edge of Physics: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Cosmology Equipment: Voicebox Equipment: Tracker 4 Books: Hands-On Introduction to NI LabVIEW with Vernier, and Engineering Projects with NI LabVIEW and Vernier Places to Visit: Discovery Museum Book: Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction Web Watch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2011-11-01

WE RECOMMEND Quantitative Understanding of Biosystems: An Introduction to Biophysics Text applies physics to biology concepts Edison's Electric Light: The Art of Invention Edison's light still shines brightly The Edge of Physics: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Cosmology Anecdotes explore cosmology Voicebox Voicebox kit discovers the physics and evolution of speech Tracker 4 Free software tracks motion analysis Hands-On Introduction to NI LabVIEW with Vernier, and Engineering Projects with NI LabVIEW and Vernier Books support the LabVIEW software Discovery Museum Newcastle museum offers science enjoyment for all Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction Philosophy opens up science questions WORTH A LOOK The 4% Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy and the Race to Discover the Rest of Reality Book researches the universe WEB WATCH Superconductivity websites are popular

Intelligent Monitoring of Rocket Test Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duran, Esteban; Rocha, Stephanie; Figueroa, Fernando

2016-01-01

Stephanie Rocha is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Esteban Duran is pursuing a degree in Computer Science. Our mentor is Fernando Figueroa. Our project involved developing Intelligent Health Monitoring at the High Pressure Gas Facility (HPGF) utilizing the software GensymG2.

COALA-System for Visual Representation of Cryptography Algorithms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanisavljevic, Zarko; Stanisavljevic, Jelena; Vuletic, Pavle; Jovanovic, Zoran

2014-01-01

Educational software systems have an increasingly significant presence in engineering sciences. They aim to improve students' attitudes and knowledge acquisition typically through visual representation and simulation of complex algorithms and mechanisms or hardware systems that are often not available to the educational institutions. This paper…

Exploring Pair Programming Benefits for MIS Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dongo, Tendai; Reed, April H.; O'Hara, Margaret

2016-01-01

Pair programming is a collaborative programming practice that places participants in dyads, working in tandem at one computer to complete programming assignments. Pair programming studies with Computer Science (CS) and Software Engineering (SE) majors have identified benefits such as technical productivity, program/design quality, academic…

Higher-Order Mixed Finite Element Methods for Time Domain Electromagnetics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

White, D; Stowell, M; Koning, J

This is the final report for LDRD 01-ERD-005. The Principal Investigator was Niel Madsen of the Defense Sciences Engineering Division (DSED). Collaborators included Daniel White, Joe Koning and Nathan Champagne of DSED, Mark Stowell of Center for Applications Development and Software Engineering (CADSE), and Ph.D. students Rob Rieben and Aaron Fisher at the UC Davis Department of Applied Science. It should be noted that the students were partially supported by the LLNL Student-Employee Graduate Research Fellow program. We begin with an Introduction which provides background and motivation for this research effort. Section II contains high-level description of our Approach, andmore » Section III summarizes our key research Accomplishments. A description of the Software deliverables is provided in Section IV, and Section V includes simulation Validation and Results. It should be noted we do not get into the mathematical details in this report, rather these can be found in our publications which are listed in Section III.« less

Cumulative reports and publications through December 31, 1989

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

A complete list of reports from the Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE) is presented. The major categories of the current ICASE research program are: numerical methods, with particular emphasis on the development and analysis of basic numerical algorithms; control and parameter identification problems, with emphasis on effectual numerical methods; computational problems in engineering and the physical sciences, particularly fluid dynamics, acoustics, structural analysis, and chemistry; computer systems and software, especially vector and parallel computers, microcomputers, and data management. Since ICASE reports are intended to be preprints of articles that will appear in journals or conference proceedings, the published reference is included when it is available.

Math Description Engine Software Development Kit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shelton, Robert O.; Smith, Stephanie L.; Dexter, Dan E.; Hodgson, Terry R.

2010-01-01

The Math Description Engine Software Development Kit (MDE SDK) can be used by software developers to make computer-rendered graphs more accessible to blind and visually-impaired users. The MDE SDK generates alternative graph descriptions in two forms: textual descriptions and non-verbal sound renderings, or sonification. It also enables display of an animated trace of a graph sonification on a visual graph component, with color and line-thickness options for users having low vision or color-related impairments. A set of accessible graphical user interface widgets is provided for operation by end users and for control of accessible graph displays. Version 1.0 of the MDE SDK generates text descriptions for 2D graphs commonly seen in math and science curriculum (and practice). The mathematically rich text descriptions can also serve as a virtual math and science assistant for blind and sighted users, making graphs more accessible for everyone. The MDE SDK has a simple application programming interface (API) that makes it easy for programmers and Web-site developers to make graphs accessible with just a few lines of code. The source code is written in Java for cross-platform compatibility and to take advantage of Java s built-in support for building accessible software application interfaces. Compiled-library and NASA Open Source versions are available with API documentation and Programmer s Guide at http:/ / prim e.jsc.n asa. gov.

Training in software used by practising engineers should be included in university curricula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silveira, A.; Perdigones, A.; García, J. L.

2009-04-01

Deally, an engineering education should prepare students, i.e., emerging engineers, to use problem-solving processes that synergistically combine creativity and imagination with rigour and discipline. Recently, pressures on curricula have resulted in the development of software-specific courses, often to the detriment of the understanding of theory [1]. However, it is also true that there is a demand for information technology courses by students other than computer science majors [2]. The emphasis on training engineers may be best placed on answering the needs of industry; indeed, many proposals are now being made to try to reduce the gap between the educational and industrial communities [3]. Training in the use of certain computer programs may be one way of better preparing engineering undergraduates for eventual employment in industry. However, industry's needs in this respect must first be known. The aim of this work was to determine which computer programs are used by practising agricultural engineers with the aim of incorporating training in their use into our department's teaching curriculum. The results showed that 72% of their working hours involved the use computer programs. The software packages most commonly used were Microsoft Office (used by 79% of respondents) and CAD (56%), as well as budgeting (27%), statistical (21%), engineering (15%) and GIS (13%) programs. As a result of this survey our university department opened an additional computer suite in order to provide students practical experience in the use of Microsoft Excel, budgeting and engineering software. The results of this survey underline the importance of computer software training in this and perhaps other fields of engineering. [1] D. J. Moore, and D. R. Voltmer, "Curriculum for an engineering renaissance," IEEE Trans. Educ., vol. 46, pp. 452-455, Nov. 2003. [2] N. Kock, R. Aiken, and C. Sandas, "Using complex IT in specific domains: developing and assessing a course for nonmajors," IEEE Trans. Educ., vol. 45, pp. 50- 56, Feb. 2002. [3] I. Vélez, and J. F. Sevillano, "A course to train digital hardware designers for industry," IEEE Trans. Educ., vol. 50, pp. 236-243, Aug. 2007. Acknowledgement: This work was supported in part by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain.

Making objective decisions in mechanical engineering problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raicu, A.; Oanta, E.; Sabau, A.

2017-08-01

Decision making process has a great influence in the development of a given project, the goal being to select an optimal choice in a given context. Because of its great importance, the decision making was studied using various science methods, finally being conceived the game theory that is considered the background for the science of logical decision making in various fields. The paper presents some basic ideas regarding the game theory in order to offer the necessary information to understand the multiple-criteria decision making (MCDM) problems in engineering. The solution is to transform the multiple-criteria problem in a one-criterion decision problem, using the notion of utility, together with the weighting sum model or the weighting product model. The weighted importance of the criteria is computed using the so-called Step method applied to a relation of preferences between the criteria. Two relevant examples from engineering are also presented. The future directions of research consist of the use of other types of criteria, the development of computer based instruments for decision making general problems and to conceive a software module based on expert system principles to be included in the Wiki software applications for polymeric materials that are already operational.

Developing Data System Engineers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behnke, J.; Byrnes, J. B.; Kobler, B.

2011-12-01

In the early days of general computer systems for science data processing, staff members working on NASA's data systems would most often be hired as mathematicians. Computer engineering was very often filled by those with electrical engineering degrees. Today, the Goddard Space Flight Center has special position descriptions for data scientists or as they are more commonly called: data systems engineers. These staff members are required to have very diverse skills, hence the need for a generalized position description. There is always a need for data systems engineers to develop, maintain and operate the complex data systems for Earth and space science missions. Today's data systems engineers however are not just mathematicians, they are computer programmers, GIS experts, software engineers, visualization experts, etc... They represent many different degree fields. To put together distributed systems like the NASA Earth Observing Data and Information System (EOSDIS), staff are required from many different fields. Sometimes, the skilled professional is not available and must be developed in-house. This paper will address the various skills and jobs for data systems engineers at NASA. Further it explores how to develop staff to become data scientists.

Strategies for a Creative Future with Computer Science, Quality Design and Communicability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cipolla Ficarra, Francisco V.; Villarreal, Maria

In the current work is presented the importance of the two-way triad between computer science, design and communicability. It is demonstrated how the principles of quality of software engineering are not universal since they are disappearing inside university training. Besides, a short analysis of the term "creativity" males apparent the existence of plagiarism as a human factor that damages the future of communicability applied to the on-line and off-line contents of the open software. A set of measures and guidelines are presented so that the triad works again correctly in the next years to foster the qualitative design of the interactive systems on-line and/or off-line.

Hydrology for Engineers, Geologists, and Environmental Professionals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ince, Simon

For people who are involved in the applied aspects of hydrology, it is refreshing to find a textbook that begins with a meaningful disclaimer, albeit in fine print on the back side of the frontispiece:“The present book and the accompanying software have been written according to the latest techniques in scientific hydrology. However, hydrology is at best an inexact science. A good book and a good computer software by themselves do not guarantee accurate or even realistic predictions. Acceptable results in the applications of hydrologic methods to engineering and environmental problems depend to a greater extend (sic) on the skills, logical assumptions, and practical experience of the user, and on the quantity and quality of long-term hydrologic data available. Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility or any liability, explicitly or implicitly, on the results or the consequences of using the information contained in this book or its accompanying software.”

Weaving a Formal Methods Education with Problem-Based Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gibson, J. Paul

The idea of weaving formal methods through computing (or software engineering) degrees is not a new one. However, there has been little success in developing and implementing such a curriculum. Formal methods continue to be taught as stand-alone modules and students, in general, fail to see how fundamental these methods are to the engineering of software. A major problem is one of motivation — how can the students be expected to enthusiastically embrace a challenging subject when the learning benefits, beyond passing an exam and achieving curriculum credits, are not clear? Problem-based learning has gradually moved from being an innovative pedagogique technique, commonly used to better-motivate students, to being widely adopted in the teaching of many different disciplines, including computer science and software engineering. Our experience shows that a good problem can be re-used throughout a student's academic life. In fact, the best computing problems can be used with children (young and old), undergraduates and postgraduates. In this paper we present a process for weaving formal methods through a University curriculum that is founded on the application of problem-based learning and a library of good software engineering problems, where students learn about formal methods without sitting a traditional formal methods module. The process of constructing good problems and integrating them into the curriculum is shown to be analagous to the process of engineering software. This approach is not intended to replace more traditional formal methods modules: it will better prepare students for such specialised modules and ensure that all students have an understanding and appreciation for formal methods even if they do not go on to specialise in them.

Building the interspace: Digital library infrastructure for a University Engineering Community

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schatz, B.

A large-scale digital library is being constructed and evaluated at the University of Illinois, with the goal of bringing professional search and display to Internet information services. A testbed planned to grow to 10K documents and 100K users is being constructed in the Grainger Engineering Library Information Center, as a joint effort of the University Library and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), with evaluation and research by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science and the Department of Computer Science. The electronic collection will be articles from engineering and science journals and magazines, obtained directly from publishersmore » in SGML format and displayed containing all text, figures, tables, and equations. The publisher partners include IEEE Computer Society, AIAA (Aerospace Engineering), American Physical Society, and Wiley & Sons. The software will be based upon NCSA Mosaic as a network engine connected to commercial SGML displayers and full-text searchers. The users will include faculty/students across the midwestern universities in the Big Ten, with evaluations via interviews, surveys, and transaction logs. Concurrently, research into scaling the testbed is being conducted. This includes efforts in computer science, information science, library science, and information systems. These efforts will evaluate different semantic retrieval technologies, including automatic thesaurus and subject classification graphs. New architectures will be designed and implemented for a next generation digital library infrastructure, the Interspace, which supports interaction with information spread across information spaces within the Net.« less

A Planning and Development Proposal.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schachter, Rebeca

In view of the rapidly changing hardware technology along with the quality and quantity of software and general attitudes toward educational technology, the configuration of the Audio-Visual Distribution System and the Science and Engineering Library (SEL) should be flexible enough to incorporate these variables. SEL has made significant thrusts…

Frequency and associated risk factors for neck pain among software engineers in Karachi, Pakistan.

PubMed

Rasim Ul Hasanat, Mohammad; Ali, Syed Shahzad; Rasheed, Abdur; Khan, Muhammad

2017-07-01

To determine the frequency of neck pain and its association with risk factors among software engineers. This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted at the Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, from February to March 2016, and comprised software engineers from 19 different locations. Non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to select individuals spending at least 6 hours in front of computer screens every day and having a work experience of at least 6 months. Data were collected using a self-administrable questionnaire. SPSS 21 was used for data analysis. Of the 185 participants, 49(26.5%) had neck pain at the time of data-gathering, while 136(73.5%) reported no pain. However, 119(64.32%) participants had a previous history of neck pain. Other factors like smoking, physical inactivity, history of any muscular pain and neck pain, uncomfortable workstation, and work-related mental stress and insufficient sleep at night, were found to be significantly associated with current neck pain (p<0.05 each). Intensive computer users are likely to experience at least one episode of computer-associated neck pain.

Research and Technology at the John F. Kennedy Space Center 1993

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

As the NASA Center responsible for assembly, checkout, servicing, launch, recovery, and operational support of Space Transportation System elements and payloads, the John F. Kennedy Space Center is placing increasing emphasis on its advanced technology development program. This program encompasses the efforts of the Engineering Development Directorate laboratories, most of the KSC operations contractors, academia, and selected commercial industries - all working in a team effort within their own areas of expertise. This edition of the Kennedy Space Center Research and Technology 1993 Annual Report covers efforts of all these contributors to the KSC advanced technology development program, as well as our technology transfer activities. Major areas of research include material science, advanced software, industrial engineering, nondestructive evaluation, life sciences, atmospheric sciences, environmental technology, robotics, and electronics and instrumentation.

Architectural Aspects of Grid Computing and its Global Prospects for E-Science Community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, Mushtaq

2008-05-01

The paper reviews the imminent Architectural Aspects of Grid Computing for e-Science community for scientific research and business/commercial collaboration beyond physical boundaries. Grid Computing provides all the needed facilities; hardware, software, communication interfaces, high speed internet, safe authentication and secure environment for collaboration of research projects around the globe. It provides highly fast compute engine for those scientific and engineering research projects and business/commercial applications which are heavily compute intensive and/or require humongous amounts of data. It also makes possible the use of very advanced methodologies, simulation models, expert systems and treasure of knowledge available around the globe under the umbrella of knowledge sharing. Thus it makes possible one of the dreams of global village for the benefit of e-Science community across the globe.

Software Engineering Support of the Third Round of Scientific Grand Challenge Investigations: Earth System Modeling Software Framework Survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Talbot, Bryan; Zhou, Shu-Jia; Higgins, Glenn; Zukor, Dorothy (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

One of the most significant challenges in large-scale climate modeling, as well as in high-performance computing in other scientific fields, is that of effectively integrating many software models from multiple contributors. A software framework facilitates the integration task, both in the development and runtime stages of the simulation. Effective software frameworks reduce the programming burden for the investigators, freeing them to focus more on the science and less on the parallel communication implementation. while maintaining high performance across numerous supercomputer and workstation architectures. This document surveys numerous software frameworks for potential use in Earth science modeling. Several frameworks are evaluated in depth, including Parallel Object-Oriented Methods and Applications (POOMA), Cactus (from (he relativistic physics community), Overture, Goddard Earth Modeling System (GEMS), the National Center for Atmospheric Research Flux Coupler, and UCLA/UCB Distributed Data Broker (DDB). Frameworks evaluated in less detail include ROOT, Parallel Application Workspace (PAWS), and Advanced Large-Scale Integrated Computational Environment (ALICE). A host of other frameworks and related tools are referenced in this context. The frameworks are evaluated individually and also compared with each other.

Neutron imaging data processing using the Mantid framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pouzols, Federico M.; Draper, Nicholas; Nagella, Sri; Yang, Erica; Sajid, Ahmed; Ross, Derek; Ritchie, Brian; Hill, John; Burca, Genoveva; Minniti, Triestino; Moreton-Smith, Christopher; Kockelmann, Winfried

2016-09-01

Several imaging instruments are currently being constructed at neutron sources around the world. The Mantid software project provides an extensible framework that supports high-performance computing for data manipulation, analysis and visualisation of scientific data. At ISIS, IMAT (Imaging and Materials Science & Engineering) will offer unique time-of-flight neutron imaging techniques which impose several software requirements to control the data reduction and analysis. Here we outline the extensions currently being added to Mantid to provide specific support for neutron imaging requirements.

Spitzer Space Telescope Sequencing Operations Software, Strategies, and Lessons Learned

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bliss, David A.

2006-01-01

The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) was launched in August, 2003, and renamed to the Spitzer Space Telescope in 2004. Two years of observing the universe in the wavelength range from 3 to 180 microns has yielded enormous scientific discoveries. Since this magnificent observatory has a limited lifetime, maximizing science viewing efficiency (ie, maximizing time spent executing activities directly related to science observations) was the key operational objective. The strategy employed for maximizing science viewing efficiency was to optimize spacecraft flexibility, adaptability, and use of observation time. The selected approach involved implementation of a multi-engine sequencing architecture coupled with nondeterministic spacecraft and science execution times. This approach, though effective, added much complexity to uplink operations and sequence development. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) manages Spitzer s operations. As part of the uplink process, Spitzer s Mission Sequence Team (MST) was tasked with processing observatory inputs from the Spitzer Science Center (SSC) into efficiently integrated, constraint-checked, and modeled review and command products which accommodated the complexity of non-deterministic spacecraft and science event executions without increasing operations costs. The MST developed processes, scripts, and participated in the adaptation of multi-mission core software to enable rapid processing of complex sequences. The MST was also tasked with developing a Downlink Keyword File (DKF) which could instruct Deep Space Network (DSN) stations on how and when to configure themselves to receive Spitzer science data. As MST and uplink operations developed, important lessons were learned that should be applied to future missions, especially those missions which employ command-intensive operations via a multi-engine sequence architecture.

Evaluating the Impact of Conceptual Knowledge Engineering on the Design and Usability of a Clinical and Translational Science Collaboration Portal

PubMed Central

Payne, Philip R.O.; Borlawsky, Tara B.; Rice, Robert; Embi, Peter J.

2010-01-01

With the growing prevalence of large-scale, team science endeavors in the biomedical and life science domains, the impetus to implement platforms capable of supporting asynchronous interaction among multidisciplinary groups of collaborators has increased commensurately. However, there is a paucity of literature describing systematic approaches to identifying the information needs of targeted end-users for such platforms, and the translation of such requirements into practicable software component design criteria. In previous studies, we have reported upon the efficacy of employing conceptual knowledge engineering (CKE) techniques to systematically address both of the preceding challenges in the context of complex biomedical applications. In this manuscript we evaluate the impact of CKE approaches relative to the design of a clinical and translational science collaboration portal, and report upon the preliminary qualitative users satisfaction as reported for the resulting system. PMID:21347146

Software Engineering Guidebook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Connell, John; Wenneson, Greg

1993-01-01

The Software Engineering Guidebook describes SEPG (Software Engineering Process Group) supported processes and techniques for engineering quality software in NASA environments. Three process models are supported: structured, object-oriented, and evolutionary rapid-prototyping. The guidebook covers software life-cycles, engineering, assurance, and configuration management. The guidebook is written for managers and engineers who manage, develop, enhance, and/or maintain software under the Computer Software Services Contract.

Blending an Android Development Course with Software Engineering Concepts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chatzigeorgiou, Alexander; Theodorou, Tryfon L.; Violettas, George E.; Xinogalos, Stelios

2016-01-01

The tremendous popularity of mobile computing and Android in particular has attracted millions of developers who see opportunities for building their own start-ups. As a consequence Computer Science students express an increasing interest into the related technology of Java development for Android applications. Android projects are complex by…

Computing Aspects of Interactive Video.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butcher, P. G.

1986-01-01

Describes design and production of the award-winning software used to control Great Britain's Open University Materials Science videodisc, the Teddy Bear Disc, which is used to teach undergraduate students about materials engineering. The disc is designed for use in one-week sessions, which students attend in July or August. (MBR)

Design validation of an eye-safe scanning aerosol lidar with the Center for Lidar and Atmospheric Sciences Students (CLASS) at Hampton University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richter, Dale A.; Higdon, N. S.; Ponsardin, Patrick L.; Sanchez, David; Chyba, Thomas H.; Temple, Doyle A.; Gong, Wei; Battle, Russell; Edmondson, Mika; Futrell, Anne; Harper, David; Haughton, Lincoln; Johnson, Demetra; Lewis, Kyle; Payne-Baggott, Renee S.

2002-01-01

ITTs Advanced Engineering and Sciences Division and the Hampton University Center for Lidar and Atmospheric Sciences Students (CLASS) team have worked closely to design, fabricate and test an eye-safe, scanning aerosol-lidar system that can be safely deployed and used by students form a variety of disciplines. CLASS is a 5-year undergraduate- research training program funded by NASA to provide hands-on atmospheric-science and lidar-technology education. The system is based on a 1.5 micron, 125 mJ, 20 Hz eye-safe optical parametric oscillator (OPO) and will be used by the HU researchers and students to evaluate the biological impact of aerosols, clouds, and pollution a variety of systems issues. The system design tasks we addressed include the development of software to calculate eye-safety levels and to model lidar performance, implementation of eye-safety features in the lidar transmitter, optimization of the receiver using optical ray tracing software, evaluation of detectors and amplifiers in the near RI, test of OPO and receiver technology, development of hardware and software for laser and scanner control and video display of the scan region.

Software List | College of Engineering & Applied Science

Science.gov Websites

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Multimedia Software Laboratory | College of Engineering & Applied Science

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z D2L PAWS Email My UW-System About UWM UWM Jobs D2L PAWS Email My UW-System University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College ofEngineering & Olympiad Girls Who Code Club FIRST Tech Challenge NSF I-Corps Site of Southeastern Wisconsin UW-Milwaukee

Using Selection Pressure as an Asset to Develop Reusable, Adaptable Software Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berrick, S. W.; Lynnes, C.

2007-12-01

The Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) at NASA has over the years developed and honed a number of reusable architectural components for supporting large-scale data centers with a large customer base. These include a processing system (S4PM) and an archive system (S4PA) based upon a workflow engine called the Simple, Scalable, Script-based Science Processor (S4P); an online data visualization and analysis system (Giovanni); and the radically simple and fast data search tool, Mirador. These subsystems are currently reused internally in a variety of combinations to implement customized data management on behalf of instrument science teams and other science investigators. Some of these subsystems (S4P and S4PM) have also been reused by other data centers for operational science processing. Our experience has been that development and utilization of robust, interoperable, and reusable software systems can actually flourish in environments defined by heterogeneous commodity hardware systems, the emphasis on value-added customer service, and continual cost reduction pressures. The repeated internal reuse that is fostered by such an environment encourages and even forces changes to the software that make it more reusable and adaptable. Allowing and even encouraging such selective pressures to software development has been a key factor in the success of S4P and S4PM, which are now available to the open source community under the NASA Open Source Agreement.

Proceedings of the Seventeenth Annual Software Engineering Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

Proceedings of the Seventeenth Annual Software Engineering Workshop are presented. The software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) is an organization sponsored by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center and created to investigate the effectiveness of software engineering technologies when applied to the development of applications software. Topics covered include: the Software Engineering Laboratory; process measurement; software reuse; software quality; lessons learned; and is Ada dying.

Software Past, Present, and Future: Views from Government, Industry and Academia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holcomb, Lee; Page, Jerry; Evangelist, Michael

2000-01-01

Views from the NASA CIO NASA Software Engineering Workshop on software development from the past, present, and future are presented. The topics include: 1) Software Past; 2) Software Present; 3) NASA's Largest Software Challenges; 4) 8330 Software Projects in Industry Standish Groups 1994 Report; 5) Software Future; 6) Capability Maturity Model (CMM): Software Engineering Institute (SEI) levels; 7) System Engineering Quality Also Part of the Problem; 8) University Environment Trends Will Increase the Problem in Software Engineering; and 9) NASA Software Engineering Goals.

Revisiting software specification and design for large astronomy projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiant, Scott; Berukoff, Steven

2016-07-01

The separation of science and engineering in the delivery of software systems overlooks the true nature of the problem being solved and the organization that will solve it. Use of a systems engineering approach to managing the requirements flow between these two groups as between a customer and contractor has been used with varying degrees of success by well-known entities such as the U.S. Department of Defense. However, treating science as the customer and engineering as the contractor fosters unfavorable consequences that can be avoided and opportunities that are missed. For example, the "problem" being solved is only partially specified through the requirements generation process since it focuses on detailed specification guiding the parties to a technical solution. Equally important is the portion of the problem that will be solved through the definition of processes and staff interacting through them. This interchange between people and processes is often underrepresented and under appreciated. By concentrating on the full problem and collaborating on a strategy for its solution a science-implementing organization can realize the benefits of driving towards common goals (not just requirements) and a cohesive solution to the entire problem. The initial phase of any project when well executed is often the most difficult yet most critical and thus it is essential to employ a methodology that reinforces collaboration and leverages the full suite of capabilities within the team. This paper describes an integrated approach to specifying the needs induced by a problem and the design of its solution.

Research in computer science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ortega, J. M.

1985-01-01

Synopses are given for NASA supported work in computer science at the University of Virginia. Some areas of research include: error seeding as a testing method; knowledge representation for engineering design; analysis of faults in a multi-version software experiment; implementation of a parallel programming environment; two computer graphics systems for visualization of pressure distribution and convective density particles; task decomposition for multiple robot arms; vectorized incomplete conjugate gradient; and iterative methods for solving linear equations on the Flex/32.

The Southern California Earthquake Center/Undergraduate Studies in Earthquake Information Technology (SCEC/UseIT) Internship Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perry, S.; Jordan, T.

2006-12-01

Our undergraduate research program, SCEC/UseIT, an NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates site, provides software for earthquake researchers and educators, movies for outreach, and ways to strengthen the technical career pipeline. SCEC/UseIT motivates diverse undergraduates towards science and engineering careers through team-based research in the exciting field of earthquake information technology. UseIT provides the cross-training in computer science/information technology (CS/IT) and geoscience needed to make fundamental progress in earthquake system science. Our high and increasing participation of women and minority students is crucial given the nation"s precipitous enrollment declines in CS/IT undergraduate degree programs, especially among women. UseIT also casts a "wider, farther" recruitment net that targets scholars interested in creative work but not traditionally attracted to summer science internships. Since 2002, SCEC/UseIT has challenged 79 students in three dozen majors from as many schools with difficult, real-world problems that require collaborative, interdisciplinary solutions. Interns design and engineer open-source software, creating increasingly sophisticated visualization tools (see "SCEC-VDO," session IN11), which are employed by SCEC researchers, in new curricula at the University of Southern California, and by outreach specialists who make animated movies for the public and the media. SCEC-VDO would be a valuable tool for research-oriented professional development programs.

Software engineering as an engineering discipline

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibbs, Norman

1988-01-01

The goals of the Software Engineering Institute's Education Program are as follows: to increase the number of highly qualified software engineers--new software engineers and existing practitioners; and to be the leading center of expertise for software engineering education and training. A discussion of these goals is presented in vugraph form.

Executive control systems in the engineering design environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hurst, P. W.; Pratt, T. W.

1985-01-01

Executive Control Systems (ECSs) are software structures for the unification of various engineering design application programs into comprehensive systems with a central user interface (uniform access) method and a data management facility. Attention is presently given to the most significant determinations of a research program conducted for 24 ECSs, used in government and industry engineering design environments to integrate CAD/CAE applications programs. Characterizations are given for the systems' major architectural components and the alternative design approaches considered in their development. Attention is given to ECS development prospects in the areas of interdisciplinary usage, standardization, knowledge utilization, and computer science technology transfer.

Reusable Rack Interface Controller Common Software for Various Science Research Racks on the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lu, George C.

2003-01-01

The purpose of the EXPRESS (Expedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station) rack project is to provide a set of predefined interfaces for scientific payloads which allow rapid integration into a payload rack on International Space Station (ISS). VxWorks' was selected as the operating system for the rack and payload resource controller, primarily based on the proliferation of VME (Versa Module Eurocard) products. These products provide needed flexibility for future hardware upgrades to meet everchanging science research rack configuration requirements. On the International Space Station, there are multiple science research rack configurations, including: 1) Human Research Facility (HRF); 2) EXPRESS ARIS (Active Rack Isolation System); 3) WORF (Window Observational Research Facility); and 4) HHR (Habitat Holding Rack). The RIC (Rack Interface Controller) connects payloads to the ISS bus architecture for data transfer between the payload and ground control. The RIC is a general purpose embedded computer which supports multiple communication protocols, including fiber optic communication buses, Ethernet buses, EIA-422, Mil-Std-1553 buses, SMPTE (Society Motion Picture Television Engineers)-170M video, and audio interfaces to payloads and the ISS. As a cost saving and software reliability strategy, the Boeing Payload Software Organization developed reusable common software where appropriate. These reusable modules included a set of low-level driver software interfaces to 1553B. RS232, RS422, Ethernet buses, HRDL (High Rate Data Link), video switch functionality, telemetry processing, and executive software hosted on the FUC computer. These drivers formed the basis for software development of the HRF, EXPRESS, EXPRESS ARIS, WORF, and HHR RIC executable modules. The reusable RIC common software has provided extensive benefits, including: 1) Significant reduction in development flow time; 2) Minimal rework and maintenance; 3) Improved reliability; and 4) Overall reduction in software life cycle cost. Due to the limited number of crew hours available on ISS for science research, operational efficiency is a critical customer concern. The current method of upgrading RIC software is a time consuming process; thus, an improved methodology for uploading RIC software is currently under evaluation.

The Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document for Level 1A Processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jester, Peggy L.; Hancock, David W., III

2012-01-01

The first process of the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) Science Algorithm Software converts the Level 0 data into the Level 1A Data Products. The Level 1A Data Products are the time ordered instrument data converted from counts to engineering units. This document defines the equations that convert the raw instrument data into engineering units. Required scale factors, bias values, and coefficients are defined in this document. Additionally, required quality assurance and browse products are defined in this document.

Field Training Activities for Hydrologic Science in West Java, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agustina, C.; Fajri, P. N.; Fathoni, F.; Gusti, T. P.; Harifa, A. C.; Hendra, Y.; Hertanti, D. R.; Lusiana, N.; Rohmat, F. I.; Agouridis, C.; Fryar, A. E.; Milewski, A.; Pandjaitan, N.; Santoso, R.; Suharyanto, A.

2013-12-01

In hydrologic science and engineering, one challenge is establishing a common framework for discussion among workers from different disciplines. As part of the 'Building Opportunity Out of Science and Technology: Helping Hydrologic Outreach (BOOST H2O)' project, which is supported by the U.S. Department of State, nine current or recent graduate students from four Indonesian universities participated in a week of training activities during June 2013. Students had backgrounds in agricultural engineering, civil and environmental engineering, water resources engineering, natural resources management, and soil science. Professors leading the training, which was based at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) in west Java, included an agricultural engineer, civil engineers, and geologists. Activities in surface-water hydrology included geomorphic assessment of streams (measuring slope, cross-section, and bed-clast size) and gauging stream flow (wading with top-setting rods and a current meter for a large stream, and using a bucket and stopwatch for a small stream). Groundwater-hydrology activities included measuring depth to water in wells, conducting a pumping test with an observation well, and performing vertical electrical soundings to infer hydrostratigraphy. Students also performed relatively simple water-quality measurements (temperature, electrical conductivity, pH, and alkalinity) in streams, wells, and springs. The group analyzed data with commercially-available software such as AQTESOLV for well hydraulics, freeware such as the U.S. Geological Survey alkalinity calculator, and Excel spreadsheets. Results were discussed in the context of landscape position, lithology, and land use.

Publishing Platform for Scientific Software - Lessons Learned

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammitzsch, Martin; Fritzsch, Bernadette; Reusser, Dominik; Brembs, Björn; Deinzer, Gernot; Loewe, Peter; Fenner, Martin; van Edig, Xenia; Bertelmann, Roland; Pampel, Heinz; Klump, Jens; Wächter, Joachim

2015-04-01

Scientific software has become an indispensable commodity for the production, processing and analysis of empirical data but also for modelling and simulation of complex processes. Software has a significant influence on the quality of research results. For strengthening the recognition of the academic performance of scientific software development, for increasing its visibility and for promoting the reproducibility of research results, concepts for the publication of scientific software have to be developed, tested, evaluated, and then transferred into operations. For this, the publication and citability of scientific software have to fulfil scientific criteria by means of defined processes and the use of persistent identifiers, similar to data publications. The SciForge project is addressing these challenges. Based on interviews a blueprint for a scientific software publishing platform and a systematic implementation plan has been designed. In addition, the potential of journals, software repositories and persistent identifiers have been evaluated to improve the publication and dissemination of reusable software solutions. It is important that procedures for publishing software as well as methods and tools for software engineering are reflected in the architecture of the platform, in order to improve the quality of the software and the results of research. In addition, it is necessary to work continuously on improving specific conditions that promote the adoption and sustainable utilization of scientific software publications. Among others, this would include policies for the development and publication of scientific software in the institutions but also policies for establishing the necessary competencies and skills of scientists and IT personnel. To implement the concepts developed in SciForge a combined bottom-up / top-down approach is considered that will be implemented in parallel in different scientific domains, e.g. in earth sciences, climate research and the life sciences. Based on the developed blueprints a scientific software publishing platform will be iteratively implemented, tested, and evaluated. Thus the platform should be developed continuously on the basis of gained experiences and results. The platform services will be extended one by one corresponding to the requirements of the communities. Thus the implemented platform for the publication of scientific software can be improved and stabilized incrementally as a tool with software, science, publishing, and user oriented features.

Annotated bibliography of Software Engineering Laboratory literature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morusiewicz, Linda; Valett, Jon D.

1991-01-01

An annotated bibliography of technical papers, documents, and memorandums produced by or related to the Software Engineering Laboratory is given. More than 100 publications are summarized. These publications cover many areas of software engineering and range from research reports to software documentation. All materials have been grouped into eight general subject areas for easy reference: The Software Engineering Laboratory; The Software Engineering Laboratory: Software Development Documents; Software Tools; Software Models; Software Measurement; Technology Evaluations; Ada Technology; and Data Collection. Subject and author indexes further classify these documents by specific topic and individual author.

CASE: A Configurable Argumentation Support Engine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scheuer, O.; McLaren, B. M.

2013-01-01

One of the main challenges in tapping the full potential of modern educational software is to devise mechanisms to automatically analyze and adaptively support students' problem solving and learning. A number of such approaches have been developed to teach argumentation skills in domains as diverse as science, the Law, and ethics. Yet,…

Design and Development of a Web-Based Interactive Software Tool for Teaching Operating Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garmpis, Aristogiannis

2011-01-01

Operating Systems (OS) is an important and mandatory discipline in many Computer Science, Information Systems and Computer Engineering curricula. Some of its topics require a careful and detailed explanation from the instructor as they often involve theoretical concepts and somewhat complex mechanisms, demanding a certain degree of abstraction…

Become a Star: Teaching the Process of Design and Implementation of an Intelligent System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Venables, Anne; Tan, Grace

2005-01-01

Teaching future knowledge engineers, the necessary skills for designing and implementing intelligent software solutions required by business, industry and research today, is a very tall order. These skills are not easily taught in traditional undergraduate computer science lectures; nor are the practical experiences easily reinforced in laboratory…

User Guidelines and Best Practices for CASL VUQ Analysis Using Dakota.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adams, Brian M.; Coleman, Kayla; Hooper, Russell

2016-11-01

Sandia's Dakota software (available at http://dakota.sandia.gov) supports science and engineering transformation through advanced exploration of simulations. Specifically it manages and analyzes ensembles of simulations to provide broader and deeper perspective for analysts and decision makers. This enables them to enhance understanding of risk, improve products, and assess simulation credibility.

BIT: Biosignal Igniter Toolkit.

PubMed

da Silva, Hugo Plácido; Lourenço, André; Fred, Ana; Martins, Raúl

2014-06-01

The study of biosignals has had a transforming role in multiple aspects of our society, which go well beyond the health sciences domains to which they were traditionally associated with. While biomedical engineering is a classical discipline where the topic is amply covered, today biosignals are a matter of interest for students, researchers and hobbyists in areas including computer science, informatics, electrical engineering, among others. Regardless of the context, the use of biosignals in experimental activities and practical projects is heavily bounded by the cost, and limited access to adequate support materials. In this paper we present an accessible, albeit versatile toolkit, composed of low-cost hardware and software, which was created to reinforce the engagement of different people in the field of biosignals. The hardware consists of a modular wireless biosignal acquisition system that can be used to support classroom activities, interface with other devices, or perform rapid prototyping of end-user applications. The software comprehends a set of programming APIs, a biosignal processing toolbox, and a framework for real time data acquisition and postprocessing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Software Engineering Laboratory Series: Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual Software Engineering Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

The Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) is an organization sponsored by NASA/GSFC and created to investigate the effectiveness of software engineering technologies when applied to the development of application software. The activities, findings, and recommendations of the SEL are recorded in the Software Engineering Laboratory Series, a continuing series of reports that includes this document.

Software Engineering Laboratory Series: Collected Software Engineering Papers. Volume 15

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

The Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) is an organization sponsored by NASA/GSFC and created to investigate the effectiveness of software engineering technologies when applied to the development of application software. The activities, findings, and recommendations of the SEL are recorded in the Software Engineering Laboratory Series, a continuing series of reports that includes this document.

Software Engineering Laboratory Series: Collected Software Engineering Papers. Volume 14

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

The Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) is an organization sponsored by NASA/GSFC and created to investigate the effectiveness of software engineering technologies when applied to the development of application software. The activities, findings, and recommendations of the SEL are recorded in the Software Engineering Laboratory Series, a continuing series of reports that includes this document.

Software Engineering Laboratory Series: Collected Software Engineering Papers. Volume 13

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

The Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) is an organization sponsored by NASA/GSFC and created to investigate the effectiveness of software engineering technologies when applied to the development of application software. The activities, findings, and recommendations of the SEL are recorded in the Software Engineering Laboratory Series, a continuing series of reports that includes this document.

Robotic Mission to Mars: Hands-on, minds-on, web-based learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mathers, Naomi; Goktogen, Ali; Rankin, John; Anderson, Marion

2012-11-01

Problem-based learning has been demonstrated as an effective methodology for developing analytical skills and critical thinking. The use of scenario-based learning incorporates problem-based learning whilst encouraging students to collaborate with their colleagues and dynamically adapt to their environment. This increased interaction stimulates a deeper understanding and the generation of new knowledge. The Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) uses scenario-based learning in its Mission to Mars, Mission to the Orbiting Space Laboratory and Primary Expedition to the M.A.R.S. Base programs. These programs utilize methodologies such as hands-on applications, immersive-learning, integrated technologies, critical thinking and mentoring to engage students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and highlight potential career paths in science and engineering. The immersive nature of the programs demands specialist environments such as a simulated Mars environment, Mission Control and Space Laboratory, thus restricting these programs to a physical location and limiting student access to the programs. To move beyond these limitations, VSSEC worked with its university partners to develop a web-based mission that delivered the benefits of scenario-based learning within a school environment. The Robotic Mission to Mars allows students to remotely control a real rover, developed by the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR), on the VSSEC Mars surface. After completing a pre-mission training program and site selection activity, students take on the roles of scientists and engineers in Mission Control to complete a mission and collect data for further analysis. Mission Control is established using software developed by the ACRI Games Technology Lab at La Trobe University using the principles of serious gaming. The software allows students to control the rover, monitor its systems and collect scientific data for analysis. This program encourages students to work scientifically and explores the interaction between scientists and engineers. This paper presents the development of the program, including the involvement of university students in the development of the rover, the software, and the collation of the scientific data. It also presents the results of the trial phase of this program including the impact on student engagement and learning outcomes.

UQTools: The Uncertainty Quantification Toolbox - Introduction and Tutorial

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kenny, Sean P.; Crespo, Luis G.; Giesy, Daniel P.

2012-01-01

UQTools is the short name for the Uncertainty Quantification Toolbox, a software package designed to efficiently quantify the impact of parametric uncertainty on engineering systems. UQTools is a MATLAB-based software package and was designed to be discipline independent, employing very generic representations of the system models and uncertainty. Specifically, UQTools accepts linear and nonlinear system models and permits arbitrary functional dependencies between the system s measures of interest and the probabilistic or non-probabilistic parametric uncertainty. One of the most significant features incorporated into UQTools is the theoretical development centered on homothetic deformations and their application to set bounding and approximating failure probabilities. Beyond the set bounding technique, UQTools provides a wide range of probabilistic and uncertainty-based tools to solve key problems in science and engineering.

A new systems engineering approach to streamlined science and mission operations for the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, Madeline J.; Sonneborn, George; Perkins, Dorothy C.

1994-01-01

The Mission Operations and Data Systems Directorate (MO&DSD, Code 500), the Space Sciences Directorate (Code 600), and the Flight Projects Directorate (Code 400) have developed a new approach to combine the science and mission operations for the FUSE mission. FUSE, the last of the Delta-class Explorer missions, will obtain high resolution far ultraviolet spectra (910 - 1220 A) of stellar and extragalactic sources to study the evolution of galaxies and conditions in the early universe. FUSE will be launched in 2000 into a 24-hour highly eccentric orbit. Science operations will be conducted in real time for 16-18 hours per day, in a manner similar to the operations performed today for the International Ultraviolet Explorer. In a radical departure from previous missions, the operations concept combines spacecraft and science operations and data processing functions in a single facility to be housed in the Laboratory for Astronomy and Solar Physics (Code 680). A small missions operations team will provide the spacecraft control, telescope operations and data handling functions in a facility designated as the Science and Mission Operations Center (SMOC). This approach will utilize the Transportable Payload Operations Control Center (TPOCC) architecture for both spacecraft and instrument commanding. Other concepts of integrated operations being developed by the Code 500 Renaissance Project will also be employed for the FUSE SMOC. The primary objective of this approach is to reduce development and mission operations costs. The operations concept, integration of mission and science operations, and extensive use of existing hardware and software tools will decrease both development and operations costs extensively. This paper describes the FUSE operations concept, discusses the systems engineering approach used for its development, and the software, hardware and management tools that will make its implementation feasible.

Metric analysis and data validation across FORTRAN projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Basili, Victor R.; Selby, Richard W., Jr.; Phillips, Tsai-Yun

1983-01-01

The desire to predict the effort in developing or explaining the quality of software has led to the proposal of several metrics. As a step toward validating these metrics, the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) has analyzed the software science metrics, cyclomatic complexity, and various standard program measures for their relation to effort (including design through acceptance testing), development errors (both discrete and weighted according to the amount of time to locate and fix), and one another. The data investigated are collected from a project FORTRAN environment and examined across several projects at once, within individual projects and by reporting accuracy checks demonstrating the need to validate a database. When the data comes from individual programmers or certain validated projects, the metrics' correlations with actual effort seem to be strongest. For modules developed entirely by individual programmers, the validity ratios induce a statistically significant ordering of several of the metrics' correlations. When comparing the strongest correlations, neither software science's E metric cyclomatic complexity not source lines of code appears to relate convincingly better with effort than the others.

EOS MLS Level 1B Data Processing Software. Version 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perun, Vincent S.; Jarnot, Robert F.; Wagner, Paul A.; Cofield, Richard E., IV; Nguyen, Honghanh T.; Vuu, Christina

2011-01-01

This software is an improvement on Version 2, which was described in EOS MLS Level 1B Data Processing, Version 2.2, NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 33, No. 5 (May 2009), p. 34. It accepts the EOS MLS Level 0 science/engineering data, and the EOS Aura spacecraft ephemeris/attitude data, and produces calibrated instrument radiances and associated engineering and diagnostic data. This version makes the code more robust, improves calibration, provides more diagnostics outputs, defines the Galactic core more finely, and fixes the equator crossing. The Level 1 processing software manages several different tasks. It qualifies each data quantity using instrument configuration and checksum data, as well as data transmission quality flags. Statistical tests are applied for data quality and reasonableness. The instrument engineering data (e.g., voltages, currents, temperatures, and encoder angles) is calibrated by the software, and the filter channel space reference measurements are interpolated onto the times of each limb measurement with the interpolates being differenced from the measurements. Filter channel calibration target measurements are interpolated onto the times of each limb measurement, and are used to compute radiometric gain. The total signal power is determined and analyzed by each digital autocorrelator spectrometer (DACS) during each data integration. The software converts each DACS data integration from an autocorrelation measurement in the time domain into a spectral measurement in the frequency domain, and estimates separately the spectrally, smoothly varying and spectrally averaged components of the limb port signal arising from antenna emission and scattering effects. Limb radiances are also calibrated.

Computer-Aided Software Engineering - An approach to real-time software development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, Carrie K.; Turkovich, John J.

1989-01-01

A new software engineering discipline is Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE), a technology aimed at automating the software development process. This paper explores the development of CASE technology, particularly in the area of real-time/scientific/engineering software, and a history of CASE is given. The proposed software development environment for the Advanced Launch System (ALS CASE) is described as an example of an advanced software development system for real-time/scientific/engineering (RT/SE) software. The Automated Programming Subsystem of ALS CASE automatically generates executable code and corresponding documentation from a suitably formatted specification of the software requirements. Software requirements are interactively specified in the form of engineering block diagrams. Several demonstrations of the Automated Programming Subsystem are discussed.

Software engineering laboratory series: Annotated bibliography of software engineering laboratory literature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morusiewicz, Linda; Valett, Jon

1992-01-01

This document is an annotated bibliography of technical papers, documents, and memorandums produced by or related to the Software Engineering Laboratory. More than 100 publications are summarized. These publications cover many areas of software engineering and range from research reports to software documentation. This document has been updated and reorganized substantially since the original version (SEL-82-006, November 1982). All materials have been grouped into eight general subject areas for easy reference: (1) the Software Engineering Laboratory; (2) the Software Engineering Laboratory: Software Development Documents; (3) Software Tools; (4) Software Models; (5) Software Measurement; (6) Technology Evaluations; (7) Ada Technology; and (8) Data Collection. This document contains an index of these publications classified by individual author.

Software Engineering Laboratory Series: Proceedings of the Twenty-First Annual Software Engineering Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

The Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) is an organization sponsored by NASA/GSFC and created to investigate the effectiveness of software engineering technologies when applied to the development of application software. The activities, findings, and recommendations of the SEL are recorded in the Software Engineering Laboratory Series, a continuing series of reports that includes this document.

Software Engineering Laboratory Series: Proceedings of the Twenty-Second Annual Software Engineering Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

The Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) is an organization sponsored by NASA/GSFC and created to investigate the effectiveness of software engineering technologies when applied to the development of application software. The activities, findings, and recommendations of the SEL are recorded in the Software Engineering Laboratory Series, a continuing series of reports that includes this document.

Lattice QCD Application Development within the US DOE Exascale Computing Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brower, Richard; Christ, Norman; DeTar, Carleton; Edwards, Robert; Mackenzie, Paul

2018-03-01

In October, 2016, the US Department of Energy launched the Exascale Computing Project, which aims to deploy exascale computing resources for science and engineering in the early 2020's. The project brings together application teams, software developers, and hardware vendors in order to realize this goal. Lattice QCD is one of the applications. Members of the US lattice gauge theory community with significant collaborators abroad are developing algorithms and software for exascale lattice QCD calculations. We give a short description of the project, our activities, and our plans.

Lattice QCD Application Development within the US DOE Exascale Computing Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brower, Richard; Christ, Norman; DeTar, Carleton

In October, 2016, the US Department of Energy launched the Exascale Computing Project, which aims to deploy exascale computing resources for science and engineering in the early 2020's. The project brings together application teams, software developers, and hardware vendors in order to realize this goal. Lattice QCD is one of the applications. Members of the US lattice gauge theory community with significant collaborators abroad are developing algorithms and software for exascale lattice QCD calculations. We give a short description of the project, our activities, and our plans.

Federal Technology Catalog 1982: Summaries of practical technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The catalog presents summaries of practical technology selected for commercial potential and/or promising applications to the fields of computer technology, electrotechnology, energy, engineering, life sciences, machinery and tools, manufacturing, materials, physical sciences, and testing and instrumentation. Each summary not only describes a technology, but gives a source for further information. This publication describes some 1,100 new processes, inventions, equipment, software, and techniques developed by and for dozens of Federal agencies during 1982. Included is coverage of NASA Tech Briefs, DOE Energygrams, and Army Manufacturing Notes.

Observing System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) for the HyspIRI Spectrometer Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turmon, Michael J.; Block, Gary L.; Green, Robert O.; Hua, Hook; Jacob, Joseph C.; Sobel, Harold R.; Springer, Paul L.; Zhang, Qingyuan

2010-01-01

The OSSE software provides an integrated end-to-end environment to simulate an Earth observing system by iteratively running a distributed modeling workflow based on the HyspIRI Mission, including atmospheric radiative transfer, surface albedo effects, detection, and retrieval for agile exploration of the mission design space. The software enables an Observing System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) and can be used for design trade space exploration of science return for proposed instruments by modeling the whole ground truth, sensing, and retrieval chain and to assess retrieval accuracy for a particular instrument and algorithm design. The OSSE in fra struc ture is extensible to future National Research Council (NRC) Decadal Survey concept missions where integrated modeling can improve the fidelity of coupled science and engineering analyses for systematic analysis and science return studies. This software has a distributed architecture that gives it a distinct advantage over other similar efforts. The workflow modeling components are typically legacy computer programs implemented in a variety of programming languages, including MATLAB, Excel, and FORTRAN. Integration of these diverse components is difficult and time-consuming. In order to hide this complexity, each modeling component is wrapped as a Web Service, and each component is able to pass analysis parameterizations, such as reflectance or radiance spectra, on to the next component downstream in the service workflow chain. In this way, the interface to each modeling component becomes uniform and the entire end-to-end workflow can be run using any existing or custom workflow processing engine. The architecture lets users extend workflows as new modeling components become available, chain together the components using any existing or custom workflow processing engine, and distribute them across any Internet-accessible Web Service endpoints. The workflow components can be hosted on any Internet-accessible machine. This has the advantages that the computations can be distributed to make best use of the available computing resources, and each workflow component can be hosted and maintained by their respective domain experts.

The WHATs and HOWs of maturing computational and software engineering skills in Russian higher education institutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semushin, I. V.; Tsyganova, J. V.; Ugarov, V. V.; Afanasova, A. I.

2018-05-01

Russian higher education institutions' tradition of teaching large-enrolled classes is impairing student striving for individual prominence, one-upmanship, and hopes for originality. Intending to converting these drawbacks into benefits, a Project-Centred Education Model (PCEM) has been introduced to deliver Computational Mathematics and Information Science courses. The model combines a Frontal Competitive Approach and a Project-Driven Learning (PDL) framework. The PDL framework has been developed by stating and solving three design problems: (i) enhance the diversity of project assignments on specific computation methods algorithmic approaches, (ii) balance similarity and dissimilarity of the project assignments, and (iii) develop a software assessment tool suitable for evaluating the technological maturity of students' project deliverables and thus reducing instructor's workload and possible overlook. The positive experience accumulated over 15 years shows that implementing the PCEM keeps students motivated to strive for success in rising to higher levels of their computational and software engineering skills.

Software engineering and the role of Ada: Executive seminar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freedman, Glenn B.

1987-01-01

The objective was to introduce the basic terminology and concepts of software engineering and Ada. The life cycle model is reviewed. The application of the goals and principles of software engineering is applied. An introductory understanding of the features of the Ada language is gained. Topics addressed include: the software crises; the mandate of the Space Station Program; software life cycle model; software engineering; and Ada under the software engineering umbrella.

Development of an expert system prototype for determining software functional requirements for command management activities at NASA Goddard

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liebowitz, J.

1985-01-01

The development of an expert system prototype for determining software functional requirements for NASA Goddard's Command Management System (CMS) is described. The role of the CMS is to transform general requests into specific spacecraft commands with command execution conditions. The CMS is part of the NASA Data System which entails the downlink of science and engineering data from NASA near-earth satellites to the user, and the uplink of command and control data to the spacecraft. Subjects covered include: the problem environment of determining CMS software functional requirements; the expert system approach for handling CMS requirements development; validation and evaluation procedures for the expert system.

Generic, Type-Safe and Object Oriented Computer Algebra Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kredel, Heinz; Jolly, Raphael

Advances in computer science, in particular object oriented programming, and software engineering have had little practical impact on computer algebra systems in the last 30 years. The software design of existing systems is still dominated by ad-hoc memory management, weakly typed algorithm libraries and proprietary domain specific interactive expression interpreters. We discuss a modular approach to computer algebra software: usage of state-of-the-art memory management and run-time systems (e.g. JVM) usage of strongly typed, generic, object oriented programming languages (e.g. Java) and usage of general purpose, dynamic interactive expression interpreters (e.g. Python) To illustrate the workability of this approach, we have implemented and studied computer algebra systems in Java and Scala. In this paper we report on the current state of this work by presenting new examples.

Apache Open Climate Workbench: Building Open Source Climate Science Tools and Community at the Apache Software Foundation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joyce, M.; Ramirez, P.; Boustani, M.; Mattmann, C. A.; Khudikyan, S.; McGibbney, L. J.; Whitehall, K. D.

2014-12-01

Apache Open Climate Workbench (OCW; https://climate.apache.org/) is a Top-Level Project at the Apache Software Foundation that aims to provide a suite of tools for performing climate science evaluations using model outputs from a multitude of different sources (ESGF, CORDEX, U.S. NCA, NARCCAP) with remote sensing data from NASA, NOAA, and other agencies. Apache OCW is the second NASA project to become a Top-Level Project at the Apache Software Foundation. It grew out of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Regional Climate Model Evaluation System (RCMES) project, a collaboration between JPL and the University of California, Los Angeles' Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering (JIFRESSE). Apache OCW provides scientists and developers with tools for data manipulation, metrics for dataset comparisons, and a visualization suite. In addition to a powerful low-level API, Apache OCW also supports a web application for quick, browser-controlled evaluations, a command line application for local evaluations, and a virtual machine for isolated experimentation with minimal setup. This talk will look at the difficulties and successes of moving a closed community research project out into the wild world of open source. We'll explore the growing pains Apache OCW went through to become a Top-Level Project at the Apache Software Foundation as well as the benefits gained by opening up development to the broader climate and computer science communities.

Annotated bibliography of software engineering laboratory literature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Groves, Paula; Valett, Jon

1990-01-01

An annotated bibliography of technical papers, documents, and memorandums produced by or related to the Software Engineering Laboratory is given. More than 100 publications are summarized. These publications cover many areas of software engineering and range from research reports to software documentation. This document has been updated and reorganized substantially since the original version (SEL-82-006, November 1982). All materials have been grouped into eight general subject areas for easy reference: the Software Engineering Laboratory; the Software Engineering Laboratory-software development documents; software tools; software models; software measurement; technology evaluations; Ada technology; and data collection. Subject and author indexes further classify these documents by specific topic and individual author.

Annotated bibliography of Software Engineering Laboratory literature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morusiewicz, Linda; Valett, Jon

1993-01-01

This document is an annotated bibliography of technical papers, documents, and memorandums produced by or related to the Software Engineering Laboratory. Nearly 200 publications are summarized. These publications cover many areas of software engineering and range from research reports to software documentation. This document has been updated and reorganized substantially since the original version (SEL-82-006, November 1982). All materials have been grouped into eight general subject areas for easy reference: the Software Engineering Laboratory; the Software Engineering Laboratory: software development documents; software tools; software models; software measurement; technology evaluations; Ada technology; and data collection. This document contains an index of these publications classified by individual author.

Peculiarities of organization of project and research activity of students in computer science, physics and technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stolyarov, I. V.

2017-01-01

The author of this article manages a project and research activity of students in the areas of computer science, physics, engineering and biology, basing on the acquired experience in these fields. Pupils constantly become winners of competitions and conferences of different levels, for example, three of the finalists of Intel ISEF in 2013 in Phoenix (Arizona, USA) and in 2014 in Los Angeles (California, USA). In 2013 A. Makarychev received the "Small Nobel prize" in Computer Science section and special award sponsors - the company's CAST. Scientific themes and methods suggested by the author and developed in joint publications of students from Russia, Germany and Austria are the patents for invention and certificates for registration in the ROSPATENT. The article presents the results of the implementation of specific software and hardware systems in physics, engineering and medicine.

Machine learning and data science in soft materials engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferguson, Andrew L.

2018-01-01

In many branches of materials science it is now routine to generate data sets of such large size and dimensionality that conventional methods of analysis fail. Paradigms and tools from data science and machine learning can provide scalable approaches to identify and extract trends and patterns within voluminous data sets, perform guided traversals of high-dimensional phase spaces, and furnish data-driven strategies for inverse materials design. This topical review provides an accessible introduction to machine learning tools in the context of soft and biological materials by ‘de-jargonizing’ data science terminology, presenting a taxonomy of machine learning techniques, and surveying the mathematical underpinnings and software implementations of popular tools, including principal component analysis, independent component analysis, diffusion maps, support vector machines, and relative entropy. We present illustrative examples of machine learning applications in soft matter, including inverse design of self-assembling materials, nonlinear learning of protein folding landscapes, high-throughput antimicrobial peptide design, and data-driven materials design engines. We close with an outlook on the challenges and opportunities for the field.

Machine learning and data science in soft materials engineering.

PubMed

Ferguson, Andrew L

2018-01-31

In many branches of materials science it is now routine to generate data sets of such large size and dimensionality that conventional methods of analysis fail. Paradigms and tools from data science and machine learning can provide scalable approaches to identify and extract trends and patterns within voluminous data sets, perform guided traversals of high-dimensional phase spaces, and furnish data-driven strategies for inverse materials design. This topical review provides an accessible introduction to machine learning tools in the context of soft and biological materials by 'de-jargonizing' data science terminology, presenting a taxonomy of machine learning techniques, and surveying the mathematical underpinnings and software implementations of popular tools, including principal component analysis, independent component analysis, diffusion maps, support vector machines, and relative entropy. We present illustrative examples of machine learning applications in soft matter, including inverse design of self-assembling materials, nonlinear learning of protein folding landscapes, high-throughput antimicrobial peptide design, and data-driven materials design engines. We close with an outlook on the challenges and opportunities for the field.

The winding road to being a code monkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarahan, Michael

2017-09-01

I am now a software engineer at a company that provides data analytics services, and helps support the open source data science community. I have been a computer nerd for a very long time, but it was my CEU experience at Texas A&M with Sherry Yennello (2003-2005) that helped me put my nerd skills to productive use. My project then was simulation of pulse shape discrimination electronics, and it was an excellent introduction to core computational concerns, such as digitization: when you see a line on the screen, that's not really how the computer sees it. I wandered in graduate school through a chemistry program into using electron microscopes. My programming interest got me into image and signal processing, which led naturally to jobs in analyzing data, and also in acquiring data. Throughout, it was always difficult just to make software work. I got pretty good at making it work. That's what I do for a living now - package software so that it is easy for other people to do great science with.

Design and Implementation of a Modern Automatic Deformation Monitoring System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engel, Philipp; Schweimler, Björn

2016-03-01

The deformation monitoring of structures and buildings is an important task field of modern engineering surveying, ensuring the standing and reliability of supervised objects over a long period. Several commercial hardware and software solutions for the realization of such monitoring measurements are available on the market. In addition to them, a research team at the University of Applied Sciences in Neubrandenburg (NUAS) is actively developing a software package for monitoring purposes in geodesy and geotechnics, which is distributed under an open source licence and free of charge. The task of managing an open source project is well-known in computer science, but it is fairly new in a geodetic context. This paper contributes to that issue by detailing applications, frameworks, and interfaces for the design and implementation of open hardware and software solutions for sensor control, sensor networks, and data management in automatic deformation monitoring. It will be discussed how the development effort of networked applications can be reduced by using free programming tools, cloud computing technologies, and rapid prototyping methods.

Implementations of the CC'01 Human-Computer Interaction Guidelines Using Bloom's Taxonomy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manaris, Bill; Wainer, Michael; Kirkpatrick, Arthur E.; Stalvey, RoxAnn H.; Shannon, Christine; Leventhal, Laura; Barnes, Julie; Wright, John; Schafer, J. Ben; Sanders, Dean

2007-01-01

In today's technology-laden society human-computer interaction (HCI) is an important knowledge area for computer scientists and software engineers. This paper surveys existing approaches to incorporate HCI into computer science (CS) and such related issues as the perceived gap between the interests of the HCI community and the needs of CS…

Experiences with Efficient Methodologies for Teaching Computer Programming to Geoscientists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, Christian T.; Gorman, Gerard J.; Rees, Huw E.; Craig, Lorraine E.

2016-01-01

Computer programming was once thought of as a skill required only by professional software developers. But today, given the ubiquitous nature of computation and data science it is quickly becoming necessary for all scientists and engineers to have at least a basic knowledge of how to program. Teaching how to program, particularly to those students…

Research and technology, 1988

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

Flight projects and mission definition studies for 1988 are briefly described. Technology research is presented in the following areas: sensors and space technology; space communication systems; system and software engineering; user space data systems; and techniques. Studies are presented for the following space and Earth science areas: atmospheres, SN 1987A, astronomy, high energy astrophysics, land and climate, solar systems, and oceans.

Data systems and computer science programs: Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Paul H.; Hunter, Paul

1991-01-01

An external review of the Integrated Technology Plan for the Civil Space Program is presented. The topics are presented in viewgraph form and include the following: onboard memory and storage technology; advanced flight computers; special purpose flight processors; onboard networking and testbeds; information archive, access, and retrieval; visualization; neural networks; software engineering; and flight control and operations.

Perspectives on the Past, Present, and Future in Computer-Related Areas as They Impact Academia, Business, and Other Areas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snyder, Robin M.

2017-01-01

The author has attended and presented at most ASCUE meetings since 1994, and has worked professionally in research and development, industry, military, government, business, and private and public academia--moving between computer science, software engineering, and business fields at both the undergraduate and graduate level, and even running…

Experiences Using an Open Source Software Library to Teach Computer Vision Subjects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cazorla, Miguel; Viejo, Diego

2015-01-01

Machine vision is an important subject in computer science and engineering degrees. For laboratory experimentation, it is desirable to have a complete and easy-to-use tool. In this work we present a Java library, oriented to teaching computer vision. We have designed and built the library from the scratch with emphasis on readability and…

Enhancing Project-Based Learning in Software Engineering Lab Teaching through an E-Portfolio Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macias, J. A.

2012-01-01

Project-based learning is one of the main successful student-centered pedagogies broadly used in computing science courses. However, this approach can be insufficient when dealing with practical subjects that implicitly require many deliverables and a great deal of feedback and organizational resources. In this paper, a worked e-portfolio is…

Middle School Engagement with Mathematics Software and Later Interest and Self-Efficacy for STEM Careers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ocumpaugh, Jaclyn; San Pedro, Maria Ofelia; Lai, Huei-yi; Baker, Ryan S.; Borgen, Fred

2016-01-01

Research suggests that trajectories toward careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) emerge early and are influenced by multiple factors. This paper presents a longitudinal study, which uses data from 76 high school students to explore how a student's vocational self-efficacy and interest are related to his or her middle…

Research and technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

Activities of the Goddard Space Flight Center are described in the areas of planets and interplanetary media, comets, astronomy and high-energy physics, solar physics, atmospheres, terrestrial physics, ocean science, sensors and space technology, techniques, user space data systems, space communications and navigation, and system and software engineering. Flight projects and mission definition studies are presented, and institutional technology is described.

Software Development for EECU Platform of Turbofan Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Bo Gyoung; Kwak, Dohyup; Kim, Byunghyun; Choi, Hee ju; Kong, Changduk

2017-04-01

The turbofan engine operation consists of a number of hardware and software. The engine is controlled by Electronic Engine Control Unit (EECU). In order to control the engine, EECU communicates with an aircraft system, Actuator Drive Unit (ADU), Engine Power Unit (EPU) and sensors on the engine. This paper tried to investigate the process form starting to taking-off and aims to design the EECU software mode and defined communication data format. The software is implemented according to the designed software mode.

Software engineering methodologies and tools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilcox, Lawrence M.

1993-01-01

Over the years many engineering disciplines have developed, including chemical, electronic, etc. Common to all engineering disciplines is the use of rigor, models, metrics, and predefined methodologies. Recently, a new engineering discipline has appeared on the scene, called software engineering. For over thirty years computer software has been developed and the track record has not been good. Software development projects often miss schedules, are over budget, do not give the user what is wanted, and produce defects. One estimate is there are one to three defects per 1000 lines of deployed code. More and more systems are requiring larger and more complex software for support. As this requirement grows, the software development problems grow exponentially. It is believed that software quality can be improved by applying engineering principles. Another compelling reason to bring the engineering disciplines to software development is productivity. It has been estimated that productivity of producing software has only increased one to two percent a year in the last thirty years. Ironically, the computer and its software have contributed significantly to the industry-wide productivity, but computer professionals have done a poor job of using the computer to do their job. Engineering disciplines and methodologies are now emerging supported by software tools that address the problems of software development. This paper addresses some of the current software engineering methodologies as a backdrop for the general evaluation of computer assisted software engineering (CASE) tools from actual installation of and experimentation with some specific tools.

Annotated bibliography of software engineering laboratory literature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kistler, David; Bristow, John; Smith, Don

1994-01-01

This document is an annotated bibliography of technical papers, documents, and memorandums produced by or related to the Software Engineering Laboratory. Nearly 200 publications are summarized. These publications cover many areas of software engineering and range from research reports to software documentation. This document has been updated and reorganized substantially since the original version (SEL-82-006, November 1982). All materials have been grouped into eight general subject areas for easy reference: (1) The Software Engineering Laboratory; (2) The Software Engineering Laboratory: Software Development Documents; (3) Software Tools; (4) Software Models; (5) Software Measurement; (6) Technology Evaluations; (7) Ada Technology; and (8) Data Collection. This document contains an index of these publications classified by individual author.

Software Engineering Improvement Activities/Plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

bd Systems personnel accomplished the technical responsibilities for this reporting period, as planned. A close working relationship was maintained with personnel of the MSFC Avionics Department Software Group (ED14). Work accomplishments included development, evaluation, and enhancement of a software cost model, performing literature search and evaluation of software tools available for code analysis and requirements analysis, and participating in other relevant software engineering activities. Monthly reports were submitted. This support was provided to the Flight Software Group/ED 1 4 in accomplishing the software engineering improvement engineering activities of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Software Engineering Improvement Plan.

The Five 'R's' for Developing Trusted Software Frameworks to increase confidence in, and maximise reuse of, Open Source Software.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraser, Ryan; Gross, Lutz; Wyborn, Lesley; Evans, Ben; Klump, Jens

2015-04-01

Recent investments in HPC, cloud and Petascale data stores, have dramatically increased the scale and resolution that earth science challenges can now be tackled. These new infrastructures are highly parallelised and to fully utilise them and access the large volumes of earth science data now available, a new approach to software stack engineering needs to be developed. The size, complexity and cost of the new infrastructures mean any software deployed has to be reliable, trusted and reusable. Increasingly software is available via open source repositories, but these usually only enable code to be discovered and downloaded. As a user it is hard for a scientist to judge the suitability and quality of individual codes: rarely is there information on how and where codes can be run, what the critical dependencies are, and in particular, on the version requirements and licensing of the underlying software stack. A trusted software framework is proposed to enable reliable software to be discovered, accessed and then deployed on multiple hardware environments. More specifically, this framework will enable those who generate the software, and those who fund the development of software, to gain credit for the effort, IP, time and dollars spent, and facilitate quantification of the impact of individual codes. For scientific users, the framework delivers reviewed and benchmarked scientific software with mechanisms to reproduce results. The trusted framework will have five separate, but connected components: Register, Review, Reference, Run, and Repeat. 1) The Register component will facilitate discovery of relevant software from multiple open source code repositories. The registration process of the code should include information about licensing, hardware environments it can be run on, define appropriate validation (testing) procedures and list the critical dependencies. 2) The Review component is targeting on the verification of the software typically against a set of benchmark cases. This will be achieved by linking the code in the software framework to peer review forums such as Mozilla Science or appropriate Journals (e.g. Geoscientific Model Development Journal) to assist users to know which codes to trust. 3) Referencing will be accomplished by linking the Software Framework to groups such as Figshare or ImpactStory that help disseminate and measure the impact of scientific research, including program code. 4) The Run component will draw on information supplied in the registration process, benchmark cases described in the review and relevant information to instantiate the scientific code on the selected environment. 5) The Repeat component will tap into existing Provenance Workflow engines that will automatically capture information that relate to a particular run of that software, including identification of all input and output artefacts, and all elements and transactions within that workflow. The proposed trusted software framework will enable users to rapidly discover and access reliable code, reduce the time to deploy it and greatly facilitate sharing, reuse and reinstallation of code. Properly designed it could enable an ability to scale out to massively parallel systems and be accessed nationally/ internationally for multiple use cases, including Supercomputer centres, cloud facilities, and local computers.

The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory: top level use cases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulgarelli, A.; Kosack, K.; Hinton, J.; Tosti, G.; Schwanke, U.; Schwarz, J.; Colomé, P.; Conforti, V.; Khelifi, B.; Goullon, J.; Ong, R.; Markoff, S.; Contreras, J. L.; Lucarelli, F.; Antonelli, L. A.; Bigongiari, C.; Boisson, C.; Bosnjak, Z.; Brau-Nogué, S.; Carosi, A.; Chen, A.; Cotter, G.; Covino, S.; Daniel, M.; De Cesare, G.; de Ona Wilhelmi, E.; Della Volpe, M.; Di Pierro, F.; Fioretti, V.; Füßling, M.; Garczarczyk, M.; Gaug, M.; Glicenstein, J. F.; Goldoni, P.; Götz, D.; Grandi, P.; Heller, M.; Hermann, G.; Inoue, S.; Knödlseder, J.; Lenain, J.-P.; Lindfors, E.; Lombardi, S.; Luque-Escamilla, P.; Maier, G.; Marisaldi, M.; Mundell, C.; Neyroud, N.; Noda, K.; O'Brien, P.; Petrucci, P. O.; Martí Ribas, J.; Ribó, M.; Rodriguez, J.; Romano, P.; Schmid, J.; Serre, N.; Sol, H.; Schussler, F.; Stamerra, A.; Stolarczyk, T.; Vandenbrouck, J.; Vercellone, S.; Vergani, S.; Zech, A.; Zoli, A.

2016-08-01

Today the scientific community is facing an increasing complexity of the scientific projects, from both a technological and a management point of view. The reason for this is in the advance of science itself, where new experiments with unprecedented levels of accuracy, precision and coverage (time and spatial) are realised. Astronomy is one of the fields of the physical sciences where a strong interaction between the scientists, the instrument and software developers is necessary to achieve the goals of any Big Science Project. The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the largest ground-based very high-energy gamma-ray observatory of the next decades. To achieve the full potential of the CTA Observatory, the system must be put into place to enable users to operate the telescopes productively. The software will cover all stages of the CTA system, from the preparation of the observing proposals to the final data reduction, and must also fit into the overall system. Scientists, engineers, operators and others will use the system to operate the Observatory, hence they should be involved in the design process from the beginning. We have organised a workgroup and a workflow for the definition of the CTA Top Level Use Cases in the context of the Requirement Management activities of the CTA Observatory. Scientists, instrument and software developers are collaborating and sharing information to provide a common and general understanding of the Observatory from a functional point of view. Scientists that will use the CTA Observatory will provide mainly Science Driven Use Cases, whereas software engineers will subsequently provide more detailed Use Cases, comments and feedbacks. The main purposes are to define observing modes and strategies, and to provide a framework for the flow down of the Use Cases and requirements to check missing requirements and the already developed Use-Case models at CTA sub-system level. Use Cases will also provide the basis for the definition of the Acceptance Test Plan for the validation of the overall CTA system. In this contribution we present the organisation and the workflow of the Top Level Use Cases workgroup.

NASA Software Engineering Benchmarking Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rarick, Heather L.; Godfrey, Sara H.; Kelly, John C.; Crumbley, Robert T.; Wifl, Joel M.

2013-01-01

To identify best practices for the improvement of software engineering on projects, NASA's Offices of Chief Engineer (OCE) and Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA) formed a team led by Heather Rarick and Sally Godfrey to conduct this benchmarking study. The primary goals of the study are to identify best practices that: Improve the management and technical development of software intensive systems; Have a track record of successful deployment by aerospace industries, universities [including research and development (R&D) laboratories], and defense services, as well as NASA's own component Centers; and Identify candidate solutions for NASA's software issues. Beginning in the late fall of 2010, focus topics were chosen and interview questions were developed, based on the NASA top software challenges. Between February 2011 and November 2011, the Benchmark Team interviewed a total of 18 organizations, consisting of five NASA Centers, five industry organizations, four defense services organizations, and four university or university R and D laboratory organizations. A software assurance representative also participated in each of the interviews to focus on assurance and software safety best practices. Interviewees provided a wealth of information on each topic area that included: software policy, software acquisition, software assurance, testing, training, maintaining rigor in small projects, metrics, and use of the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) framework, as well as a number of special topics that came up in the discussions. NASA's software engineering practices compared favorably with the external organizations in most benchmark areas, but in every topic, there were ways in which NASA could improve its practices. Compared to defense services organizations and some of the industry organizations, one of NASA's notable weaknesses involved communication with contractors regarding its policies and requirements for acquired software. One of NASA's strengths was its software assurance practices, which seemed to rate well in comparison to the other organizational groups and also seemed to include a larger scope of activities. An unexpected benefit of the software benchmarking study was the identification of many opportunities for collaboration in areas including metrics, training, sharing of CMMI experiences and resources such as instructors and CMMI Lead Appraisers, and even sharing of assets such as documented processes. A further unexpected benefit of the study was the feedback on NASA practices that was received from some of the organizations interviewed. From that feedback, other potential areas where NASA could improve were highlighted, such as accuracy of software cost estimation and budgetary practices. The detailed report contains discussion of the practices noted in each of the topic areas, as well as a summary of observations and recommendations from each of the topic areas. The resulting 24 recommendations from the topic areas were then consolidated to eliminate duplication and culled into a set of 14 suggested actionable recommendations. This final set of actionable recommendations, listed below, are items that can be implemented to improve NASA's software engineering practices and to help address many of the items that were listed in the NASA top software engineering issues. 1. Develop and implement standard contract language for software procurements. 2. Advance accurate and trusted software cost estimates for both procured and in-house software and improve the capture of actual cost data to facilitate further improvements. 3. Establish a consistent set of objectives and expectations, specifically types of metrics at the Agency level, so key trends and models can be identified and used to continuously improve software processes and each software development effort. 4. Maintain the CMMI Maturity Level requirement for critical NASA projects and use CMMI to measure organizations developing software for NASA. 5.onsolidate, collect and, if needed, develop common processes principles and other assets across the Agency in order to provide more consistency in software development and acquisition practices and to reduce the overall cost of maintaining or increasing current NASA CMMI maturity levels. 6. Provide additional support for small projects that includes: (a) guidance for appropriate tailoring of requirements for small projects, (b) availability of suitable tools, including support tool set-up and training, and (c) training for small project personnel, assurance personnel and technical authorities on the acceptable options for tailoring requirements and performing assurance on small projects. 7. Develop software training classes for the more experienced software engineers using on-line training, videos, or small separate modules of training that can be accommodated as needed throughout a project. 8. Create guidelines to structure non-classroom training opportunities such as mentoring, peer reviews, lessons learned sessions, and on-the-job training. 9. Develop a set of predictive software defect data and a process for assessing software testing metric data against it. 10. Assess Agency-wide licenses for commonly used software tools. 11. Fill the knowledge gap in common software engineering practices for new hires and co-ops.12. Work through the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program with universities in strengthening education in the use of common software engineering practices and standards. 13. Follow up this benchmark study with a deeper look into what both internal and external organizations perceive as the scope of software assurance, the value they expect to obtain from it, and the shortcomings they experience in the current practice. 14. Continue interactions with external software engineering environment through collaborations, knowledge sharing, and benchmarking.

Flight Hardware Fabricated for Combustion Science in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

OMalley, Terence F.; Weiland, Karen J.

2005-01-01

NASA Glenn Research Center s Telescience Support Center (TSC) allows researchers on Earth to operate experiments onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and the space shuttles. NASA s continuing investment in the required software, systems, and networks provides distributed ISS ground operations that enable payload developers and scientists to monitor and control their experiments from the Glenn TSC. The quality of scientific and engineering data is enhanced while the long-term operational costs of experiments are reduced because principal investigators and engineering teams can operate their payloads from their home institutions.

Space Station: NASA's software development approach increases safety and cost risks. Report to the Chairman, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, House of Representatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1992-06-01

The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology asked NASA to study software development issues for the space station. How well NASA has implemented key software engineering practices for the station was asked. Specifically, the objectives were to determine: (1) if independent verification and validation techniques are being used to ensure that critical software meets specified requirements and functions; (2) if NASA has incorporated software risk management techniques into program; (3) whether standards are in place that will prescribe a disciplined, uniform approach to software development; and (4) if software support tools will help, as intended, to maximize efficiency in developing and maintaining the software. To meet the objectives, NASA proceeded: (1) reviewing and analyzing software development objectives and strategies contained in NASA conference publications; (2) reviewing and analyzing NASA, other government, and industry guidelines for establishing good software development practices; (3) reviewing and analyzing technical proposals and contracts; (4) reviewing and analyzing software management plans, risk management plans, and program requirements; (4) reviewing and analyzing reports prepared by NASA and contractor officials that identified key issues and challenges facing the program; (5) obtaining expert opinions on what constitutes appropriate independent V-and-V and software risk management activities; (6) interviewing program officials at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC; at the Space Station Program Office in Reston, Virginia; and at the three work package centers; Johnson in Houston, Texas; Marshall in Huntsville, Alabama; and Lewis in Cleveland, Ohio; and (7) interviewing contractor officials doing work for NASA at Johnson and Marshall. The audit work was performed in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards, between April 1991 and May 1992.

Software Engineering for Human Spaceflight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fredrickson, Steven E.

2014-01-01

The Spacecraft Software Engineering Branch of NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) provides world-class products, leadership, and technical expertise in software engineering, processes, technology, and systems management for human spaceflight. The branch contributes to major NASA programs (e.g. ISS, MPCV/Orion) with in-house software development and prime contractor oversight, and maintains the JSC Engineering Directorate CMMI rating for flight software development. Software engineering teams work with hardware developers, mission planners, and system operators to integrate flight vehicles, habitats, robotics, and other spacecraft elements. They seek to infuse automation and autonomy into missions, and apply new technologies to flight processor and computational architectures. This presentation will provide an overview of key software-related projects, software methodologies and tools, and technology pursuits of interest to the JSC Spacecraft Software Engineering Branch.

Accessing Information on the Mars Exploration Rovers Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walton, J. D.; Schreiner, J. A.

2005-12-01

In January 2004, the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) mission successfully deployed two robotic geologists - Spirit and Opportunity - to opposite sides of the red planet. Onboard each rover is an array of cameras and scientific instruments that send data back to Earth, where ground-based systems process and store the information. During the height of the mission, a team of about 250 scientists and engineers worked around the clock to analyze the collected data, determine a strategy and activities for the next day and then carefully compose the command sequences that would instruct the rovers in how to perform their tasks. The scientists and engineers had to work closely together to balance the science objectives with the engineering constraints so that the mission achieved its goals safely and quickly. To accomplish this coordinated effort, they adhered to a tightly orchestrated schedule of meetings and processes. To keep on time, it was critical that all team members were aware of what was happening, knew how much time they had to complete their tasks, and could easily access the information they need to do their jobs. Computer scientists and software engineers at NASA Ames Research Center worked closely with the mission managers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to create applications that support the mission. One such application, the Collaborative Information Portal (CIP), helps mission personnel perform their daily tasks, whether they work inside mission control or the science areas at JPL, or in their homes, schools, or offices. With a three-tiered, service-oriented architecture (SOA) - client, middleware, and data repository - built using Java and commercial software, CIP provides secure access to mission schedules and to data and images transmitted from the Mars rovers. This services-based approach proved highly effective for building distributed, flexible applications, and is forming the basis for the design of future mission software systems. Almost two years after the landings on Mars, the rovers are still going strong, and CIP continues to provide data access to mission personnel.

Software engineering from a Langley perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Voigt, Susan

1994-01-01

A brief introduction to software engineering is presented. The talk is divided into four sections beginning with the question 'What is software engineering', followed by a brief history of the progression of software engineering at the Langley Research Center in the context of an expanding computing environment. Several basic concepts and terms are introduced, including software development life cycles and maturity levels. Finally, comments are offered on what software engineering means for the Langley Research Center and where to find more information on the subject.

Matrix evaluation of science objectives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wessen, Randii R.

1994-01-01

The most fundamental objective of all robotic planetary spacecraft is to return science data. To accomplish this, a spacecraft is fabricated and built, software is planned and coded, and a ground system is designed and implemented. However, the quantitative analysis required to determine how the collection of science data drives ground system capabilities has received very little attention. This paper defines a process by which science objectives can be quantitatively evaluated. By applying it to the Cassini Mission to Saturn, this paper further illustrates the power of this technique. The results show which science objectives drive specific ground system capabilities. In addition, this process can assist system engineers and scientists in the selection of the science payload during pre-project mission planning; ground system designers during ground system development and implementation; and operations personnel during mission operations.

Experimentation in software engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Basili, V. R.; Selby, R. W.; Hutchens, D. H.

1986-01-01

Experimentation in software engineering supports the advancement of the field through an iterative learning process. In this paper, a framework for analyzing most of the experimental work performed in software engineering over the past several years is presented. A variety of experiments in the framework is described and their contribution to the software engineering discipline is discussed. Some useful recommendations for the application of the experimental process in software engineering are included.

SAGA: A project to automate the management of software production systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, Roy H.; Beckman-Davies, C. S.; Benzinger, L.; Beshers, G.; Laliberte, D.; Render, H.; Sum, R.; Smith, W.; Terwilliger, R.

1986-01-01

Research into software development is required to reduce its production cost and to improve its quality. Modern software systems, such as the embedded software required for NASA's space station initiative, stretch current software engineering techniques. The requirements to build large, reliable, and maintainable software systems increases with time. Much theoretical and practical research is in progress to improve software engineering techniques. One such technique is to build a software system or environment which directly supports the software engineering process, i.e., the SAGA project, comprising the research necessary to design and build a software development which automates the software engineering process. Progress under SAGA is described.

Astro-H Data Analysis, Processing and Archive

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Angelini, Lorella; Terada, Yukikatsu; Loewenstein, Michael; Miller, Eric D.; Yamaguchi, Hiroya; Yaqoob, Tahir; Krimm, Hans; Harrus, Ilana; Takahashi, Hiromitsu; Nobukawa, Masayoshi;

Proposed US Contributions to LOFT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson-Hodge, Colleen

2013-01-01

Proposed US Enhancements include:Tantalum X -ray collimator, Additional ground station, Large Observatory for X-Ray Timing (LOFT) instrument team participation, US science support center & data archive, and Science enabled by US hardware. High-Z material with excellent stopping power. Fabricated using a combination of laser micromachining and chemical etching. Known technology capable of producing high-aspect ratio holes and large open fractions. Reduces LOFT LAD background by a factor of 3. Telemetry formats for LOFT based upon RXTE/EDS experience. Ground system software and strategies for WFM based upon RXTE/ASM automated pipeline software. MSFC engineering trade studies supporting the Ta collimator. Burst alert triggers based upon Fermi/GBM and HETE-2. Science Enhancements Enabled by US Hardware include: Tantalum collimator: Reduces background by factor of 3. Improves sensitivity to faint sources such as AGN. Eliminates contamination by bright/variable sources. outside the LAD field of view. US Ground Station: Enables continuous telemetry of all events from the WFM. Allows LAD to observe very bright >500 mCrab sources with full event resolution.

State-of-the-art Hydrology Education: Development of Windows-based and Web-based Interactive Teaching-Learning Software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, X.

2011-12-01

This study, funded by the NSF CAREER program, focuses on developing new methods to quantify microtopography-controlled overland flow processes and integrating the cutting-edge hydrologic research with all-level education and outreach activities. To achieve the educational goal, an interactive teaching-learning software package has been developed. This software, with enhanced visualization capabilities, integrates the new modeling techniques, computer-guided learning processes, and education-oriented tools in a user-friendly interface. Both Windows-based and web-based versions have been developed. The software is specially designed for three major user levels: elementary level (Level 1: K-12 and outreach education), medium level (Level 2: undergraduate education), and advanced level (Level 3: graduate education). Depending on the levels, users are guided to different educational systems. Each system consists of a series of mini "libraries" featured with movies, pictures, and documentation that cover fundamental theories, varying scale experiments, and computer modeling of overland flow generation, surface runoff, and infiltration processes. Testing and practical use of this educational software in undergraduate and graduate teaching demonstrate its effectiveness to promote students' learning and interest in hydrologic sciences. This educational software also has been used as a hydrologic demonstration tool for K-12 students and Native American students through the Nurturing American Tribal Undergraduate Research Education (NATURE) program and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) outreach activities.

Software development environments: Status and trends

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duffel, Larry E.

1988-01-01

Currently software engineers are the essential integrating factors tying several components together. The components consist of process, methods, computers, tools, support environments, and software engineers. The engineers today empower the tools versus the tools empowering the engineers. Some of the issues in software engineering are quality, managing the software engineering process, and productivity. A strategy to accomplish this is to promote the evolution of software engineering from an ad hoc, labor intensive activity to a managed, technology supported discipline. This strategy may be implemented by putting the process under management control, adopting appropriate methods, inserting the technology that provides automated support for the process and methods, collecting automated tools into an integrated environment and educating the personnel.

Specially Made for Science: Researchers Develop Online Tools For Collaborations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guterman, Lila

2008-01-01

Blogs, wikis, and social-networking sites such as Facebook may get media buzz these days, but for scientists, engineers, and doctors, they are not even on the radar. The most effective tools of the Internet for such people tend to be efforts more narrowly aimed at their needs, such as software that helps geneticists replicate one another's…

Eyes on the Earth 3D

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kulikov, anton I.; Doronila, Paul R.; Nguyen, Viet T.; Jackson, Randal K.; Greene, William M.; Hussey, Kevin J.; Garcia, Christopher M.; Lopez, Christian A.

2013-01-01

Eyes on the Earth 3D software gives scientists, and the general public, a realtime, 3D interactive means of accurately viewing the real-time locations, speed, and values of recently collected data from several of NASA's Earth Observing Satellites using a standard Web browser (climate.nasa.gov/eyes). Anyone with Web access can use this software to see where the NASA fleet of these satellites is now, or where they will be up to a year in the future. The software also displays several Earth Science Data sets that have been collected on a daily basis. This application uses a third-party, 3D, realtime, interactive game engine called Unity 3D to visualize the satellites and is accessible from a Web browser.

Singularity: Scientific containers for mobility of compute.

PubMed

Kurtzer, Gregory M; Sochat, Vanessa; Bauer, Michael W

2017-01-01

Here we present Singularity, software developed to bring containers and reproducibility to scientific computing. Using Singularity containers, developers can work in reproducible environments of their choosing and design, and these complete environments can easily be copied and executed on other platforms. Singularity is an open source initiative that harnesses the expertise of system and software engineers and researchers alike, and integrates seamlessly into common workflows for both of these groups. As its primary use case, Singularity brings mobility of computing to both users and HPC centers, providing a secure means to capture and distribute software and compute environments. This ability to create and deploy reproducible environments across these centers, a previously unmet need, makes Singularity a game changing development for computational science.

Singularity: Scientific containers for mobility of compute

PubMed Central

Kurtzer, Gregory M.; Bauer, Michael W.

2017-01-01

Here we present Singularity, software developed to bring containers and reproducibility to scientific computing. Using Singularity containers, developers can work in reproducible environments of their choosing and design, and these complete environments can easily be copied and executed on other platforms. Singularity is an open source initiative that harnesses the expertise of system and software engineers and researchers alike, and integrates seamlessly into common workflows for both of these groups. As its primary use case, Singularity brings mobility of computing to both users and HPC centers, providing a secure means to capture and distribute software and compute environments. This ability to create and deploy reproducible environments across these centers, a previously unmet need, makes Singularity a game changing development for computational science. PMID:28494014

Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics (CIG)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurnis, M.; Kellogg, L. H.; Bloxham, J.; Hager, B. H.; Spiegelman, M.; Willett, S.; Wysession, M. E.; Aivazis, M.

2004-12-01

Solid earth geophysicists have a long tradition of writing scientific software to address a wide range of problems. In particular, computer simulations came into wide use in geophysics during the decade after the plate tectonic revolution. Solution schemes and numerical algorithms that developed in other areas of science, most notably engineering, fluid mechanics, and physics, were adapted with considerable success to geophysics. This software has largely been the product of individual efforts and although this approach has proven successful, its strength for solving problems of interest is now starting to show its limitations as we try to share codes and algorithms or when we want to recombine codes in novel ways to produce new science. With funding from the NSF, the US community has embarked on a Computational Infrastructure for Geodynamics (CIG) that will develop, support, and disseminate community-accessible software for the greater geodynamics community from model developers to end-users. The software is being developed for problems involving mantle and core dynamics, crustal and earthquake dynamics, magma migration, seismology, and other related topics. With a high level of community participation, CIG is leveraging state-of-the-art scientific computing into a suite of open-source tools and codes. The infrastructure that we are now starting to develop will consist of: (a) a coordinated effort to develop reusable, well-documented and open-source geodynamics software; (b) the basic building blocks - an infrastructure layer - of software by which state-of-the-art modeling codes can be quickly assembled; (c) extension of existing software frameworks to interlink multiple codes and data through a superstructure layer; (d) strategic partnerships with the larger world of computational science and geoinformatics; and (e) specialized training and workshops for both the geodynamics and broader Earth science communities. The CIG initiative has already started to leverage and develop long-term strategic partnerships with open source development efforts within the larger thrusts of scientific computing and geoinformatics. These strategic partnerships are essential as the frontier has moved into multi-scale and multi-physics problems in which many investigators now want to use simulation software for data interpretation, data assimilation, and hypothesis testing.

Proceedings of Tenth Annual Software Engineering Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

Papers are presented on the following topics: measurement of software technology, recent studies of the Software Engineering Lab, software management tools, expert systems, error seeding as a program validation technique, software quality assurance, software engineering environments (including knowledge-based environments), the Distributed Computing Design System, and various Ada experiments.

Annotated bibliography of software engineering laboratory literature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buhler, Melanie; Valett, Jon

1989-01-01

An annotated bibliography is presented of technical papers, documents, and memorandums produced by or related to the Software Engineering Laboratory. The bibliography was updated and reorganized substantially since the original version (SEL-82-006, November 1982). All materials were grouped into eight general subject areas for easy reference: (1) The Software Engineering Laboratory; (2) The Software Engineering Laboratory: Software Development Documents; (3) Software Tools; (4) Software Models; (5) Software Measurement; (6) Technology Evaluations; (7) Ada Technology; and (8) Data Collection. Subject and author indexes further classify these documents by specific topic and individual author.

In the soft-to-hard technical spectrum: Where is software engineering?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leibfried, Theodore F.; Macdonald, Robert B.

1992-01-01

In the computer journals and tabloids, there have been a plethora of articles written about the software engineering field. But while advocates of the need for an engineering approach to software development, it is impressive how many authors have treated the subject of software engineering without adequately addressing the fundamentals of what engineering as a discipline consists of. A discussion is presented of the various related facets of this issue in a logical framework to advance the thesis that the software development process is necessarily an engineering process. The purpose is to examine more of the details of the issue of whether or not the design and development of software for digital computer processing systems should be both viewed and treated as a legitimate field of professional engineering. Also, the type of academic and professional level education programs that would be required to support a software engineering discipline is examined.

Software Engineering Education Directory

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-04-01

and Engineering (CMSC 735) Codes: GPEV2 * Textiooks: IEEE Tutoria on Models and Metrics for Software Management and Engameeing by Basi, Victor R...Software Engineering (Comp 227) Codes: GPRY5 Textbooks: IEEE Tutoria on Software Design Techniques by Freeman, Peter and Wasserman, Anthony 1. Software

The research and practice of spacecraft software engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chengxin; Wang, Jinghua; Xu, Xiaoguang

2017-06-01

In order to ensure the safety and reliability of spacecraft software products, it is necessary to execute engineering management. Firstly, the paper introduces the problems of unsystematic planning, uncertain classified management and uncontinuous improved mechanism in domestic and foreign spacecraft software engineering management. Then, it proposes a solution for software engineering management based on system-integrated ideology in the perspective of spacecraft system. Finally, a application result of spacecraft is given as an example. The research can provides a reference for executing spacecraft software engineering management and improving software product quality.

Maintaining Quality and Confidence in Open-Source, Evolving Software: Lessons Learned with PFLOTRAN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frederick, J. M.; Hammond, G. E.

2017-12-01

Software evolution in an open-source framework poses a major challenge to a geoscientific simulator, but when properly managed, the pay-off can be enormous for both the developers and the community at large. Developers must juggle implementing new scientific process models, adopting increasingly efficient numerical methods and programming paradigms, changing funding sources (or total lack of funding), while also ensuring that legacy code remains functional and reported bugs are fixed in a timely manner. With robust software engineering and a plan for long-term maintenance, a simulator can evolve over time incorporating and leveraging many advances in the computational and domain sciences. In this positive light, what practices in software engineering and code maintenance can be employed within open-source development to maximize the positive aspects of software evolution and community contributions while minimizing its negative side effects? This presentation will discusses steps taken in the development of PFLOTRAN (www.pflotran.org), an open source, massively parallel subsurface simulator for multiphase, multicomponent, and multiscale reactive flow and transport processes in porous media. As PFLOTRAN's user base and development team continues to grow, it has become increasingly important to implement strategies which ensure sustainable software development while maintaining software quality and community confidence. In this presentation, we will share our experiences and "lessons learned" within the context of our open-source development framework and community engagement efforts. Topics discussed will include how we've leveraged both standard software engineering principles, such as coding standards, version control, and automated testing, as well unique advantages of object-oriented design in process model coupling, to ensure software quality and confidence. We will also be prepared to discuss the major challenges faced by most open-source software teams, such as on-boarding new developers or one-time contributions, dealing with competitors or lookie-loos, and other downsides of complete transparency, as well as our approach to community engagement, including a user group email list, hosting short courses and workshops for new users, and maintaining a website. SAND2017-8174A

Teaching Planetary Sciences at the Universidad del País Vasco in Spain: The Aula Espazio Gela and its Master in Space Science and Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hueso, R.; Sanchez-Lavega, A.; Pérez-Hoyos, S.

2011-12-01

Planetary science is a highly multidisciplinary field traditionally associated to Astronomy, Physics or Earth Sciences Departments. Spanish universities do not generally offer planetary sciences courses but some departments give courses associated to studies on Astronomy or Geology. We show a different perspective obtained at the Engeneering School at the Universidad del País Vasco in Bilbao, Spain, which offers a Master in Space Science and Technology to graduates in Engineering or Physics. Here we detail the experience acquired in two years of this master which offers several planetary science courses: Solar System Physics, Astronomy, Planetary Atmospheres & Space Weather together with more technical courses. The university also owns an urban observatory in the Engineering School which is used for practical exercises and student projects. The planetary science courses have also resulted in motivating part of the students to do their master thesis in scientific subjects in planetary sciences. Since the students have very different backgrounds their master theses have been quite different: From writing open software tools to detect bolides in video observations of Jupiter atmosphere to the photometric calibration and scientific use or their own Jupiter and Saturn images or the study of atmospheric motions of the Venus' South Polar Vortex using data from the Venus Express spacecraft. As a result of this interaction with the students some of them have been engaged to initiate Ph.D.s in planetary sciences enlarging a relative small field in Spain. Acknowledgements: The Master in Space Science and Technology is offered by the Aula Espazio Gela at the Universidad del País Vasco Engineer School in Bilbao, Spain and is funded by Diputación Foral de Bizkaia.

Modeling software systems by domains

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dippolito, Richard; Lee, Kenneth

1992-01-01

The Software Architectures Engineering (SAE) Project at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has developed engineering modeling techniques that both reduce the complexity of software for domain-specific computer systems and result in systems that are easier to build and maintain. These techniques allow maximum freedom for system developers to apply their domain expertise to software. We have applied these techniques to several types of applications, including training simulators operating in real time, engineering simulators operating in non-real time, and real-time embedded computer systems. Our modeling techniques result in software that mirrors both the complexity of the application and the domain knowledge requirements. We submit that the proper measure of software complexity reflects neither the number of software component units nor the code count, but the locus of and amount of domain knowledge. As a result of using these techniques, domain knowledge is isolated by fields of engineering expertise and removed from the concern of the software engineer. In this paper, we will describe kinds of domain expertise, describe engineering by domains, and provide relevant examples of software developed for simulator applications using the techniques.

Modular Rocket Engine Control Software (MRECS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tarrant, C.; Crook, J.

1998-01-01

The Modular Rocket Engine Control Software (MRECS) Program is a technology demonstration effort designed to advance the state-of-the-art in launch vehicle propulsion systems. Its emphasis is on developing and demonstrating a modular software architecture for advanced engine control systems that will result in lower software maintenance (operations) costs. It effectively accommodates software requirement changes that occur due to hardware technology upgrades and engine development testing. Ground rules directed by MSFC were to optimize modularity and implement the software in the Ada programming language. MRECS system software and the software development environment utilize Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) products. This paper presents the objectives, benefits, and status of the program. The software architecture, design, and development environment are described. MRECS tasks are defined and timing relationships given. Major accomplishments are listed. MRECS offers benefits to a wide variety of advanced technology programs in the areas of modular software architecture, reuse software, and reduced software reverification time related to software changes. MRECS was recently modified to support a Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) hot-fire test. Cold Flow and Flight Readiness Testing were completed before the test was cancelled. Currently, the program is focused on supporting NASA MSFC in accomplishing development testing of the Fastrac Engine, part of NASA's Low Cost Technologies (LCT) Program. MRECS will be used for all engine development testing.

Teaching Agile Software Engineering Using Problem-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

El-Khalili, Nuha H.

2013-01-01

Many studies have reported the utilization of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in teaching Software Engineering courses. However, these studies have different views of the effectiveness of PBL. This paper presents the design of an Advanced Software Engineering course for undergraduate Software Engineering students that uses PBL to teach them Agile…

Earth Science Informatics Community Requirements for Improving Sustainable Science Software Practices: User Perspectives and Implications for Organizational Action

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Downs, R. R.; Lenhardt, W. C.; Robinson, E.

2014-12-01

Science software is integral to the scientific process and must be developed and managed in a sustainable manner to ensure future access to scientific data and related resources. Organizations that are part of the scientific enterprise, as well as members of the scientific community who work within these entities, can contribute to the sustainability of science software and to practices that improve scientific community capabilities for science software sustainability. As science becomes increasingly digital and therefore, dependent on software, improving community practices for sustainable science software will contribute to the sustainability of science. Members of the Earth science informatics community, including scientific data producers and distributers, end-user scientists, system and application developers, and data center managers, use science software regularly and face the challenges and the opportunities that science software presents for the sustainability of science. To gain insight on practices needed for the sustainability of science software from the science software experiences of the Earth science informatics community, an interdisciplinary group of 300 community members were asked to engage in simultaneous roundtable discussions and report on their answers to questions about the requirements for improving scientific software sustainability. This paper will present an analysis of the issues reported and the conclusions offered by the participants. These results provide perspectives for science software sustainability practices and have implications for actions that organizations and their leadership can initiate to improve the sustainability of science software.

Investigating interoperability of the LSST data management software stack with Astropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenness, Tim; Bosch, James; Owen, Russell; Parejko, John; Sick, Jonathan; Swinbank, John; de Val-Borro, Miguel; Dubois-Felsmann, Gregory; Lim, K.-T.; Lupton, Robert H.; Schellart, Pim; Krughoff, K. S.; Tollerud, Erik J.

2016-07-01

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will be an 8.4m optical survey telescope sited in Chile and capable of imaging the entire sky twice a week. The data rate of approximately 15TB per night and the requirements to both issue alerts on transient sources within 60 seconds of observing and create annual data releases means that automated data management systems and data processing pipelines are a key deliverable of the LSST construction project. The LSST data management software has been in development since 2004 and is based on a C++ core with a Python control layer. The software consists of nearly a quarter of a million lines of code covering the system from fundamental WCS and table libraries to pipeline environments and distributed process execution. The Astropy project began in 2011 as an attempt to bring together disparate open source Python projects and build a core standard infrastructure that can be used and built upon by the astronomy community. This project has been phenomenally successful in the years since it has begun and has grown to be the de facto standard for Python software in astronomy. Astropy brings with it considerable expectations from the community on how astronomy Python software should be developed and it is clear that by the time LSST is fully operational in the 2020s many of the prospective users of the LSST software stack will expect it to be fully interoperable with Astropy. In this paper we describe the overlap between the LSST science pipeline software and Astropy software and investigate areas where the LSST software provides new functionality. We also discuss the possibilities of re-engineering the LSST science pipeline software to build upon Astropy, including the option of contributing affliated packages.

On Roles of Models in Information Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sølvberg, Arne

The increasing penetration of computers into all aspects of human activity makes it desirable that the interplay among software, data and the domains where computers are applied is made more transparent. An approach to this end is to explicitly relate the modeling concepts of the domains, e.g., natural science, technology and business, to the modeling concepts of software and data. This may make it simpler to build comprehensible integrated models of the interactions between computers and non-computers, e.g., interaction among computers, people, physical processes, biological processes, and administrative processes. This chapter contains an analysis of various facets of the modeling environment for information systems engineering. The lack of satisfactory conceptual modeling tools seems to be central to the unsatisfactory state-of-the-art in establishing information systems. The chapter contains a proposal for defining a concept of information that is relevant to information systems engineering.

Diamond Eye: a distributed architecture for image data mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burl, Michael C.; Fowlkes, Charless; Roden, Joe; Stechert, Andre; Mukhtar, Saleem

1999-02-01

Diamond Eye is a distributed software architecture, which enables users (scientists) to analyze large image collections by interacting with one or more custom data mining servers via a Java applet interface. Each server is coupled with an object-oriented database and a computational engine, such as a network of high-performance workstations. The database provides persistent storage and supports querying of the 'mined' information. The computational engine provides parallel execution of expensive image processing, object recognition, and query-by-content operations. Key benefits of the Diamond Eye architecture are: (1) the design promotes trial evaluation of advanced data mining and machine learning techniques by potential new users (all that is required is to point a web browser to the appropriate URL), (2) software infrastructure that is common across a range of science mining applications is factored out and reused, and (3) the system facilitates closer collaborations between algorithm developers and domain experts.

Math Machines: Using Actuators in Physics Classes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Frederick J.; Chaney, Robert A.; Gruesbeck, Marta

2018-01-01

Probeware (sensors combined with data-analysis software) is a well-established part of physics education. In engineering and technology, sensors are frequently paired with actuators—motors, heaters, buzzers, valves, color displays, medical dosing systems, and other devices that are activated by electrical signals to produce intentional physical change. This article describes how a 20-year project aimed at better integration of the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) uses brief actuator activities in physics instruction. Math Machines "actionware" includes software and hardware that convert virtually any free-form, time-dependent algebraic function into the dynamic actions of a stepper motor, servo motor, or RGB (red, green, blue) color mixer. With wheels and a platform, the stepper motor becomes LACI, a programmable vehicle. Adding a low-power laser module turns the servo motor into a programmable Pointer. Adding a gear and platform can transform the Pointer into an earthquake simulator.

High performance computing and communications: Advancing the frontiers of information technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1997-12-31

This report, which supplements the President`s Fiscal Year 1997 Budget, describes the interagency High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program. The HPCC Program will celebrate its fifth anniversary in October 1996 with an impressive array of accomplishments to its credit. Over its five-year history, the HPCC Program has focused on developing high performance computing and communications technologies that can be applied to computation-intensive applications. Major highlights for FY 1996: (1) High performance computing systems enable practical solutions to complex problems with accuracies not possible five years ago; (2) HPCC-funded research in very large scale networking techniques has been instrumental inmore » the evolution of the Internet, which continues exponential growth in size, speed, and availability of information; (3) The combination of hardware capability measured in gigaflop/s, networking technology measured in gigabit/s, and new computational science techniques for modeling phenomena has demonstrated that very large scale accurate scientific calculations can be executed across heterogeneous parallel processing systems located thousands of miles apart; (4) Federal investments in HPCC software R and D support researchers who pioneered the development of parallel languages and compilers, high performance mathematical, engineering, and scientific libraries, and software tools--technologies that allow scientists to use powerful parallel systems to focus on Federal agency mission applications; and (5) HPCC support for virtual environments has enabled the development of immersive technologies, where researchers can explore and manipulate multi-dimensional scientific and engineering problems. Educational programs fostered by the HPCC Program have brought into classrooms new science and engineering curricula designed to teach computational science. This document contains a small sample of the significant HPCC Program accomplishments in FY 1996.« less

How the science and engineering of spaceflight contribute to understanding the plasticity of spinal cord injury

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edgerton, V. R.; Roy, R. R.; Hodgson, J. A.; Day, M. K.; Weiss, J.; Harkema, S. J.; Dobkin, B.; Garfinkel, A.; Konigsberg, E.; Koslovskaya, I.

2000-01-01

Space programs support experimental investigations related to the unique environment of space and to the technological developments from many disciplines of both science and engineering that contribute to space studies. Furthermore, interactions between scientists, engineers and administrators, that are necessary for the success of any science mission in space, promote interdiscipline communication, understanding and interests which extend well beyond a specific mission. NASA-catalyzed collaborations have benefited the spinal cord rehabilitation program at UCLA in fundamental science and in the application of expertise and technologies originally developed for the space program. Examples of these benefits include: (1) better understanding of the role of load in maintaining healthy muscle and motor function, resulting in a spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation program based on muscle/limb loading; (2) investigation of a potentially novel growth factor affected by spaceflight which may help regulate muscle mass; (3) development of implantable sensors, electronics and software to monitor and analyze long-term muscle activity in unrestrained subjects; (4) development of hardware to assist therapies applied to SCI patients; and (5) development of computer models to simulate stepping which will be used to investigate the effects of neurological deficits (muscle weakness or inappropriate activation) and to evaluate therapies to correct these deficiencies.

Better software, better research: the challenge of preserving your research and your reputation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chue Hong, N.

2017-12-01

Software is fundamental to research. From short, thrown-together temporary scripts, through an abundance of complex spreadsheets analysing collected data, to the hundreds of software engineers and millions of lines of code behind international efforts such as the Large Hadron Collider and the Square Kilometre Array, software has made an invaluable contribution to advancing our research knowledge. Within the earth and space sciences, data is being generated, collected, processed and analysed in ever greater amounts and detail. However the pace of this improvement leads to challenges around the persistence of research outputs and artefacts. A specific challenge in this field is that often experiments and measurements cannot be repeated, yet the infrastructure used to manage, store and process this data must be continually updated and developed: constant change just to stay still. The UK-based Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) aims to improve research software sustainability, working with researchers, funders, research software engineers, managers, and other stakeholders across the research spectrum. In this talk, I will present lessons learned and good practice based on the work of the Institute and its collaborators. I will summarise some of the work that is being done to improve the integration of infrastructure for managing research outputs, including around software citation and reward, extending data management plans, and improving researcher skills: "better software, better research". Ultimately, being a modern researcher in the geosciences requires you to efficiently balance the pursuit of new knowledge with making your work reusable and reproducible. And as scientists are placed under greater scrutiny about whether others can trust their results, the preservation of your artefacts has a key role in the preservation of your reputation.

Performing Verification and Validation in Reuse-Based Software Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Addy, Edward A.

1999-01-01

The implementation of reuse-based software engineering not only introduces new activities to the software development process, such as domain analysis and domain modeling, it also impacts other aspects of software engineering. Other areas of software engineering that are affected include Configuration Management, Testing, Quality Control, and Verification and Validation (V&V). Activities in each of these areas must be adapted to address the entire domain or product line rather than a specific application system. This paper discusses changes and enhancements to the V&V process, in order to adapt V&V to reuse-based software engineering.

International MODIS and AIRS Processing Package (IMAPP) Implementation of Infusion of Satellite Data into Environmental Applications-International (IDEA-I) for Air Quality Forecasts using Suomi-NPP, Terra and Aqua Aerosol Retrievals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, J. E.; Strabala, K.; Pierce, R. B.; Huang, A.

2016-12-01

Fine mode aerosols play a significant role in public health through their impact on respiratory and cardiovascular disease. IDEA-I (Infusion of Satellite Data into Environmental Applications-International) is a real-time system for trajectory-based forecasts of aerosol dispersion that can assist in the prediction of poor air quality events. We released a direct broadcast version of IDEA-I for aerosol trajectory forecasts in June 2012 under the International MODIS and AIRS Processing Package (IMAPP). In January 2014 we updated this application with website software to display multi-satellite products. Now we have added VIIRS aerosols from Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP). IMAPP is a NASA-funded and freely-distributed software package developed at Space Science and Engineering Center of University of Wisconsin-Madison that has over 2,300 registered users worldwide. With IMAPP, any ground station capable of receiving direct broadcast from Terra or Aqua can produce calibrated and geolocated radiances and a suite of environmental products. These products include MODIS AOD required for IDEA-I. VIIRS AOD for IDEA-I can be generated by Community Satellite Processing Package (CSPP) VIIRS EDR Version 2.0 Software for Suomi NPP. CSPP is also developed and distributed by Space Science & Engineering Center. This presentation describes our updated IMAPP implementation of IDEA-I through an example of its operation in a region known for episodic poor air quality events.

Increasing the impact of medical image computing using community-based open-access hackathons: The NA-MIC and 3D Slicer experience.

PubMed

Kapur, Tina; Pieper, Steve; Fedorov, Andriy; Fillion-Robin, J-C; Halle, Michael; O'Donnell, Lauren; Lasso, Andras; Ungi, Tamas; Pinter, Csaba; Finet, Julien; Pujol, Sonia; Jagadeesan, Jayender; Tokuda, Junichi; Norton, Isaiah; Estepar, Raul San Jose; Gering, David; Aerts, Hugo J W L; Jakab, Marianna; Hata, Nobuhiko; Ibanez, Luiz; Blezek, Daniel; Miller, Jim; Aylward, Stephen; Grimson, W Eric L; Fichtinger, Gabor; Wells, William M; Lorensen, William E; Schroeder, Will; Kikinis, Ron

2016-10-01

The National Alliance for Medical Image Computing (NA-MIC) was launched in 2004 with the goal of investigating and developing an open source software infrastructure for the extraction of information and knowledge from medical images using computational methods. Several leading research and engineering groups participated in this effort that was funded by the US National Institutes of Health through a variety of infrastructure grants. This effort transformed 3D Slicer from an internal, Boston-based, academic research software application into a professionally maintained, robust, open source platform with an international leadership and developer and user communities. Critical improvements to the widely used underlying open source libraries and tools-VTK, ITK, CMake, CDash, DCMTK-were an additional consequence of this effort. This project has contributed to close to a thousand peer-reviewed publications and a growing portfolio of US and international funded efforts expanding the use of these tools in new medical computing applications every year. In this editorial, we discuss what we believe are gaps in the way medical image computing is pursued today; how a well-executed research platform can enable discovery, innovation and reproducible science ("Open Science"); and how our quest to build such a software platform has evolved into a productive and rewarding social engineering exercise in building an open-access community with a shared vision. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Collected software engineering papers, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

Topics addressed include: summaries of the software engineering laboratory (SEL) organization, operation, and research activities; results of specific research projects in the areas of resource models and software measures; and strategies for data collection for software engineering research.

Managing the Software Development Process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lubelczky, Jeffrey T.; Parra, Amy

1999-01-01

The goal of any software development project is to produce a product that is delivered on time, within the allocated budget, and with the capabilities expected by the customer and unfortunately, this goal is rarely achieved. However, a properly managed project in a mature software engineering environment can consistently achieve this goal. In this paper we provide an introduction to three project success factors, a properly managed project, a competent project manager, and a mature software engineering environment. We will also present an overview of the benefits of a mature software engineering environment based on 24 years of data from the Software Engineering Lab, and suggest some first steps that an organization can take to begin benefiting from this environment. The depth and breadth of software engineering exceeds this paper, various references are cited with a goal of raising awareness and encouraging further investigation into software engineering and project management practices.

Proceedings of the Eighth Annual Software Engineering Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

The four major topics of discussion included: the NASA Software Engineering Laboratory, software testing, human factors in software engineering and software quality assessment. As in the past years, there were 12 position papers presented (3 for each topic) followed by questions and very heavy participation by the general audience.

Use of Soft Computing Technologies For Rocket Engine Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trevino, Luis C.; Olcmen, Semih; Polites, Michael

2003-01-01

The problem to be addressed in this paper is to explore how the use of Soft Computing Technologies (SCT) could be employed to further improve overall engine system reliability and performance. Specifically, this will be presented by enhancing rocket engine control and engine health management (EHM) using SCT coupled with conventional control technologies, and sound software engineering practices used in Marshall s Flight Software Group. The principle goals are to improve software management, software development time and maintenance, processor execution, fault tolerance and mitigation, and nonlinear control in power level transitions. The intent is not to discuss any shortcomings of existing engine control and EHM methodologies, but to provide alternative design choices for control, EHM, implementation, performance, and sustaining engineering. The approaches outlined in this paper will require knowledge in the fields of rocket engine propulsion, software engineering for embedded systems, and soft computing technologies (i.e., neural networks, fuzzy logic, and Bayesian belief networks), much of which is presented in this paper. The first targeted demonstration rocket engine platform is the MC-1 (formerly FASTRAC Engine) which is simulated with hardware and software in the Marshall Avionics & Software Testbed laboratory that

Foundations for Security Aware Software Development Education

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-11-22

depending on the budget, that support robustness. We discuss the educational customer base, projected lifetime, and complexity of paradigm shift that should...in Honour of Sir Tony Hoar, [6] Cheetham, C. and Ferraiolo, K., "The Systems Security Millenial Perspectives in Computer Science, Engineering...Capability Maturity Model", 21st 2002, 229-246. National Information Systems Security Conference, [15] Schwartz, J., "Object Oriented Extensions to October 5

An Architecture-Centric Approach for Acquiring Software-Reliant Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-30

Architecture Acquisition Wednesday, May 11, 2011 11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Chair: Christopher Deegan , Executive Director, Program Executive Office for...Christopher Deegan —Executive Director, Program Executive Officer, Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO IWS). Mr. Deegan directs the development, acquisition, and... Deegan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania and a Master of

A Software Technology Transition Entropy Based Engineering Model

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-03-01

Systems Basics, p273). (Prigogine 1997 p81). It is not the place of this research to provide a mathematical formalism with theorems and lemmas. Rather...science). The ancient philosophers, 27 Pythagoras , Protagoras, Socrates, and Plato start the first discourse (the message) that has continued...unpacking of the technology "message" from Pythagoras . This process is characterized by accumulation learning, modeled by learning curves in

Using a Faculty-in-Residence Model to Enhance Curriculae in Computer Science and Social Work with Writing and Critical Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarnoff, Susan; Welch, Lonnie; Gradin, Sherrie; Sandell, Karin

2004-01-01

This paper will discuss the results of a project that enabled three faculty members from disparate disciplines: Social Work, Interpersonal Communication and Software Engineering, to enhance writing and critical thinking in their courses. The paper will address the Faculty-in-Residence project model, the activities taken on as a result of it, the…

Development of AN Open-Source Automatic Deformation Monitoring System for Geodetical and Geotechnical Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engel, P.; Schweimler, B.

2016-04-01

The deformation monitoring of structures and buildings is an important task field of modern engineering surveying, ensuring the standing and reliability of supervised objects over a long period. Several commercial hardware and software solutions for the realization of such monitoring measurements are available on the market. In addition to them, a research team at the Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences (NUAS) is actively developing a software package for monitoring purposes in geodesy and geotechnics, which is distributed under an open source licence and free of charge. The task of managing an open source project is well-known in computer science, but it is fairly new in a geodetic context. This paper contributes to that issue by detailing applications, frameworks, and interfaces for the design and implementation of open hardware and software solutions for sensor control, sensor networks, and data management in automatic deformation monitoring. It will be discussed how the development effort of networked applications can be reduced by using free programming tools, cloud computing technologies, and rapid prototyping methods.

The Online Bioinformatics Resources Collection at the University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences Library System--a one-stop gateway to online bioinformatics databases and software tools.

PubMed

Chen, Yi-Bu; Chattopadhyay, Ansuman; Bergen, Phillip; Gadd, Cynthia; Tannery, Nancy

2007-01-01

To bridge the gap between the rising information needs of biological and medical researchers and the rapidly growing number of online bioinformatics resources, we have created the Online Bioinformatics Resources Collection (OBRC) at the Health Sciences Library System (HSLS) at the University of Pittsburgh. The OBRC, containing 1542 major online bioinformatics databases and software tools, was constructed using the HSLS content management system built on the Zope Web application server. To enhance the output of search results, we further implemented the Vivísimo Clustering Engine, which automatically organizes the search results into categories created dynamically based on the textual information of the retrieved records. As the largest online collection of its kind and the only one with advanced search results clustering, OBRC is aimed at becoming a one-stop guided information gateway to the major bioinformatics databases and software tools on the Web. OBRC is available at the University of Pittsburgh's HSLS Web site (http://www.hsls.pitt.edu/guides/genetics/obrc).

A Bibliography of Externally Published Works by the SEI Engineering Techniques Program

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-08-01

media, and virtual reality * model- based engineering * programming languages * reuse * software architectures * software engineering as a discipline...Knowledge- Based Engineering Environments." IEEE Expert 3, 2 (May 1988): 18-23, 26-32. Audience: Practitioner [Klein89b] Klein, D.V. "Comparison of...Terms with Software Reuse Terminology: A Model- Based Approach." ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes 16, 2 (April 1991): 45-51. Audience: Practitioner

Design Analysis Kit for Optimization and Terascale Applications 6.0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2015-10-19

Sandia's Dakota software (available at http://dakota.sandia.gov) supports science and engineering transformation through advanced exploration of simulations. Specifically it manages and analyzes ensembles of simulations to provide broader and deeper perspective for analysts and decision makers. This enables them to: (1) enhance understanding of risk, (2) improve products, and (3) assess simulation credibility. In its simplest mode, Dakota can automate typical parameter variation studies through a generic interface to a computational model. However, Dakota also delivers advanced parametric analysis techniques enabling design exploration, optimization, model calibration, risk analysis, and quantification of margins and uncertainty with such models. It directly supports verificationmore » and validation activities. The algorithms implemented in Dakota aim to address challenges in performing these analyses with complex science and engineering models from desktop to high performance computers.« less

Political science. Reverse-engineering censorship in China: randomized experimentation and participant observation.

PubMed

King, Gary; Pan, Jennifer; Roberts, Margaret E

2014-08-22

Existing research on the extensive Chinese censorship organization uses observational methods with well-known limitations. We conducted the first large-scale experimental study of censorship by creating accounts on numerous social media sites, randomly submitting different texts, and observing from a worldwide network of computers which texts were censored and which were not. We also supplemented interviews with confidential sources by creating our own social media site, contracting with Chinese firms to install the same censoring technologies as existing sites, and--with their software, documentation, and even customer support--reverse-engineering how it all works. Our results offer rigorous support for the recent hypothesis that criticisms of the state, its leaders, and their policies are published, whereas posts about real-world events with collective action potential are censored. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The Impact of Computer Science on the Development of Oulu ICT during 1985-1990

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oinas-Kukkonen, Henry; Similä, Jouni; Pulli, Petri; Oinas-Kukkonen, Harri; Kerola, Pentti

The region of Oulu has been emphasizing the importance of electronics industry for its business growth since the 1960s. After a pitch-dark recession, the region developed in the 1990s into a new, well-established hub of information and communication technology (ICT) in Finland. The city with its 100,000 inhabitants occupied nearly 10,000 ICT professionals in 1995. This article will contribute to the body of research knowledge through analyzing the role of computer science, in particular information systems and software engineering, for the development of the ICT industry in Oulu in the latter half of the 1980s. This analysis is based on a variety of both primary and secondary sources. This article suggests that the system-theoretical and software-oriented research expertise played a key role for the rapid and successful ICT business development of the Oulu region.

Automating Mission Scheduling for Space-Based Observatories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pell, Barney; Muscettola, Nicola; Hansson, Othar; Mohan, Sunil

1998-01-01

In this paper we describe the use of our planning and scheduling framework, HSTS, to reduce the complexity of science mission planning. This work is part of an overall project to enable a small team of scientists to control the operations of a spacecraft. The present process is highly labor intensive. Users (scientists and operators) rely on a non-codified understanding of the different spacecraft subsystems and of their operating constraints. They use a variety of software tools to support their decision making process. This paper considers the types of decision making that need to be supported/automated, the nature of the domain constraints and the capabilities needed to address them successfully, and the nature of external software systems with which the core planning/scheduling engine needs to interact. HSTS has been applied to science scheduling for EUVE and Cassini and is being adapted to support autonomous spacecraft operations in the New Millennium initiative.

A report on NASA software engineering and Ada training requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Legrand, Sue; Freedman, Glenn B.; Svabek, L.

1987-01-01

NASA's software engineering and Ada skill base are assessed and information that may result in new models for software engineering, Ada training plans, and curricula are provided. A quantitative assessment which reflects the requirements for software engineering and Ada training across NASA is provided. A recommended implementation plan including a suggested curriculum with associated duration per course and suggested means of delivery is also provided. The distinction between education and training is made. Although it was directed to focus on NASA's need for the latter, the key relationships to software engineering education are also identified. A rationale and strategy for implementing a life cycle education and training program are detailed in support of improved software engineering practices and the transition to Ada.

CASIS Fact Sheet: Hardware and Facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Solomon, Michael R.; Romero, Vergel

2016-01-01

Vencore is a proven information solutions, engineering, and analytics company that helps our customers solve their most complex challenges. For more than 40 years, we have designed, developed and delivered mission-critical solutions as our customers' trusted partner. The Engineering Services Contract, or ESC, provides engineering and design services to the NASA organizations engaged in development of new technologies at the Kennedy Space Center. Vencore is the ESC prime contractor, with teammates that include Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Sierra Lobo, Nelson Engineering, EASi, and Craig Technologies. The Vencore team designs and develops systems and equipment to be used for the processing of space launch vehicles, spacecraft, and payloads. We perform flight systems engineering for spaceflight hardware and software; develop technologies that serve NASA's mission requirements and operations needs for the future. Our Flight Payload Support (FPS) team at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) provides engineering, development, and certification services as well as payload integration and management services to NASA and commercial customers. Our main objective is to assist principal investigators (PIs) integrate their science experiments into payload hardware for research aboard the International Space Station (ISS), commercial spacecraft, suborbital vehicles, parabolic flight aircrafts, and ground-based studies. Vencore's FPS team is AS9100 certified and a recognized implementation partner for the Center for Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS

Multiuser Collaboration with Networked Mobile Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tso, Kam S.; Tai, Ann T.; Deng, Yong M.; Becks, Paul G.

2006-01-01

In this paper we describe a multiuser collaboration infrastructure that enables multiple mission scientists to remotely and collaboratively interact with visualization and planning software, using wireless networked personal digital assistants(PDAs) and other mobile devices. During ground operations of planetary rover and lander missions, scientists need to meet daily to review downlinked data and plan science activities. For example, scientists use the Science Activity Planner (SAP) in the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission to visualize downlinked data and plan rover activities during the science meetings [1]. Computer displays are projected onto large screens in the meeting room to enable the scientists to view and discuss downlinked images and data displayed by SAP and other software applications. However, only one person can interact with the software applications because input to the computer is limited to a single mouse and keyboard. As a result, the scientists have to verbally express their intentions, such as selecting a target at a particular location on the Mars terrain image, to that person in order to interact with the applications. This constrains communication and limits the returns of science planning. Furthermore, ground operations for Mars missions are fundamentally constrained by the short turnaround time for science and engineering teams to process and analyze data, plan the next uplink, generate command sequences, and transmit the uplink to the vehicle [2]. Therefore, improving ground operations is crucial to the success of Mars missions. The multiuser collaboration infrastructure enables users to control software applications remotely and collaboratively using mobile devices. The infrastructure includes (1) human-computer interaction techniques to provide natural, fast, and accurate inputs, (2) a communications protocol to ensure reliable and efficient coordination of the input devices and host computers, (3) an application-independent middleware that maintains the states, sessions, and interactions of individual users of the software applications, (4) an application programming interface to enable tight integration of applications and the middleware. The infrastructure is able to support any software applications running under the Windows or Unix platforms. The resulting technologies not only are applicable to NASA mission operations, but also useful in other situations such as design reviews, brainstorming sessions, and business meetings, as they can benefit from having the participants concurrently interact with the software applications (e.g., presentation applications and CAD design tools) to illustrate their ideas and provide inputs.

V&V Within Reuse-Based Software Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Addy, Edward A.

1996-01-01

Verification and Validation (V&V) is used to increase the level of assurance of critical software, particularly that of safety-critical and mission-critical software. V&V is a systems engineering discipline that evaluates the software in a systems context, and is currently applied during the development of a specific application system. In order to bring the effectiveness of V&V to bear within reuse-based software engineering, V&V must be incorporated within the domain engineering process.

Professional Ethics of Software Engineers: An Ethical Framework.

PubMed

Lurie, Yotam; Mark, Shlomo

2016-04-01

The purpose of this article is to propose an ethical framework for software engineers that connects software developers' ethical responsibilities directly to their professional standards. The implementation of such an ethical framework can overcome the traditional dichotomy between professional skills and ethical skills, which plagues the engineering professions, by proposing an approach to the fundamental tasks of the practitioner, i.e., software development, in which the professional standards are intrinsically connected to the ethical responsibilities. In so doing, the ethical framework improves the practitioner's professionalism and ethics. We call this approach Ethical-Driven Software Development (EDSD), as an approach to software development. EDSD manifests the advantages of an ethical framework as an alternative to the all too familiar approach in professional ethics that advocates "stand-alone codes of ethics". We believe that one outcome of this synergy between professional and ethical skills is simply better engineers. Moreover, since there are often different software solutions, which the engineer can provide to an issue at stake, the ethical framework provides a guiding principle, within the process of software development, that helps the engineer evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different software solutions. It does not and cannot affect the end-product in and of-itself. However, it can and should, make the software engineer more conscious and aware of the ethical ramifications of certain engineering decisions within the process.

Engineering Complex Embedded Systems with State Analysis and the Mission Data System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ingham, Michel D.; Rasmussen, Robert D.; Bennett, Matthew B.; Moncada, Alex C.

2004-01-01

It has become clear that spacecraft system complexity is reaching a threshold where customary methods of control are no longer affordable or sufficiently reliable. At the heart of this problem are the conventional approaches to systems and software engineering based on subsystem-level functional decomposition, which fail to scale in the tangled web of interactions typically encountered in complex spacecraft designs. Furthermore, there is a fundamental gap between the requirements on software specified by systems engineers and the implementation of these requirements by software engineers. Software engineers must perform the translation of requirements into software code, hoping to accurately capture the systems engineer's understanding of the system behavior, which is not always explicitly specified. This gap opens up the possibility for misinterpretation of the systems engineer s intent, potentially leading to software errors. This problem is addressed by a systems engineering methodology called State Analysis, which provides a process for capturing system and software requirements in the form of explicit models. This paper describes how requirements for complex aerospace systems can be developed using State Analysis and how these requirements inform the design of the system software, using representative spacecraft examples.

State analysis requirements database for engineering complex embedded systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bennett, Matthew B.; Rasmussen, Robert D.; Ingham, Michel D.

2004-01-01

It has become clear that spacecraft system complexity is reaching a threshold where customary methods of control are no longer affordable or sufficiently reliable. At the heart of this problem are the conventional approaches to systems and software engineering based on subsystem-level functional decomposition, which fail to scale in the tangled web of interactions typically encountered in complex spacecraft designs. Furthermore, there is a fundamental gap between the requirements on software specified by systems engineers and the implementation of these requirements by software engineers. Software engineers must perform the translation of requirements into software code, hoping to accurately capture the systems engineer's understanding of the system behavior, which is not always explicitly specified. This gap opens up the possibility for misinterpretation of the systems engineer's intent, potentially leading to software errors. This problem is addressed by a systems engineering tool called the State Analysis Database, which provides a tool for capturing system and software requirements in the form of explicit models. This paper describes how requirements for complex aerospace systems can be developed using the State Analysis Database.

Cassini Information Management System in Distributed Operations Collaboration and Cassini Science Planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Equils, Douglas J.

2008-01-01

Launched on October 15, 1997, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft began its ambitious journey to the Saturnian system with a complex suite of 12 scientific instruments, and another 6 instruments aboard the European Space Agencies Huygens Probe. Over the next 6 1/2 years, Cassini would continue its relatively simplistic cruise phase operations, flying past Venus, Earth, and Jupiter. However, following Saturn Orbit Insertion (SOI), Cassini would become involved in a complex series of tasks that required detailed resource management, distributed operations collaboration, and a data base for capturing science objectives. Collectively, these needs were met through a web-based software tool designed to help with the Cassini uplink process and ultimately used to generate more robust sequences for spacecraft operations. In 2001, in conjunction with the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and later Venustar Software and Engineering Inc., the Cassini Information Management System (CIMS) was released which enabled the Cassini spacecraft and science planning teams to perform complex information management and team collaboration between scientists and engineers in 17 countries. Originally tailored to help manage the science planning uplink process, CIMS has been actively evolving since its inception to meet the changing and growing needs of the Cassini uplink team and effectively reduce mission risk through a series of resource management validation algorithms. These algorithms have been implemented in the web-based software tool to identify potential sequence conflicts early in the science planning process. CIMS mitigates these sequence conflicts through identification of timing incongruities, pointing inconsistencies, flight rule violations, data volume issues, and by assisting in Deep Space Network (DSN) coverage analysis. In preparation for extended mission operations, CIMS has also evolved further to assist in the planning and coordination of the dual playback redundancy of highvalue data from targets such as Titan and Enceladus. This paper will outline the critical role that CIMS has played for Cassini in the distributed ops paradigm throughout operations. This paper will also examine the evolution that CIMS has undergone in the face of new science discoveries and fluctuating operational needs. And finally, this paper will conclude with theoretical adaptation of CIMS for other projects and the potential savings in cost and risk reduction that could potentially be tapped into by future missions.

The TAME Project: Towards improvement-oriented software environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Basili, Victor R.; Rombach, H. Dieter

1988-01-01

Experience from a dozen years of analyzing software engineering processes and products is summarized as a set of software engineering and measurement principles that argue for software engineering process models that integrate sound planning and analysis into the construction process. In the TAME (Tailoring A Measurement Environment) project at the University of Maryland, such an improvement-oriented software engineering process model was developed that uses the goal/question/metric paradigm to integrate the constructive and analytic aspects of software development. The model provides a mechanism for formalizing the characterization and planning tasks, controlling and improving projects based on quantitative analysis, learning in a deeper and more systematic way about the software process and product, and feeding the appropriate experience back into the current and future projects. The TAME system is an instantiation of the TAME software engineering process model as an ISEE (integrated software engineering environment). The first in a series of TAME system prototypes has been developed. An assessment of experience with this first limited prototype is presented including a reassessment of its initial architecture.

Comprehensive Glossary of Nuclear Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langlands, Tracy; Stone, Craig; Meyer, Richard

2001-10-01

We have developed a comprehensive glossary of terms covering the broad fields of nuclear and related areas of science. The glossary has been constructed with two sections. A primary section consists of over 6,000 terms covering the fields of nuclear and high energy physics, nuclear chemistry, radiochemistry, health physics, astrophysics, materials science, analytical science, environmental science, nuclear medicine, nuclear engineering, nuclear instrumentation, nuclear weapons, and nuclear safeguards. Approximately 1,500 terms of specific focus on military and nuclear weapons testing define the second section. The glossary is currently larger than many published glossaries and dictionaries covering the entire field of physics. Glossary terms have been defined using an extensive collection of current and historical publications. Historical texts extend back into the 1800's, the early days of atomic physics. The glossary has been developed both as a software application and as a hard copy document.

Computational Tools and Facilities for the Next-Generation Analysis and Design Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noor, Ahmed K. (Compiler); Malone, John B. (Compiler)

1997-01-01

This document contains presentations from the joint UVA/NASA Workshop on Computational Tools and Facilities for the Next-Generation Analysis and Design Environment held at the Virginia Consortium of Engineering and Science Universities in Hampton, Virginia on September 17-18, 1996. The presentations focused on the computational tools and facilities for analysis and design of engineering systems, including, real-time simulations, immersive systems, collaborative engineering environment, Web-based tools and interactive media for technical training. Workshop attendees represented NASA, commercial software developers, the aerospace industry, government labs, and academia. The workshop objectives were to assess the level of maturity of a number of computational tools and facilities and their potential for application to the next-generation integrated design environment.

Ames Engineering Directorate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, Veronica J.

2017-01-01

The Ames Engineering Directorate is the principal engineering organization supporting aerospace systems and spaceflight projects at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. The Directorate supports all phases of engineering and project management for flight and mission projects-from R&D to Close-out-by leveraging the capabilities of multiple divisions and facilities.The Mission Design Center (MDC) has full end-to-end mission design capability with sophisticated analysis and simulation tools in a collaborative concurrent design environment. Services include concept maturity level (CML) maturation, spacecraft design and trades, scientific instruments selection, feasibility assessments, and proposal support and partnerships. The Engineering Systems Division provides robust project management support as well as systems engineering, mechanical and electrical analysis and design, technical authority and project integration support to a variety of programs and projects across NASA centers. The Applied Manufacturing Division turns abstract ideas into tangible hardware for aeronautics, spaceflight and science applications, specializing in fabrication methods and management of complex fabrication projects. The Engineering Evaluation Lab (EEL) provides full satellite or payload environmental testing services including vibration, temperature, humidity, immersion, pressure/altitude, vacuum, high G centrifuge, shock impact testing and the Flight Processing Center (FPC), which includes cleanrooms, bonded stores and flight preparation resources. The Multi-Mission Operations Center (MMOC) is composed of the facilities, networks, IT equipment, software and support services needed by flight projects to effectively and efficiently perform all mission functions, including planning, scheduling, command, telemetry processing and science analysis.

Impacts of Technological Changes in the Cyber Environment on Software/Systems Engineering Workforce Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

for decoupled parallel development Ref: Barry Boehm 12 Impacts of Technological Changes in the Cyber Environment on Software/Systems Engineering... Pressman , R.S., Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 13 Impacts of Technological Changes in the Cyber Environment on Software/Systems

Software And Systems Engineering Risk Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

RSKM 2004 COSO Enterprise RSKM Framework 2006 ISO/IEC 16085 Risk Management Process 2008 ISO/IEC 12207 Software Lifecycle Processes 2009 ISO/IEC...1 Software And Systems Engineering Risk Management John Walz VP Technical and Conferences Activities, IEEE Computer Society Vice-Chair Planning...Software & Systems Engineering Standards Committee, IEEE Computer Society US TAG to ISO TMB Risk Management Working Group Systems and Software

Proceedings of the 19th Annual Software Engineering Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

The Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) is an organization sponsored by NASA/GSFC and created to investigate the effectiveness of software engineering technologies when applied to the development of applications software. The goals of the SEL are: (1) to understand the software development process in the GSFC environment; (2) to measure the effects of various methodologies, tools, and models on this process; and (3) to identify and then to apply successful development practices. The activities, findings, and recommendations of the SEL are recorded in the Software Engineering Laboratory Series, a continuing series of reports that include this document.

Data collection procedures for the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) database

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heller, Gerard; Valett, Jon; Wild, Mary

1992-01-01

This document is a guidebook to collecting software engineering data on software development and maintenance efforts, as practiced in the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL). It supersedes the document entitled Data Collection Procedures for the Rehosted SEL Database, number SEL-87-008 in the SEL series, which was published in October 1987. It presents procedures to be followed on software development and maintenance projects in the Flight Dynamics Division (FDD) of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for collecting data in support of SEL software engineering research activities. These procedures include detailed instructions for the completion and submission of SEL data collection forms.

Annotated bibliography of Software Engineering Laboratory literature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

An annotated bibliography of technical papers, documents, and memorandums produced by or related to the Software Engineering Laboratory is presented. More than 100 publications are summarized. These publications are summarized. These publications cover many areas of software engineering and range from research reports to software documentation. This document has been updated and reorganized substantially since the original version (SEL-82-006, November 1982). All materials are grouped into five general subject areas for easy reference: (1) the software engineering laboratory; (2) software tools; (3) models and measures; (4) technology evaluations; and (5) data collection. An index further classifies these documents by specific topic.

Modular Rocket Engine Control Software (MRECS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tarrant, Charlie; Crook, Jerry

1997-01-01

The Modular Rocket Engine Control Software (MRECS) Program is a technology demonstration effort designed to advance the state-of-the-art in launch vehicle propulsion systems. Its emphasis is on developing and demonstrating a modular software architecture for a generic, advanced engine control system that will result in lower software maintenance (operations) costs. It effectively accommodates software requirements changes that occur due to hardware. technology upgrades and engine development testing. Ground rules directed by MSFC were to optimize modularity and implement the software in the Ada programming language. MRECS system software and the software development environment utilize Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) products. This paper presents the objectives and benefits of the program. The software architecture, design, and development environment are described. MRECS tasks are defined and timing relationships given. Major accomplishment are listed. MRECS offers benefits to a wide variety of advanced technology programs in the areas of modular software, architecture, reuse software, and reduced software reverification time related to software changes. Currently, the program is focused on supporting MSFC in accomplishing a Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) hot-fire test at Stennis Space Center and the Low Cost Boost Technology (LCBT) Program.

Software Engineering Improvement Plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

In performance of this task order, bd Systems personnel provided support to the Flight Software Branch and the Software Working Group through multiple tasks related to software engineering improvement and to activities of the independent Technical Authority (iTA) Discipline Technical Warrant Holder (DTWH) for software engineering. To ensure that the products, comments, and recommendations complied with customer requirements and the statement of work, bd Systems personnel maintained close coordination with the customer. These personnel performed work in areas such as update of agency requirements and directives database, software effort estimation, software problem reports, a web-based process asset library, miscellaneous documentation review, software system requirements, issue tracking software survey, systems engineering NPR, and project-related reviews. This report contains a summary of the work performed and the accomplishments in each of these areas.

The best of both worlds : integrating textual and visual command interfaces for Mars Rover Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maxwell, Scott A.; Cooper, Brian; Hartman, Frank; Wright, John; Yen, Jeng; Leger, Chris

2005-01-01

A Mars rover is a complex system, and driving one is a complex endeavor. Rover driver must be intimately familiar with the hardware and software of the mobility system and of the robotic arm. They must rapidly assess threats in the terrain, then creatively combine their knowledge o f the vehicle and its environment to achieve each day's science and engineering objective.

An Ada Object Oriented Missile Flight Simulation

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-09-01

identify by block number) This thesis uses the Ada programming language in the design and development of an air-to-air missile flight simulation with...object oriented techniques and sound software engineering principles. The simulation is designed to be more understandable, modifiable, efficient and...Department of Computer Science ii ABSTRACT This thesis uses the Ada programming language in the design and development of an air-to-air missile flight

Technology 2001: The Second National Technology Transfer Conference and Exposition, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

Proceedings of the workshop are presented. The mission of the conference was to transfer advanced technologies developed by the Federal government, its contractors, and other high-tech organizations to U.S. industries for their use in developing new or improved products and processes. Volume two presents papers on the following topics: materials science, robotics, test and measurement, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, electronics, and software engineering.

Directory of Industry and University Collaborations with a Focus on Software Engineering Education and Training, Version 6

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-11-01

of Computer Science and Information Systems. Membership American University is an independent, coeducational university with more than 11,000...The entire community profits as AIM members achieve common objectives. Corporate contribution is evolving into a benefit -based membership, providing...direct value or service to CMU/SEI-97-SR-018 the member, while strengthening the Nebraska information technology environment. Specific benefits to

Programming Makes Software; Support Makes Users

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Batcheller, A. L.

2010-12-01

Skilled software engineers may build fantastic software for climate modeling, yet fail to achieve their project’s objectives. Software support and related activities are just as critical as writing software. This study followed three different software projects in the climate sciences, using interviews, observation, and document analysis to examine the value added by support work. Supporting the project and interacting with users was a key task for software developers, who often spent 50% of their time on it. Such support work most often involved replying to questions on an email list, but also included talking to users on teleconference calls and in person. Software support increased adoption by building the software’s reputation and showing individuals how the software can meet their needs. In the process of providing support, developers often learned new of requirements as users reported features they desire and bugs they found. As software matures and gains widespread use, support work often increases. In fact, such increases can be one signal that the software has achieved broad acceptance. Maturing projects also find demand for instructional classes, online tutorials and detailed examples of how to use the software. The importance of support highlights the fact that building software systems involves both social and technical aspects. Yes, we need to build the software, but we also need to “build” the users and practices that can take advantage of it.

Integrated System for Autonomous Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chien, Steve; Sherwood, Robert; Tran, Daniel; Cichy, Benjamin; Davies, Ashley; Castano, Rebecca; Rabideau, Gregg; Frye, Stuart; Trout, Bruce; Shulman, Seth;

Parallelization of Rocket Engine Simulator Software (PRESS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cezzar, Ruknet

1997-01-01

Parallelization of Rocket Engine System Software (PRESS) project is part of a collaborative effort with Southern University at Baton Rouge (SUBR), University of West Florida (UWF), and Jackson State University (JSU). The second-year funding, which supports two graduate students enrolled in our new Master's program in Computer Science at Hampton University and the principal investigator, have been obtained for the period from October 19, 1996 through October 18, 1997. The key part of the interim report was new directions for the second year funding. This came about from discussions during Rocket Engine Numeric Simulator (RENS) project meeting in Pensacola on January 17-18, 1997. At that time, a software agreement between Hampton University and NASA Lewis Research Center had already been concluded. That agreement concerns off-NASA-site experimentation with PUMPDES/TURBDES software. Before this agreement, during the first year of the project, another large-scale FORTRAN-based software, Two-Dimensional Kinetics (TDK), was being used for translation to an object-oriented language and parallelization experiments. However, that package proved to be too complex and lacking sufficient documentation for effective translation effort to the object-oriented C + + source code. The focus, this time with better documented and more manageable PUMPDES/TURBDES package, was still on translation to C + + with design improvements. At the RENS Meeting, however, the new impetus for the RENS projects in general, and PRESS in particular, has shifted in two important ways. One was closer alignment with the work on Numerical Propulsion System Simulator (NPSS) through cooperation and collaboration with LERC ACLU organization. The other was to see whether and how NASA's various rocket design software can be run over local and intra nets without any radical efforts for redesign and translation into object-oriented source code. There were also suggestions that the Fortran based code be encapsulated in C + + code thereby facilitating reuse without undue development effort. The details are covered in the aforementioned section of the interim report filed on April 28, 1997.

Applying formal methods and object-oriented analysis to existing flight software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, Betty H. C.; Auernheimer, Brent

1993-01-01

Correctness is paramount for safety-critical software control systems. Critical software failures in medical radiation treatment, communications, and defense are familiar to the public. The significant quantity of software malfunctions regularly reported to the software engineering community, the laws concerning liability, and a recent NRC Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board report additionally motivate the use of error-reducing and defect detection software development techniques. The benefits of formal methods in requirements driven software development ('forward engineering') is well documented. One advantage of rigorously engineering software is that formal notations are precise, verifiable, and facilitate automated processing. This paper describes the application of formal methods to reverse engineering, where formal specifications are developed for a portion of the shuttle on-orbit digital autopilot (DAP). Three objectives of the project were to: demonstrate the use of formal methods on a shuttle application, facilitate the incorporation and validation of new requirements for the system, and verify the safety-critical properties to be exhibited by the software.

Proceedings of the Annual Ada Software Engineering Education and Training Symposium (3rd) Held in Denver, Colorado on June 14-16, 1988

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-06-01

Based Software Engineering Project Course .............. 83 SSoftware Engineering, Software Engineering Concepts: The Importance of Object-Based...quality assurance, and independent system testing . The Chief Programmer is responsible for all software development activities, including prototyping...during the Requirements Analysis phase, the Preliminary Design, the Detailed Design, Coding and Unit Testing , CSC Integration and Testing , and informal

Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Software Engineering Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) is an organization sponsored by GSFC and created for the purpose of investigating the effectiveness of software engineering technologies when applied to the development of applications software. The goals of the SEL are: (1) to understand the software development process in the GSFC environment; (2) to measure the effect of various methodologies, tools, and models on this process; and (3) to identify and then to apply successful development practices. Fifteen papers were presented at the Fifteenth Annual Software Engineering Workshop in five sessions: (1) SEL at age fifteen; (2) process improvement; (3) measurement; (4) reuse; and (5) process assessment. The sessions were followed by two panel discussions: (1) experiences in implementing an effective measurement program; and (2) software engineering in the 1980's. A summary of the presentations and panel discussions is given.

Multidisciplinary and Active/Collaborative Approaches in Teaching Requirements Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosca, Daniela

2005-01-01

The requirements engineering course is a core component of the curriculum for the Master's in Software Engineering programme, at Monmouth University (MU). It covers the process, methods and tools specific to this area, together with the corresponding software quality issues. The need to produce software engineers with strong teamwork and…

A Knowledge Engineering Approach to Analysis and Evaluation of Construction Schedules

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-02-01

software engineering discipline focusing on constructing KBSs. It is an incremental and cyclical process that requires the interaction of a domain expert(s...the U.S. Army Coips of Engineers ; and (3) the project management software developer, represented by Pinnell Engineering , Inc. Since the primary...the programming skills necessary to convert the raw knowledge intn a form a computer can understand. knowledge engineering : The software engineering

Software systems for operation, control, and monitoring of the EBEX instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milligan, Michael; Ade, Peter; Aubin, François; Baccigalupi, Carlo; Bao, Chaoyun; Borrill, Julian; Cantalupo, Christopher; Chapman, Daniel; Didier, Joy; Dobbs, Matt; Grainger, Will; Hanany, Shaul; Hillbrand, Seth; Hubmayr, Johannes; Hyland, Peter; Jaffe, Andrew; Johnson, Bradley; Kisner, Theodore; Klein, Jeff; Korotkov, Andrei; Leach, Sam; Lee, Adrian; Levinson, Lorne; Limon, Michele; MacDermid, Kevin; Matsumura, Tomotake; Miller, Amber; Pascale, Enzo; Polsgrove, Daniel; Ponthieu, Nicolas; Raach, Kate; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Britt; Sagiv, Ilan; Tran, Huan; Tucker, Gregory S.; Vinokurov, Yury; Yadav, Amit; Zaldarriaga, Matias; Zilic, Kyle

2010-07-01

We present the hardware and software systems implementing autonomous operation, distributed real-time monitoring, and control for the EBEX instrument. EBEX is a NASA-funded balloon-borne microwave polarimeter designed for a 14 day Antarctic flight that circumnavigates the pole. To meet its science goals the EBEX instrument autonomously executes several tasks in parallel: it collects attitude data and maintains pointing control in order to adhere to an observing schedule; tunes and operates up to 1920 TES bolometers and 120 SQUID amplifiers controlled by as many as 30 embedded computers; coordinates and dispatches jobs across an onboard computer network to manage this detector readout system; logs over 3 GiB/hour of science and housekeeping data to an onboard disk storage array; responds to a variety of commands and exogenous events; and downlinks multiple heterogeneous data streams representing a selected subset of the total logged data. Most of the systems implementing these functions have been tested during a recent engineering flight of the payload, and have proven to meet the target requirements. The EBEX ground segment couples uplink and downlink hardware to a client-server software stack, enabling real-time monitoring and command responsibility to be distributed across the public internet or other standard computer networks. Using the emerging dirfile standard as a uniform intermediate data format, a variety of front end programs provide access to different components and views of the downlinked data products. This distributed architecture was demonstrated operating across multiple widely dispersed sites prior to and during the EBEX engineering flight.

Questioning the Role of Requirements Engineering in the Causes of Safety-Critical Software Failures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, C. W.; Holloway, C. M.

2006-01-01

Many software failures stem from inadequate requirements engineering. This view has been supported both by detailed accident investigations and by a number of empirical studies; however, such investigations can be misleading. It is often difficult to distinguish between failures in requirements engineering and problems elsewhere in the software development lifecycle. Further pitfalls arise from the assumption that inadequate requirements engineering is a cause of all software related accidents for which the system fails to meet its requirements. This paper identifies some of the problems that have arisen from an undue focus on the role of requirements engineering in the causes of major accidents. The intention is to provoke further debate within the emerging field of forensic software engineering.

Computer systems and software engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckay, Charles W.

1988-01-01

The High Technologies Laboratory (HTL) was established in the fall of 1982 at the University of Houston Clear Lake. Research conducted at the High Tech Lab is focused upon computer systems and software engineering. There is a strong emphasis on the interrelationship of these areas of technology and the United States' space program. In Jan. of 1987, NASA Headquarters announced the formation of its first research center dedicated to software engineering. Operated by the High Tech Lab, the Software Engineering Research Center (SERC) was formed at the University of Houston Clear Lake. The High Tech Lab/Software Engineering Research Center promotes cooperative research among government, industry, and academia to advance the edge-of-knowledge and the state-of-the-practice in key topics of computer systems and software engineering which are critical to NASA. The center also recommends appropriate actions, guidelines, standards, and policies to NASA in matters pertinent to the center's research. Results of the research conducted at the High Tech Lab/Software Engineering Research Center have given direction to many decisions made by NASA concerning the Space Station Program.

Develop virtual joint laboratory for education like distance engineering system for robotic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latinovic, T. S.; Deaconu, S. I.; Latinović, M. T.; Malešević, N.; Barz, C.

2015-06-01

This paper work with a new system that provides distance learning and online training engineers. The purpose of this paper is to develop and provide web-based system for the handling and control of remote devices via the Internet. Remote devices are currently the industry or mobile robots [13]. For future product development machine in the factory will be included in the system. This article also discusses the current use of virtual reality tools in the fields of science and engineering education. One programming tool in particular, virtual reality modeling language (VRML) is presented in the light of its applications and capabilities in the development of computer visualization tool for education. One contribution of this paper is to present the software tools and examples that can encourage educators to develop a virtual reality model to improve teaching in their discipline. [12] This paper aims to introduce a software platform, called VALIP where users can build, share, and manipulate 3D content in cooperation with the interaction processes in a 3D context, while participating hardware and software devices can be physical and / or logical distributed and connected together via the Internet. VALIP the integration of virtual laboratories to appropriate partners; therefore, allowing access to all laboratories in any of the partners in the project. VALIP provides advanced laboratory for training and research within robotics and production engineering, and thus, provides a great laboratory facilities with only having to invest a limited amount of resources at the local level to the partner site.

Community Coordinated Modeling Center: A Powerful Resource in Space Science and Space Weather Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chulaki, A.; Kuznetsova, M. M.; Rastaetter, L.; MacNeice, P. J.; Shim, J. S.; Pulkkinen, A. A.; Taktakishvili, A.; Mays, M. L.; Mendoza, A. M. M.; Zheng, Y.; Mullinix, R.; Collado-Vega, Y. M.; Maddox, M. M.; Pembroke, A. D.; Wiegand, C.

2015-12-01

Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) is a NASA affiliated interagency partnership with the primary goal of aiding the transition of modern space science models into space weather forecasting while supporting space science research. Additionally, over the past ten years it has established itself as a global space science education resource supporting undergraduate and graduate education and research, and spreading space weather awareness worldwide. A unique combination of assets, capabilities and close ties to the scientific and educational communities enable this small group to serve as a hub for raising generations of young space scientists and engineers. CCMC resources are publicly available online, providing unprecedented global access to the largest collection of modern space science models (developed by the international research community). CCMC has revolutionized the way simulations are utilized in classrooms settings, student projects, and scientific labs and serves hundreds of educators, students and researchers every year. Another major CCMC asset is an expert space weather prototyping team primarily serving NASA's interplanetary space weather needs. Capitalizing on its unrivaled capabilities and experiences, the team provides in-depth space weather training to students and professionals worldwide, and offers an amazing opportunity for undergraduates to engage in real-time space weather monitoring, analysis, forecasting and research. In-house development of state-of-the-art space weather tools and applications provides exciting opportunities to students majoring in computer science and computer engineering fields to intern with the software engineers at the CCMC while also learning about the space weather from the NASA scientists.

Annotated bibliography of Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) literature

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Card, D.

1982-01-01

An annotated bibliography of technical papers, documents, and memorandums produced by or related to the Software Engineering Laboratory is presented. More than 75 publications are summarized. An index of these publications by subject is also included. These publications cover many areas of software engineering and range from research reports to software documentation.

AADL and Model-based Engineering

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-20

and MBE Feiler, Oct 20, 2014 © 2014 Carnegie Mellon University We Rely on Software for Safe Aircraft Operation Embedded software systems ...D eveloper Compute Platform Runtime Architecture Application Software Embedded SW System Engineer Data Stream Characteristics Latency...confusion Hardware Engineer Why do system level failures still occur despite fault tolerance techniques being deployed in systems ? Embedded software

Intelligent Agents for Design and Synthesis Environments: My Summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norvig, Peter

1999-01-01

This presentation gives a summary of intelligent agents for design synthesis environments. We'll start with the conclusions, and work backwards to justify them. First, an important assumption is that agents (whatever they are) are good for software engineering. This is especially true for software that operates in an uncertain, changing environment. The "real world" of physical artifacts is like that: uncertain in what we can measure, changing in that things are always breaking down, and we must interact with non-software entities. The second point is that software engineering techniques can contribute to good design. There may have been a time when we wanted to build simple artifacts containing little or no software. But modern aircraft and spacecraft are complex, and rely on a great deal of software. So better software engineering leads to better designed artifacts, especially when we are designing a series of related artifacts and can amortize the costs of software development. The third point is that agents are especially useful for design tasks, above and beyond their general usefulness for software engineering, and the usefulness of software engineering to design.

NASA software documentation standard software engineering program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The NASA Software Documentation Standard (hereinafter referred to as Standard) can be applied to the documentation of all NASA software. This Standard is limited to documentation format and content requirements. It does not mandate specific management, engineering, or assurance standards or techniques. This Standard defines the format and content of documentation for software acquisition, development, and sustaining engineering. Format requirements address where information shall be recorded and content requirements address what information shall be recorded. This Standard provides a framework to allow consistency of documentation across NASA and visibility into the completeness of project documentation. This basic framework consists of four major sections (or volumes). The Management Plan contains all planning and business aspects of a software project, including engineering and assurance planning. The Product Specification contains all technical engineering information, including software requirements and design. The Assurance and Test Procedures contains all technical assurance information, including Test, Quality Assurance (QA), and Verification and Validation (V&V). The Management, Engineering, and Assurance Reports is the library and/or listing of all project reports.

Improving Software Engineering on NASA Projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crumbley, Tim; Kelly, John C.

2010-01-01

Software Engineering Initiative: Reduces risk of software failure -Increases mission safety. More predictable software cost estimates and delivery schedules. Smarter buyer of contracted out software. More defects found and removed earlier. Reduces duplication of efforts between projects. Increases ability to meet the challenges of evolving software technology.

Automating Software Design Metrics.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-02-01

INTRODUCTION 1 ", ... 0..1 1.2 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE High quality software is of interest to both the software engineering com- munity and its users. As...contributions of many other software engineering efforts, most notably [MCC 77] and [Boe 83b], which have defined and refined a framework for quantifying...AUTOMATION OF DESIGN METRICS Software metrics can be useful within the context of an integrated soft- ware engineering environment. The purpose of this

Use of Soft Computing Technologies for a Qualitative and Reliable Engine Control System for Propulsion Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trevino, Luis; Brown, Terry; Crumbley, R. T. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The problem to be addressed in this paper is to explore how the use of Soft Computing Technologies (SCT) could be employed to improve overall vehicle system safety, reliability, and rocket engine performance by development of a qualitative and reliable engine control system (QRECS). Specifically, this will be addressed by enhancing rocket engine control using SCT, innovative data mining tools, and sound software engineering practices used in Marshall's Flight Software Group (FSG). The principle goals for addressing the issue of quality are to improve software management, software development time, software maintenance, processor execution, fault tolerance and mitigation, and nonlinear control in power level transitions. The intent is not to discuss any shortcomings of existing engine control methodologies, but to provide alternative design choices for control, implementation, performance, and sustaining engineering, all relative to addressing the issue of reliability. The approaches outlined in this paper will require knowledge in the fields of rocket engine propulsion (system level), software engineering for embedded flight software systems, and soft computing technologies (i.e., neural networks, fuzzy logic, data mining, and Bayesian belief networks); some of which are briefed in this paper. For this effort, the targeted demonstration rocket engine testbed is the MC-1 engine (formerly FASTRAC) which is simulated with hardware and software in the Marshall Avionics & Software Testbed (MAST) laboratory that currently resides at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, building 4476, and is managed by the Avionics Department. A brief plan of action for design, development, implementation, and testing a Phase One effort for QRECS is given, along with expected results. Phase One will focus on development of a Smart Start Engine Module and a Mainstage Engine Module for proper engine start and mainstage engine operations. The overall intent is to demonstrate that by employing soft computing technologies, the quality and reliability of the overall scheme to engine controller development is further improved and vehicle safety is further insured. The final product that this paper proposes is an approach to development of an alternative low cost engine controller that would be capable of performing in unique vision spacecraft vehicles requiring low cost advanced avionics architectures for autonomous operations from engine pre-start to engine shutdown.

A Review of the Suitability of Available Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) Tools for the Small Software Development Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-07-11

LITERATURE CITED [Boeh73] Boehm, Barry W., "Software and its Impact: A Quantitative Assessment," Datamation, 19, 5, (May 1973), pp 48-59. [Boeh76...Boehm, Barry W., "Software Engineering," IEEE Transactions on Computers, C-25, 12, (December 1976), pp 1226-1241. [Boeh81a] Boehm, Barry W., Software...Engineering Economics, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, (1981). [Boeh8lb] Boehm, Barry W., "An Experiment in Small Scale Application Software

Happy software developers solve problems better: psychological measurements in empirical software engineering

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiaofeng; Abrahamsson, Pekka

2014-01-01

For more than thirty years, it has been claimed that a way to improve software developers’ productivity and software quality is to focus on people and to provide incentives to make developers satisfied and happy. This claim has rarely been verified in software engineering research, which faces an additional challenge in comparison to more traditional engineering fields: software development is an intellectual activity and is dominated by often-neglected human factors (called human aspects in software engineering research). Among the many skills required for software development, developers must possess high analytical problem-solving skills and creativity for the software construction process. According to psychology research, affective states—emotions and moods—deeply influence the cognitive processing abilities and performance of workers, including creativity and analytical problem solving. Nonetheless, little research has investigated the correlation between the affective states, creativity, and analytical problem-solving performance of programmers. This article echoes the call to employ psychological measurements in software engineering research. We report a study with 42 participants to investigate the relationship between the affective states, creativity, and analytical problem-solving skills of software developers. The results offer support for the claim that happy developers are indeed better problem solvers in terms of their analytical abilities. The following contributions are made by this study: (1) providing a better understanding of the impact of affective states on the creativity and analytical problem-solving capacities of developers, (2) introducing and validating psychological measurements, theories, and concepts of affective states, creativity, and analytical-problem-solving skills in empirical software engineering, and (3) raising the need for studying the human factors of software engineering by employing a multidisciplinary viewpoint. PMID:24688866

Happy software developers solve problems better: psychological measurements in empirical software engineering.

PubMed

Graziotin, Daniel; Wang, Xiaofeng; Abrahamsson, Pekka

2014-01-01

For more than thirty years, it has been claimed that a way to improve software developers' productivity and software quality is to focus on people and to provide incentives to make developers satisfied and happy. This claim has rarely been verified in software engineering research, which faces an additional challenge in comparison to more traditional engineering fields: software development is an intellectual activity and is dominated by often-neglected human factors (called human aspects in software engineering research). Among the many skills required for software development, developers must possess high analytical problem-solving skills and creativity for the software construction process. According to psychology research, affective states-emotions and moods-deeply influence the cognitive processing abilities and performance of workers, including creativity and analytical problem solving. Nonetheless, little research has investigated the correlation between the affective states, creativity, and analytical problem-solving performance of programmers. This article echoes the call to employ psychological measurements in software engineering research. We report a study with 42 participants to investigate the relationship between the affective states, creativity, and analytical problem-solving skills of software developers. The results offer support for the claim that happy developers are indeed better problem solvers in terms of their analytical abilities. The following contributions are made by this study: (1) providing a better understanding of the impact of affective states on the creativity and analytical problem-solving capacities of developers, (2) introducing and validating psychological measurements, theories, and concepts of affective states, creativity, and analytical-problem-solving skills in empirical software engineering, and (3) raising the need for studying the human factors of software engineering by employing a multidisciplinary viewpoint.

Software technology insertion: A study of success factors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lydon, Tom

1990-01-01

Managing software development in large organizations has become increasingly difficult due to increasing technical complexity, stricter government standards, a shortage of experienced software engineers, competitive pressure for improved productivity and quality, the need to co-develop hardware and software together, and the rapid changes in both hardware and software technology. The 'software factory' approach to software development minimizes risks while maximizing productivity and quality through standardization, automation, and training. However, in practice, this approach is relatively inflexible when adopting new software technologies. The methods that a large multi-project software engineering organization can use to increase the likelihood of successful software technology insertion (STI), especially in a standardized engineering environment, are described.

Software Reliability 2002

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallace, Dolores R.

2003-01-01

In FY01 we learned that hardware reliability models need substantial changes to account for differences in software, thus making software reliability measurements more effective, accurate, and easier to apply. These reliability models are generally based on familiar distributions or parametric methods. An obvious question is 'What new statistical and probability models can be developed using non-parametric and distribution-free methods instead of the traditional parametric method?" Two approaches to software reliability engineering appear somewhat promising. The first study, begin in FY01, is based in hardware reliability, a very well established science that has many aspects that can be applied to software. This research effort has investigated mathematical aspects of hardware reliability and has identified those applicable to software. Currently the research effort is applying and testing these approaches to software reliability measurement, These parametric models require much project data that may be difficult to apply and interpret. Projects at GSFC are often complex in both technology and schedules. Assessing and estimating reliability of the final system is extremely difficult when various subsystems are tested and completed long before others. Parametric and distribution free techniques may offer a new and accurate way of modeling failure time and other project data to provide earlier and more accurate estimates of system reliability.

Defense AT&L Magazine: A Publication of the Defense Acquisition University. Volume 34, Number 3, DAU 184

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

developed a partnership with the Defense Acquisition University to in- tegrate DISA’s systems engineering processes, software , and network...in place, with processes being implemented: deployment management; systems engineering ; software engineering ; configuration man- agement; test and...CSS systems engineering is a transition partner with Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Insti- tute and its work on the capability

MNE Scan: Software for real-time processing of electrophysiological data.

PubMed

Esch, Lorenz; Sun, Limin; Klüber, Viktor; Lew, Seok; Baumgarten, Daniel; Grant, P Ellen; Okada, Yoshio; Haueisen, Jens; Hämäläinen, Matti S; Dinh, Christoph

2018-06-01

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and Electroencephalography (EEG) are noninvasive techniques to study the electrophysiological activity of the human brain. Thus, they are well suited for real-time monitoring and analysis of neuronal activity. Real-time MEG/EEG data processing allows adjustment of the stimuli to the subject's responses for optimizing the acquired information especially by providing dynamically changing displays to enable neurofeedback. We introduce MNE Scan, an acquisition and real-time analysis software based on the multipurpose software library MNE-CPP. MNE Scan allows the development and application of acquisition and novel real-time processing methods in both research and clinical studies. The MNE Scan development follows a strict software engineering process to enable approvals required for clinical software. We tested the performance of MNE Scan in several device-independent use cases, including, a clinical epilepsy study, real-time source estimation, and Brain Computer Interface (BCI) application. Compared to existing tools we propose a modular software considering clinical software requirements expected by certification authorities. At the same time the software is extendable and freely accessible. We conclude that MNE Scan is the first step in creating a device-independent open-source software to facilitate the transition from basic neuroscience research to both applied sciences and clinical applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Shuttle avionics software trials, tribulations and success

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henderson, O. L.

1985-01-01

The early problems and the solutions developed to provide the required quality software needed to support the space shuttle engine development program are described. The decision to use a programmable digital control system on the space shuttle engine was primarily based upon the need for a flexible control system capable of supporting the total engine mission on a large complex pump fed engine. The mission definition included all control phases from ground checkout through post shutdown propellant dumping. The flexibility of the controller through reprogrammable software allowed the system to respond to the technical challenges and innovation required to develop both the engine and controller hardware. This same flexibility, however, placed a severe strain on the capability of the software development and verification organization. The overall development program required that the software facility accommodate significant growth in both the software requirements and the number of software packages delivered. This challenge was met by reorganization and evolution in the process of developing and verifying software.

HashDist: Reproducible, Relocatable, Customizable, Cross-Platform Software Stacks for Open Hydrological Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmadia, A. J.; Kees, C. E.

2014-12-01

Developing scientific software is a continuous balance between not reinventing the wheel and getting fragile codes to interoperate with one another. Binary software distributions such as Anaconda provide a robust starting point for many scientific software packages, but this solution alone is insufficient for many scientific software developers. HashDist provides a critical component of the development workflow, enabling highly customizable, source-driven, and reproducible builds for scientific software stacks, available from both the IPython Notebook and the command line. To address these issues, the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center has funded the development of HashDist in collaboration with Simula Research Laboratories and the University of Texas at Austin. HashDist is motivated by a functional approach to package build management, and features intelligent caching of sources and builds, parametrized build specifications, and the ability to interoperate with system compilers and packages. HashDist enables the easy specification of "software stacks", which allow both the novice user to install a default environment and the advanced user to configure every aspect of their build in a modular fashion. As an advanced feature, HashDist builds can be made relocatable, allowing the easy redistribution of binaries on all three major operating systems as well as cloud, and supercomputing platforms. As a final benefit, all HashDist builds are reproducible, with a build hash specifying exactly how each component of the software stack was installed. This talk discusses the role of HashDist in the hydrological sciences, including its use by the Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory in the development and deployment of the Proteus Toolkit as well as the Rapid Operational Access and Maneuver Support project. We demonstrate HashDist in action, and show how it can effectively support development, deployment, teaching, and reproducibility for scientists working in the hydrological sciences. The HashDist documentation is available from: http://hashdist.readthedocs.org/en/latest/ HashDist is currently hosted at: https://github.com/hashdist/hashdist

Impact of a process improvement program in a production software environment: Are we any better?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heller, Gerard H.; Page, Gerald T.

1990-01-01

For the past 15 years, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) has participated in a process improvement program as a member of the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL), which is sponsored by GSFC. The benefits CSC has derived from involvement in this program are analyzed. In the environment studied, it shows that improvements were indeed achieved, as evidenced by a decrease in error rates and costs over a period in which both the size and the complexity of the developed systems increased substantially. The principles and mechanics of the process improvement program, the lessons CSC has learned, and how CSC has capitalized on these lessons are also discussed.

The Planning and Scheduling of HST: Improvements and Enhancements since Launch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, D. K.; Chance, D. R.; Jordan, I. J. E.; Patterson, A. P.; Stanley, M.; Taylor, D. C.

2001-12-01

The planning and scheduling (P&S) systems used in operating the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have undergone such substantial and pervasive re-engineering that today they dimly resemble those used when HST was launched. Processes (i.e., software, procedures, networking, etc.) which allow program implementation, the generation of a Long Range Plan (LRP), and the scheduling of science and mission activities have improved drastically in nearly 12 years, resulting in a consistently high observing efficiency, a stable LRP that principal investigators can use, exceptionally clean command loads uplinked to the spacecraft, and the capability of a very fast response time due to onboard anomalies or targets of opportunity. In this presentation we describe many of the systems which comprise the P&S ("front-end") system for HST, how and why they were improved, and what benefits have been realized by either the HST user community or the STScI staff. The systems include the Guide Star System, the Remote Proposal Submission System - 2 (RPS2), Artificial Intelligence (AI) planning tools such as Spike, and the science and mission scheduling software. We also describe how using modern software languages such as Python and better development practices allow STScI staff to do more with HST (e.g., to handle much more science data when ACS is installed) without increasing the cost to HST operations.

PI in the sky: The astronaut science advisor on SLS-2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hazelton, Lyman R.; Groleau, Nicolas; Frainier, Richard J.; Compton, Michael M.; Colombano, Silvano P.; Szolovits, Peter

1994-01-01

The Astronaut Science Advisor (ASA, also known as Principal-Investigator-in-a-Box) is an advanced engineering effort to apply expert systems technology to experiment monitoring and control. Its goal is to increase the scientific value of information returned from experiments on manned space missions. The first in-space test of the system will be in conjunction with Professor Larry Young's (MIT) vestibulo-ocular 'Rotating Dome' experiment on the Spacelab Life Sciences 2 mission (STS-58) in the Fall of 1993. In a cost-saving effort, off-the-shelf equipment was employed wherever possible. Several modifications were necessary in order to make the system flight-worthy. The software consists of three interlocking modules. A real-time data acquisition system digitizes and stores all experiment data and then characterizes the signals in symbolic form; a rule-based expert system uses the symbolic signal characteristics to make decisions concerning the experiment; and a highly graphic user interface requiring a minimum of user intervention presents information to the astronaut operator. Much has been learned about the design of software and user interfaces for interactive computing in space. In addition, we gained a great deal of knowledge about building relatively inexpensive hardware and software for use in space. New technologies are being assessed to make the system a much more powerful ally in future scientific research in space and on the ground.

Nuclear science abstracts (NSA) database 1948--1974 (on the Internet)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

Nuclear Science Abstracts (NSA) is a comprehensive abstract and index collection of the International Nuclear Science and Technology literature for the period 1948 through 1976. Included are scientific and technical reports of the US Atomic Energy Commission, US Energy Research and Development Administration and its contractors, other agencies, universities, and industrial and research organizations. Coverage of the literature since 1976 is provided by Energy Science and Technology Database. Approximately 25% of the records in the file contain abstracts. These are from the following volumes of the print Nuclear Science Abstracts: Volumes 12--18, Volume 29, and Volume 33. The database containsmore » over 900,000 bibliographic records. All aspects of nuclear science and technology are covered, including: Biomedical Sciences; Metals, Ceramics, and Other Materials; Chemistry; Nuclear Materials and Waste Management; Environmental and Earth Sciences; Particle Accelerators; Engineering; Physics; Fusion Energy; Radiation Effects; Instrumentation; Reactor Technology; Isotope and Radiation Source Technology. The database includes all records contained in Volume 1 (1948) through Volume 33 (1976) of the printed version of Nuclear Science Abstracts (NSA). This worldwide coverage includes books, conference proceedings, papers, patents, dissertations, engineering drawings, and journal literature. This database is now available for searching through the GOV. Research Center (GRC) service. GRC is a single online web-based search service to well known Government databases. Featuring powerful search and retrieval software, GRC is an important research tool. The GRC web site is at http://grc.ntis.gov.« less

Engineering Software Suite Validates System Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

EDAptive Computing Inc.'s (ECI) EDAstar engineering software tool suite, created to capture and validate system design requirements, was significantly funded by NASA's Ames Research Center through five Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts. These programs specifically developed Syscape, used to capture executable specifications of multi-disciplinary systems, and VectorGen, used to automatically generate tests to ensure system implementations meet specifications. According to the company, the VectorGen tests considerably reduce the time and effort required to validate implementation of components, thereby ensuring their safe and reliable operation. EDASHIELD, an additional product offering from ECI, can be used to diagnose, predict, and correct errors after a system has been deployed using EDASTAR -created models. Initial commercialization for EDASTAR included application by a large prime contractor in a military setting, and customers include various branches within the U.S. Department of Defense, industry giants like the Lockheed Martin Corporation, Science Applications International Corporation, and Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation, as well as NASA's Langley and Glenn Research Centers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None, None

The Second SIAM Conference on Computational Science and Engineering was held in San Diego from February 10-12, 2003. Total conference attendance was 553. This is a 23% increase in attendance over the first conference. The focus of this conference was to draw attention to the tremendous range of major computational efforts on large problems in science and engineering, to promote the interdisciplinary culture required to meet these large-scale challenges, and to encourage the training of the next generation of computational scientists. Computational Science & Engineering (CS&E) is now widely accepted, along with theory and experiment, as a crucial third modemore » of scientific investigation and engineering design. Aerospace, automotive, biological, chemical, semiconductor, and other industrial sectors now rely on simulation for technical decision support. For federal agencies also, CS&E has become an essential support for decisions on resources, transportation, and defense. CS&E is, by nature, interdisciplinary. It grows out of physical applications and it depends on computer architecture, but at its heart are powerful numerical algorithms and sophisticated computer science techniques. From an applied mathematics perspective, much of CS&E has involved analysis, but the future surely includes optimization and design, especially in the presence of uncertainty. Another mathematical frontier is the assimilation of very large data sets through such techniques as adaptive multi-resolution, automated feature search, and low-dimensional parameterization. The themes of the 2003 conference included, but were not limited to: Advanced Discretization Methods; Computational Biology and Bioinformatics; Computational Chemistry and Chemical Engineering; Computational Earth and Atmospheric Sciences; Computational Electromagnetics; Computational Fluid Dynamics; Computational Medicine and Bioengineering; Computational Physics and Astrophysics; Computational Solid Mechanics and Materials; CS&E Education; Meshing and Adaptivity; Multiscale and Multiphysics Problems; Numerical Algorithms for CS&E; Discrete and Combinatorial Algorithms for CS&E; Inverse Problems; Optimal Design, Optimal Control, and Inverse Problems; Parallel and Distributed Computing; Problem-Solving Environments; Software and Wddleware Systems; Uncertainty Estimation and Sensitivity Analysis; and Visualization and Computer Graphics.« less

Expedition Six Flight Engineer Donald R. Pettit is loading software on PC in U.S. Lab

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-12-06

ISS006-E-07133 (9 December 2002) --- Astronaut Donald R. Pettit, Expedition 6 NASA ISS science officer, works to set up Pulmonary Function in Flight (PuFF) hardware in preparation for a Human Research Facility (HRF) experiment in the Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS). Expedition 6 is the fourth and final expedition crew to perform the HRF/PuFF Experiment on the ISS.

Expedition Six Flight Engineer Donald R. Pettit is loading software on PC in U.S. Lab

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-12-06

ISS006-E-07134 (9 December 2002) --- Astronaut Donald R. Pettit, Expedition Six NASA ISS science officer, works to set up Pulmonary Function in Flight (PuFF) hardware in preparation for a Human Research Facility (HRF) experiment in the Destiny laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS). Expedition Six is the fourth and final expedition crew to perform the HRF/PuFF Experiment on the ISS.

Virtual Reality Lab Assistant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saha, Hrishikesh; Palmer, Timothy A.

1996-01-01

Virtual Reality Lab Assistant (VRLA) demonstration model is aligned for engineering and material science experiments to be performed by undergraduate and graduate students in the course as a pre-lab simulation experience. This will help students to get a preview of how to use the lab equipment and run experiments without using the lab hardware/software equipment. The quality of the time available for laboratory experiments can be significantly improved through the use of virtual reality technology.

Information Processing in Mammalian Visual Cortex.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-02-26

cortex (VI). We used contours from the same hemisphere that had previously been mapped by LeVay et al. (1985) using our standard manual procedure...hardware being constructed by engineer Herb Adams and the software developed by Dave Bilitch. The major system components include: 1) a rat head-holding...Edelman et al.), Neurosci. Res. Found., pp. 585-612. Kirkpatrick et al. (1983) Science 200: 671-680. LeVay , S., M. Connolly, J. Houde, and D. C. Van

A RESTful API for Exchanging Materials Data in the AFLOWLIB.org Consortium

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-12

of North Texas, Denton TX 4Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Physics and Chemistry, Duke University, Durham NC, 27708 †On leave from the...software tools, input and output data are maintained remotely, lowering cost, improving ecological sustainability (saving electricity ) and increas- ing...enthalpy_formation_atom) – Description. Returns the formation enthalpy ∆HF per unit cell (∆HF atomic per atom). For compounds ANABNB · · · with NA + NB

Scientific Basis for Paint Stripping: Elucidated Combinatorial Mechanism of Methylene Chloride and Phenol Based Paint Removers

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-10

Science and Engineering Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY 11794 Report Documentation Page Form ApprovedOMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting...NUMBER(S) 12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release; distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT 15...Spectra were recorded from 4000 – 500 cm-1 with a resolution of 2 cm-1, and were analyzed using the Nicolet OMNIC software suite. Raman

Averting Denver Airports on a Chip

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sullivan, Kevin J.

1995-01-01

As a result of recent advances in software engineering capabilities, we are now in a more stable environment. De-facto hardware and software standards are emerging. Work on software architecture and design patterns signals a consensus on the importance of early system-level design decisions, and agreements on the uses of certain paradigmatic software structures. We now routinely build systems that would have been risky or infeasible a few years ago. Unfortunately, technological developments threaten to destabilize software design again. Systems designed around novel computing and peripheral devices will spark ambitious new projects that will stress current software design and engineering capabilities. Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and related technologies provide the physical basis for new systems with the potential to produce this kind of destabilizing effect. One important response to anticipated software engineering and design difficulties is carefully directed engineering-scientific research. Two specific problems meriting substantial research attention are: A lack of sufficient means to build software systems by generating, extending, specializing, and integrating large-scale reusable components; and a lack of adequate computational and analytic tools to extend and aid engineers in maintaining intellectual control over complex software designs.

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INSTITUTE (SEI)

EPA Science Inventory

The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) is a federally funded research and development center established in 1984 by the U.S. Department of Defense and operated by Carnegie Mellon University. SEI has a broad charter to provide leadership in the practice of software engineering t...

7 Processes that Enable NASA Software Engineering Technologies: Value-Added Process Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Housch, Helen; Godfrey, Sally

2011-01-01

The presentation reviews Agency process requirements and the purpose, benefits, and experiences or seven software engineering processes. The processes include: product integration, configuration management, verification, software assurance, measurement and analysis, requirements management, and planning and monitoring.

Methodology for automating software systems. Task 1 of the foundations for automating software systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moseley, Warren

1989-01-01

The early stages of a research program designed to establish an experimental research platform for software engineering are described. Major emphasis is placed on Computer Assisted Software Engineering (CASE). The Poor Man's CASE Tool is based on the Apple Macintosh system, employing available software including Focal Point II, Hypercard, XRefText, and Macproject. These programs are functional in themselves, but through advanced linking are available for operation from within the tool being developed. The research platform is intended to merge software engineering technology with artificial intelligence (AI). In the first prototype of the PMCT, however, the sections of AI are not included. CASE tools assist the software engineer in planning goals, routes to those goals, and ways to measure progress. The method described allows software to be synthesized instead of being written or built.

Interaction design challenges and solutions for ALMA operations monitoring and control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pietriga, Emmanuel; Cubaud, Pierre; Schwarz, Joseph; Primet, Romain; Schilling, Marcus; Barkats, Denis; Barrios, Emilio; Vila Vilaro, Baltasar

2012-09-01

The ALMA radio-telescope, currently under construction in northern Chile, is a very advanced instrument that presents numerous challenges. From a software perspective, one critical issue is the design of graphical user interfaces for operations monitoring and control that scale to the complexity of the system and to the massive amounts of data users are faced with. Early experience operating the telescope with only a few antennas has shown that conventional user interface technologies are not adequate in this context. They consume too much screen real-estate, require many unnecessary interactions to access relevant information, and fail to provide operators and astronomers with a clear mental map of the instrument. They increase extraneous cognitive load, impeding tasks that call for quick diagnosis and action. To address this challenge, the ALMA software division adopted a user-centered design approach. For the last two years, astronomers, operators, software engineers and human-computer interaction researchers have been involved in participatory design workshops, with the aim of designing better user interfaces based on state-of-the-art visualization techniques. This paper describes the process that led to the development of those interface components and to a proposal for the science and operations console setup: brainstorming sessions, rapid prototyping, joint implementation work involving software engineers and human-computer interaction researchers, feedback collection from a broader range of users, further iterations and testing.

IEEE Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T 2012) Proceedings (25th, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, April 17-19, 2012)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

IEEE Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training, Proceedings (MS), 2012

2012-01-01

The Conference on Software Engineering Education and Training (CSEE&T) is the premier international peer-reviewed conference, sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) Computer Society, which addresses all major areas related to software engineering education, training, and professionalism. This year, as…

Modelling of diesel engine fuelled with biodiesel using engine simulation software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Said, Mohd Farid Muhamad; Said, Mazlan; Aziz, Azhar Abdul

2012-06-01

This paper is about modelling of a diesel engine that operates using biodiesel fuels. The model is used to simulate or predict the performance and combustion of the engine by simplified the geometry of engine component in the software. The model is produced using one-dimensional (1D) engine simulation software called GT-Power. The fuel properties library in the software is expanded to include palm oil based biodiesel fuels. Experimental works are performed to investigate the effect of biodiesel fuels on the heat release profiles and the engine performance curves. The model is validated with experimental data and good agreement is observed. The simulation results show that combustion characteristics and engine performances differ when biodiesel fuels are used instead of no. 2 diesel fuel.

Milestones in Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering History: A Comparative Review

PubMed Central

del Águila, Isabel M.; Palma, José; Túnez, Samuel

2014-01-01

We present a review of the historical evolution of software engineering, intertwining it with the history of knowledge engineering because “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This retrospective represents a further step forward to understanding the current state of both types of engineerings; history has also positive experiences; some of them we would like to remember and to repeat. Two types of engineerings had parallel and divergent evolutions but following a similar pattern. We also define a set of milestones that represent a convergence or divergence of the software development methodologies. These milestones do not appear at the same time in software engineering and knowledge engineering, so lessons learned in one discipline can help in the evolution of the other one. PMID:24624046

Milestones in software engineering and knowledge engineering history: a comparative review.

PubMed

del Águila, Isabel M; Palma, José; Túnez, Samuel

2014-01-01

We present a review of the historical evolution of software engineering, intertwining it with the history of knowledge engineering because "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." This retrospective represents a further step forward to understanding the current state of both types of engineerings; history has also positive experiences; some of them we would like to remember and to repeat. Two types of engineerings had parallel and divergent evolutions but following a similar pattern. We also define a set of milestones that represent a convergence or divergence of the software development methodologies. These milestones do not appear at the same time in software engineering and knowledge engineering, so lessons learned in one discipline can help in the evolution of the other one.

A software engineering approach to expert system design and verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bochsler, Daniel C.; Goodwin, Mary Ann

1988-01-01

Software engineering design and verification methods for developing expert systems are not yet well defined. Integration of expert system technology into software production environments will require effective software engineering methodologies to support the entire life cycle of expert systems. The software engineering methods used to design and verify an expert system, RENEX, is discussed. RENEX demonstrates autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations, including replanning trajectory events and subsystem fault detection, onboard a space vehicle during flight. The RENEX designers utilized a number of software engineering methodologies to deal with the complex problems inherent in this system. An overview is presented of the methods utilized. Details of the verification process receive special emphasis. The benefits and weaknesses of the methods for supporting the development life cycle of expert systems are evaluated, and recommendations are made based on the overall experiences with the methods.

Consistent Evolution of Software Artifacts and Non-Functional Models

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-14

induce bad software performance)? 15. SUBJECT TERMS EOARD, Nano particles, Photo-Acoustic Sensors, Model-Driven Engineering ( MDE ), Software Performance...Università degli Studi dell’Aquila, Via Vetoio, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy Email: vittorio.cortellessa@univaq.it Web : http: // www. di. univaq. it/ cortelle/ Phone...Model-Driven Engineering ( MDE ), Software Performance Engineering (SPE), Change Propagation, Performance Antipatterns. For sake of readability of the

A self-referential HOWTO on release engineering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Galassi, Mark C.

Release engineering is a fundamental part of the software development cycle: it is the point at which quality control is exercised and bug fixes are integrated. The way in which software is released also gives the end user her first experience of a software package, while in scientific computing release engineering can guarantee reproducibility. For these reasons and others, the release process is a good indicator of the maturity and organization of a development team. Software teams often do not put in place a release process at the beginning. This is unfortunate because the team does not have early andmore » continuous execution of test suites, and it does not exercise the software in the same conditions as the end users. I describe an approach to release engineering based on the software tools developed and used by the GNU project, together with several specific proposals related to packaging and distribution. I do this in a step-by-step manner, demonstrating how this very paper is written and built using proper release engineering methods. Because many aspects of release engineering are not exercised in the building of the paper, the accompanying software repository also contains examples of software libraries.« less

The Effect of AOP on Software Engineering, with Particular Attention to OIF and Event Quantification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Havelund, Klaus; Filman, Robert; Korsmeyer, David (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

We consider the impact of Aspect-Oriented Programming on Software Engineering, and, in particular, analyze two AOP systems, one of which does component wrapping and the other, quantification over events, for their software engineering effects.

Second Generation Product Line Engineering Takes Hold in the DoD

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

Feature- Oriented Domain Analysis ( FODA ) Feasibility Study” (CMU/SEI-90- TR-021, ADA235785). Pittsburgh, PA: Software Engineering Institute...software product line engineering and software architecture documentation and analysis . Clements is co-author of three practitioner-oriented books about

Collected Software Engineering Papers, Volume 10

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

This document is a collection of selected technical papers produced by participants in the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) from Oct. 1991 - Nov. 1992. The purpose of the document is to make available, in one reference, some results of SEL research that originally appeared in a number of different forums. Although these papers cover several topics related to software engineering, they do not encompass the entire scope of SEL activities and interests. Additional information about the SEL and its research efforts may be obtained from the sources listed in the bibliography at the end of this document. For the convenience of this presentation, the 11 papers contained here are grouped into 5 major sections: (1) the Software Engineering Laboratory; (2) software tools studies; (3) software models studies; (4) software measurement studies; and (5) Ada technology studies.

Simulation of the Effects of Cooling Techniques on Turbine Blade Heat Transfer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaw, Vince; Fatuzzo, Marco

Increases in the performance demands of turbo machinery has stimulated the development many new technologies over the last half century. With applications that spread beyond marine, aviation, and power generation, improvements in gas turbine technologies provide a vast impact. High temperatures within the combustion chamber of the gas turbine engine are known to cause an increase in thermal efficiency and power produced by the engine. However, since operating temperatures of these engines reach above 1000 K within the turbine section, the need for advances in material science and cooling techniques to produce functioning engines under these high thermal and dynamic stresses is crucial. As with all research and development, costs related to the production of prototypes can be reduced through the use of computational simulations. By making use of Ansys Simulation Software, the effects of turbine cooling techniques were analyzed. Simulation of the Effects of Cooling Techniques on Turbine Blade Heat Transfer.

An Architecture, System Engineering, and Acquisition Approach for Space System Software Resiliency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, Dewanne Marie

Software intensive space systems can harbor defects and vulnerabilities that may enable external adversaries or malicious insiders to disrupt or disable system functions, risking mission compromise or loss. Mitigating this risk demands a sustained focus on the security and resiliency of the system architecture including software, hardware, and other components. Robust software engineering practices contribute to the foundation of a resilient system so that the system "can take a hit to a critical component and recover in a known, bounded, and generally acceptable period of time". Software resiliency must be a priority and addressed early in the life cycle development to contribute a secure and dependable space system. Those who develop, implement, and operate software intensive space systems must determine the factors and systems engineering practices to address when investing in software resiliency. This dissertation offers methodical approaches for improving space system resiliency through software architecture design, system engineering, increased software security, thereby reducing the risk of latent software defects and vulnerabilities. By providing greater attention to the early life cycle phases of development, we can alter the engineering process to help detect, eliminate, and avoid vulnerabilities before space systems are delivered. To achieve this objective, this dissertation will identify knowledge, techniques, and tools that engineers and managers can utilize to help them recognize how vulnerabilities are produced and discovered so that they can learn to circumvent them in future efforts. We conducted a systematic review of existing architectural practices, standards, security and coding practices, various threats, defects, and vulnerabilities that impact space systems from hundreds of relevant publications and interviews of subject matter experts. We expanded on the system-level body of knowledge for resiliency and identified a new software architecture framework and acquisition methodology to improve the resiliency of space systems from a software perspective with an emphasis on the early phases of the systems engineering life cycle. This methodology involves seven steps: 1) Define technical resiliency requirements, 1a) Identify standards/policy for software resiliency, 2) Develop a request for proposal (RFP)/statement of work (SOW) for resilient space systems software, 3) Define software resiliency goals for space systems, 4) Establish software resiliency quality attributes, 5) Perform architectural tradeoffs and identify risks, 6) Conduct architecture assessments as part of the procurement process, and 7) Ascertain space system software architecture resiliency metrics. Data illustrates that software vulnerabilities can lead to opportunities for malicious cyber activities, which could degrade the space mission capability for the user community. Reducing the number of vulnerabilities by improving architecture and software system engineering practices can contribute to making space systems more resilient. Since cyber-attacks are enabled by shortfalls in software, robust software engineering practices and an architectural design are foundational to resiliency, which is a quality that allows the system to "take a hit to a critical component and recover in a known, bounded, and generally acceptable period of time". To achieve software resiliency for space systems, acquirers and suppliers must identify relevant factors and systems engineering practices to apply across the lifecycle, in software requirements analysis, architecture development, design, implementation, verification and validation, and maintenance phases.

Evan Weaver | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Evan Weaver Photo of Evan Weaver Evan Weaver Researcher III-Software Engineering Evan.Weaver , he works as a software engineer developing whole-building energy modeling tools. Prior to joining NREL, he worked in the biomedical industry as a software engineer, specializing in graphical user

Towards usable and interdisciplinary e-infrastructure (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Roure, D.

2010-12-01

e-Science and cyberinfrastucture at their outset tended to focus on ‘big science’ and cross-organisational infrastructures, demonstrating complex engineering with the promise of high returns. It soon became evident that the key to researchers harnessing new technology for everyday use is a user-centric approach which empowers the user - both from a developer and an end user viewpoint. For example, this philosophy is demonstrated in workflow systems for systematic data processing and in the Web 2.0 approach as exemplified by the myExperiment social web site for sharing workflows, methods and ‘research objects’. Hence the most disruptive aspect of Cloud and virtualisation is perhaps that they make new computational resources and applications usable, creating a flourishing ecosystem for routine processing and innovation alike - and in this we must consider software sustainability. This talk will discuss the changing nature of e-Science digital ecosystem, focus on the e-infrastructure for cross-disciplinary work, and highlight issues in sustainable software development in this context.

Experience with Data Science as an Intern with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whittell, J.; Mattmann, C. A.; Whitehall, K. D.; Ramirez, P.; Goodale, C. E.; Boustani, M.; Hart, A. F.; Kim, J.; Waliser, D. E.; Joyce, M. J.

2013-12-01

The Regional Climate Model Evaluation System (RCMES, http://rcmes.jpl.nasa.gov) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory seeks to improve regional climate model output by comparing past model predictions with Earth-orbiting satellite data (Mattmann et al. 2013). RCMES ingests satellite and RCM data and processes these data into a common format; as needed, the software queries the RCMES database for these datasets, on which it runs a series of statistical metrics including model-satellite comparisons. The development of the RCMES software relies on collaboration between climatologists and computer scientists, as evinced by RCMES longstanding work with CORDEX (Kim et al. 2012). Over a total of 17 weeks in 2011, 2012, and 2013, I worked as an intern at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in a supportive capacity for RCMES. A high school student, I had no formal background in either Earth science or computer technology, but was immersed in both fields. In 2011, I researched three earth-science data management projects, producing a high-level explanation of these endeavors. The following year, I studied Python, contributing a command-line user interface to the RCMES project code. In 2013, I assisted with data acquisition, wrote a file header information plugin, and the visualization tool GrADS. The experience demonstrated the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to data processing: to streamline data ingestion and processing, scientists must understand, at least on a high-level, any programs they might utilize while to best serve the needs of earth scientists, software engineers must understand the science behind the data they handle.

UAF Space Systems Engineering Program: Engaging Students through an Apprenticeship Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thorsen, D.

2017-12-01

Learning by doing has been the mantra of engineering education for decades, however, the constraints of semester length courses limits the types and size of experiences that can be offered to students. The Space Systems Engineering Program (SSEP) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks provides interdisciplinary engineering and science students with hands-on experience in all aspects of space systems engineering through a design, build, launch paradigm applied to balloon and rocket payloads and small satellites. The program is structured using an apprenticeship model such that students, freshmen through graduate, can participate in multi-year projects thereby gaining experiences appropriate to their level in college. Students enter the lab in a trainee position and receive training on lab processes and design software. Depending on the student's interests they learn how to use specific lab equipment and software design tools. Trainees provide support engineering under guidance of an upper classman. As the students' progress in their degree program and gain more expertise, they typically become part of a specific subsystem team, where they receive additional training in developing design documents and in writing requirements and test documents, and direct their efforts to meeting specific objectives. By the time the student reaches their senior year, they have acquired the leadership role for a specific subsystem and/or a general leadership role in the lab. If students stay to pursue graduate degrees, they assume the responsibility of training and mentoring other undergraduates in their areas of expertise. Throughout the program upper class students mentor the newer students. The Space Systems Engineering Program strives to reinforce a student's degree program through these large scale projects that place engineering in context.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Internship Program at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cline, J. Donald; Castelaz, M.; Whitworth, C.; Clavier, D.; Owen, L.; Barker, T.

2012-01-01

Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) offers summer undergraduate research internships. PARI has received support for the internships from the NC Space Grant Consortium, NSF awards for public science education, private donations, private foundations, and through a collaboration with the Pisgah Astronomical Research and Education Center of the University of North Carolina - Asheville. The internship program began in 2001 with 4 students. This year 7 funded students participated in 2011. Mentors for the interns include PARI's Science, Education, and Information Technology Directors and visiting faculty who are members of the PARI Research Affiliate Faculty program. Students work with mentors on radio and optical astronomy research, electrical engineering for robotic control of instruments, software development for instrument control and software for citizen science projects, and science education by developing curricula and multimedia and teaching high school students in summer programs at PARI. At the end of the summer interns write a paper about their research which is published in the PARI Summer Student Proceedings. Several of the students have presented their results at AAS Meetings. We will present a summary of specific research conducted by the students with their mentors, the logistics for hosting the PARI undergraduate internship program, and plans for growth based on the impact of an NSF supported renovation to the Research Building on the PARI campus.

Seamless online science workflow development and collaboration using IDL and the ENVI Services Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, A. T.; Ramachandran, R.; Maskey, M.

2013-12-01

The Exelis-developed IDL and ENVI software are ubiquitous tools in Earth science research environments. The IDL Workbench is used by the Earth science community for programming custom data analysis and visualization modules. ENVI is a software solution for processing and analyzing geospatial imagery that combines support for multiple Earth observation scientific data types (optical, thermal, multi-spectral, hyperspectral, SAR, LiDAR) with advanced image processing and analysis algorithms. The ENVI & IDL Services Engine (ESE) is an Earth science data processing engine that allows researchers to use open standards to rapidly create, publish and deploy advanced Earth science data analytics within any existing enterprise infrastructure. Although powerful in many ways, the tools lack collaborative features out-of-box. Thus, as part of the NASA funded project, Collaborative Workbench to Accelerate Science Algorithm Development, researchers at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and Exelis have developed plugins that allow seamless research collaboration from within IDL workbench. Such additional features within IDL workbench are possible because IDL workbench is built using the Eclipse Rich Client Platform (RCP). RCP applications allow custom plugins to be dropped in for extended functionalities. Specific functionalities of the plugins include creating complex workflows based on IDL application source code, submitting workflows to be executed by ESE in the cloud, and sharing and cloning of workflows among collaborators. All these functionalities are available to scientists without leaving their IDL workbench. Because ESE can interoperate with any middleware, scientific programmers can readily string together IDL processing tasks (or tasks written in other languages like C++, Java or Python) to create complex workflows for deployment within their current enterprise architecture (e.g. ArcGIS Server, GeoServer, Apache ODE or SciFlo from JPL). Using the collaborative IDL Workbench, coupled with ESE for execution in the cloud, asynchronous workflows could be executed in batch mode on large data in the cloud. We envision that a scientist will initially develop a scientific workflow locally on a small set of data. Once tested, the scientist will deploy the workflow to the cloud for execution. Depending on the results, the scientist may share the workflow and results, allowing them to be stored in a community catalog and instantly loaded into the IDL Workbench of other scientists. Thereupon, scientists can clone and modify or execute the workflow with different input parameters. The Collaborative Workbench will provide a platform for collaboration in the cloud, helping Earth scientists solve big-data problems in the Earth and planetary sciences.

Glossary of Software Engineering Laboratory terms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

A glossary of terms used in the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) is given. The terms are defined within the context of the software development environment for flight dynamics at the Goddard Space Flight Center. A concise reference for clarifying the language employed in SEL documents and data collection forms is given. Basic software engineering concepts are explained and standard definitions for use by SEL personnel are established.

Software Reporting Metrics. Revision 2.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-11-01

MITRE Corporation and ESD. Some of the data has been obtained from Dr. Barry Boehm’s Software Engineering Economics (Ref. 1). Thanks are also given to...data level control management " SP = structured programming Barry W. Boehm, Software Engineering Economics, &©1981, p. 122. Reprinted by permission of...investigated and implemented in future prototypes. 43 REFERENCES For further reading: " 1. Boehm, Barry W. Software Engineering Economics; Englewood

Toward Reusable Graphics Components in Ada

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-03-01

Then alternatives for obtaining well- engineered reusable software components were examined. Finally, the alternatives were analyzed, and the most...reusable software components. Chapter 4 describes detailed design and implementation strategies in building a well- engineered reusable set of components in...study. 2.2 The Object-Oriented Paradigm 2.2.1 The Need for Object-Oriented Techniques. Among software engineers the software crisis is a well known

Object oriented development of engineering software using CLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yoon, C. John

1991-01-01

Engineering applications involve numeric complexity and manipulations of a large amount of data. Traditionally, numeric computation has been the concern in developing an engineering software. As engineering application software became larger and more complex, management of resources such as data, rather than the numeric complexity, has become the major software design problem. Object oriented design and implementation methodologies can improve the reliability, flexibility, and maintainability of the resulting software; however, some tasks are better solved with the traditional procedural paradigm. The C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS), with deffunction and defgeneric constructs, supports the procedural paradigm. The natural blending of object oriented and procedural paradigms has been cited as the reason for the popularity of the C++ language. The CLIPS Object Oriented Language's (COOL) object oriented features are more versatile than C++'s. A software design methodology based on object oriented and procedural approaches appropriate for engineering software, and to be implemented in CLIPS was outlined. A method for sensor placement for Space Station Freedom is being implemented in COOL as a sample problem.

Software requirements specification for the GIS-T/ISTEA pooled fund study phase C linear referencing engine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Amai, W.; Espinoza, J. Jr.; Fletcher, D.R.

1997-06-01

This Software Requirements Specification (SRS) describes the features to be provided by the software for the GIS-T/ISTEA Pooled Fund Study Phase C Linear Referencing Engine project. This document conforms to the recommendations of IEEE Standard 830-1984, IEEE Guide to Software Requirements Specification (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., 1984). The software specified in this SRS is a proof-of-concept implementation of the Linear Referencing Engine as described in the GIS-T/ISTEA pooled Fund Study Phase B Summary, specifically Sheet 13 of the Phase B object model. The software allows an operator to convert between two linear referencing methods and a datummore » network.« less

A Software Engineering Approach based on WebML and BPMN to the Mediation Scenario of the SWS Challenge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brambilla, Marco; Ceri, Stefano; Valle, Emanuele Della; Facca, Federico M.; Tziviskou, Christina

Although Semantic Web Services are expected to produce a revolution in the development of Web-based systems, very few enterprise-wide design experiences are available; one of the main reasons is the lack of sound Software Engineering methods and tools for the deployment of Semantic Web applications. In this chapter, we present an approach to software development for the Semantic Web based on classical Software Engineering methods (i.e., formal business process development, computer-aided and component-based software design, and automatic code generation) and on semantic methods and tools (i.e., ontology engineering, semantic service annotation and discovery).

Software Engineering Education: Some Important Dimensions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mishra, Alok; Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil; Kilic, Ozkan

2007-01-01

Software engineering education has been emerging as an independent and mature discipline. Accordingly, various studies are being done to provide guidelines for curriculum design. The main focus of these guidelines is around core and foundation courses. This paper summarizes the current problems of software engineering education programs. It also…

Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) data base reporting software user's guide and system description. Volume 1: Introduction and user's guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

Reporting software programs provide formatted listings and summary reports of the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) data base contents. The operating procedures and system information for 18 different reporting software programs are described. Sample output reports from each program are provided.

Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) data base reporting software user's guide and system description. Volume 2: Program descriptions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

The structure and functions of each reporting software program for the Software Engineering Laboratory data base are described. Baseline diagrams, module descriptions, and listings of program generation files are included.

Software engineering standards and practices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Durachka, R. W.

1981-01-01

Guidelines are presented for the preparation of a software development plan. The various phases of a software development project are discussed throughout its life cycle including a general description of the software engineering standards and practices to be followed during each phase.

Thoth: Software for data visualization & statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laher, R. R.

2016-10-01

Thoth is a standalone software application with a graphical user interface for making it easy to query, display, visualize, and analyze tabular data stored in relational databases and data files. From imported data tables, it can create pie charts, bar charts, scatter plots, and many other kinds of data graphs with simple menus and mouse clicks (no programming required), by leveraging the open-source JFreeChart library. It also computes useful table-column data statistics. A mature tool, having underwent development and testing over several years, it is written in the Java computer language, and hence can be run on any computing platform that has a Java Virtual Machine and graphical-display capability. It can be downloaded and used by anyone free of charge, and has general applicability in science, engineering, medical, business, and other fields. Special tools and features for common tasks in astronomy and astrophysical research are included in the software.

Zero to Integration in Eight Months, the Dawn Ground Data System Engineering Challange

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dubon, Lydia P.

2006-01-01

The Dawn Project has presented the Ground Data System (GDS) with technical challenges driven by cost and schedule constraints commonly associated with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Discovery Projects. The Dawn mission consists of a new and exciting Deep Space partnership among: the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), responsible for project management and flight operations; Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC), spacecraft builder and responsible for flight system test and integration; and the University of California, at Los Angeles (UCLA), responsible for science planning and operations. As a cost-capped mission, one of Dawn s implementation strategies is to leverage from both flight and ground heritage. OSC's ground data system is used for flight system test and integration as part of the flight heritage strategy. Mission operations, however, are to be conducted with JPL s ground system. The system engineering challenge of dealing with two heterogeneous ground systems emerged immediately. During the first technical interchange meeting between the JPL s GDS Team and OSC's Flight Software Team, August 2003, the need to integrate the ground system with the flight software was brought to the table. This need was driven by the project s commitment to enable instrument engineering model integration in a spacecraft simulator environment, for both demonstration and risk mitigation purposes, by April 2004. This paper will describe the system engineering approach that was undertaken by JPL's GDS Team in order to meet the technical challenge within a non-negotiable eight-month schedule. Key to the success was adherence to an overall systems engineering process and fundamental systems engineering practices: decomposition of the project request into manageable requirements; definition of a structured yet flexible development process; integration of multiple ground disciplines and experts into a focused team effort; in-process risk management; and aggregation of the intermediate products to an integrated final product. In addition, this paper will highlight the role of lessons learned from the integration experience. The lessons learned from an early GDS deployment have served as the foundation for the design and implementation of the Dawn Ground Data System.

Sequence System Building Blocks: Using a Component Architecture for Sequencing Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Streiffert, Barbara A.; O'Reilly, Taifun

2005-01-01

Over the last few years software engineering has made significant strides in making more flexible architectures and designs possible. However, at the same time, spacecraft have become more complex and flight software has become more sophisticated. Typically spacecraft are often one-of-a-kind entities that have different hardware designs, different capabilities, different instruments, etc. Ground software has become more complex and operations teams have had to learn a myriad of tools that all have different user interfaces and represent data in different ways. At Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) these themes have collided to require an new approach to producing ground system software. Two different groups have been looking at tackling this particular problem. One group is working for the JPL Mars Technology Program in the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Focused Technology area. The other group is the JPL Multi-Mission Planning and Sequencing Group . The major concept driving these two approaches on a similar path is to provide software that can be a more cohesive flexible system that provides a act of planning and sequencing system of services. This paper describes the efforts that have been made to date to create a unified approach from these disparate groups.

Sequencing System Building Blocks: Using a Component Architecture for Sequencing Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Streiffert, Barbara A.; O'Reilly, Taifun

2006-01-01

Over the last few years software engineering has made significant strides in making more flexible architectures and designs possible. However, at the same time, spacecraft have become more complex and flight software has become more sophisticated. Typically spacecraft are often one-of-a-kind entities that have different hardware designs, different capabilities, different instruments, etc. Ground software has become more complex and operations teams have had to learn a myriad of tools that all have different user interfaces and represent data in different ways. At Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) these themes have collided to require a new approach to producing ground system software. Two different groups have been looking at tackling this particular problem. One group is working for the JPL Mars Technology Program in the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Focused Technology area. The other group is the JPL Multi-Mission Planning and Sequencing Group. The major concept driving these two approaches on a similar path is to provide software that can be a more cohesive flexible system that provides a set of planning and sequencing system of services. This paper describes the efforts that have been made to date to create a unified approach from these disparate groups.

Abstracted Workow Framework with a Structure from Motion Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rossi, Adam J.

In scientific and engineering disciplines, from academia to industry, there is an increasing need for the development of custom software to perform experiments, construct systems, and develop products. The natural mindset initially is to shortcut and bypass all overhead and process rigor in order to obtain an immediate result for the problem at hand, with the misconception that the software will simply be thrown away at the end. In a majority of the cases, it turns out the software persists for many years, and likely ends up in production systems for which it was not initially intended. In the current study, a framework that can be used in both industry and academic applications mitigates underlying problems associated with developing scientific and engineering software. This results in software that is much more maintainable, documented, and usable by others, specifically allowing new users to extend capabilities of components already implemented in the framework. There is a multi-disciplinary need in the fields of imaging science, computer science, and software engineering for a unified implementation model, which motivates the development of an abstracted software framework. Structure from motion (SfM) has been identified as one use case where the abstracted workflow framework can improve research efficiencies and eliminate implementation redundancies in scientific fields. The SfM process begins by obtaining 2D images of a scene from different perspectives. Features from the images are extracted and correspondences are established. This provides a sufficient amount of information to initialize the problem for fully automated processing. Transformations are established between views, and 3D points are established via triangulation algorithms. The parameters for the camera models for all views / images are solved through bundle adjustment, establishing a highly consistent point cloud. The initial sparse point cloud and camera matrices are used to generate a dense point cloud through patch based techniques or densification algorithms such as Semi-Global Matching (SGM). The point cloud can be visualized or exploited by both humans and automated techniques. In some cases the point cloud is "draped" with original imagery in order to enhance the 3D model for a human viewer. The SfM workflow can be implemented in the abstracted framework, making it easily leverageable and extensible by multiple users. Like many processes in scientific and engineering domains, the workflow described for SfM is complex and requires many disparate components to form a functional system, often utilizing algorithms implemented by many users in different languages / environments and without knowledge of how the component fits into the larger system. In practice, this generally leads to issues interfacing the components, building the software for desired platforms, understanding its concept of operations, and how it can be manipulated in order to fit the desired function for a particular application. In addition, other scientists and engineers instinctively wish to analyze the performance of the system, establish new algorithms, optimize existing processes, and establish new functionality based on current research. This requires a framework whereby new components can be easily plugged in without affecting the current implemented functionality. The need for a universal programming environment establishes the motivation for the development of the abstracted workflow framework. This software implementation, named Catena, provides base classes from which new components must derive in order to operate within the framework. The derivation mandates requirements be satisfied in order to provide a complete implementation. Additionally, the developer must provide documentation of the component in terms of its overall function and inputs. The interface input and output values corresponding to the component must be defined in terms of their respective data types, and the implementation uses mechanisms within the framework to retrieve and send the values. This process requires the developer to componentize their algorithm rather than implement it monolithically. Although the requirements of the developer are slightly greater, the benefits realized from using Catena far outweigh the overhead, and results in extensible software. This thesis provides a basis for the abstracted workflow framework concept and the Catena software implementation. The benefits are also illustrated using a detailed examination of the SfM process as an example application.

Investigation and Implementation of a Tree Transformation System for User Friendly Programming.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-01

systems have become an important area of research because of theiL direct impact on all areas of computer science such as software engineering ...RD-i52 716 INVESTIGTIN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A TREE I/2TRANSFORMATION SYSTEM FOR USER FRIENDLY PROGRAMMING (U) NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA...Implementation of a Master’s Thesis Tree Transformation System for User December 1984 Friendly Programming 6. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMBER 7. AU~THOR(s) S

Multicore: Fallout from a Computing Evolution

ScienceCinema

Yelick, Kathy [Director, NERSC

2017-12-09

July 22, 2008 Berkeley Lab lecture: Parallel computing used to be reserved for big science and engineering projects, but in two years that's all changed. Even laptops and hand-helds use parallel processors. Unfortunately, the software hasn't kept pace. Kathy Yelick, Director of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at Berkeley Lab, describes the resulting chaos and the computing community's efforts to develop exciting applications that take advantage of tens or hundreds of processors on a single chip.

Socio-Cultural Challenges in Global Software Engineering Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoda, Rashina; Babar, Muhammad Ali; Shastri, Yogeshwar; Yaqoob, Humaa

2017-01-01

Global software engineering education (GSEE) is aimed at providing software engineering (SE) students with knowledge, skills, and understanding of working in globally distributed arrangements so they can be prepared for the global SE (GSE) paradigm. It is important to understand the challenges involved in GSEE for improving the quality and…

Experiences with Integrating Simulation into a Software Engineering Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bollin, Andreas; Hochmuller, Elke; Mittermeir, Roland; Samuelis, Ladislav

2012-01-01

Software Engineering education must account for a broad spectrum of knowledge and skills software engineers will be required to apply throughout their professional life. Covering all the topics in depth within a university setting is infeasible due to curricular constraints as well as due to the inherent differences between educational…

An Engineering Context for Software Engineering

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

medium in which I can plant the ideas from this dissertation. I have also written a book on requirements development that is used at NPS by myself and...Addison-Wesley, Anniversary ed., 1995. [Bry00] Bryant, A., “Metaphor, Myth, and Mimicry : The Bases of Software Engineering,” Annals of Software

COEUS: “semantic web in a box” for biomedical applications

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background As the “omics” revolution unfolds, the growth in data quantity and diversity is bringing about the need for pioneering bioinformatics software, capable of significantly improving the research workflow. To cope with these computer science demands, biomedical software engineers are adopting emerging semantic web technologies that better suit the life sciences domain. The latter’s complex relationships are easily mapped into semantic web graphs, enabling a superior understanding of collected knowledge. Despite increased awareness of semantic web technologies in bioinformatics, their use is still limited. Results COEUS is a new semantic web framework, aiming at a streamlined application development cycle and following a “semantic web in a box” approach. The framework provides a single package including advanced data integration and triplification tools, base ontologies, a web-oriented engine and a flexible exploration API. Resources can be integrated from heterogeneous sources, including CSV and XML files or SQL and SPARQL query results, and mapped directly to one or more ontologies. Advanced interoperability features include REST services, a SPARQL endpoint and LinkedData publication. These enable the creation of multiple applications for web, desktop or mobile environments, and empower a new knowledge federation layer. Conclusions The platform, targeted at biomedical application developers, provides a complete skeleton ready for rapid application deployment, enhancing the creation of new semantic information systems. COEUS is available as open source at http://bioinformatics.ua.pt/coeus/. PMID:23244467

COEUS: "semantic web in a box" for biomedical applications.

PubMed

Lopes, Pedro; Oliveira, José Luís

2012-12-17

As the "omics" revolution unfolds, the growth in data quantity and diversity is bringing about the need for pioneering bioinformatics software, capable of significantly improving the research workflow. To cope with these computer science demands, biomedical software engineers are adopting emerging semantic web technologies that better suit the life sciences domain. The latter's complex relationships are easily mapped into semantic web graphs, enabling a superior understanding of collected knowledge. Despite increased awareness of semantic web technologies in bioinformatics, their use is still limited. COEUS is a new semantic web framework, aiming at a streamlined application development cycle and following a "semantic web in a box" approach. The framework provides a single package including advanced data integration and triplification tools, base ontologies, a web-oriented engine and a flexible exploration API. Resources can be integrated from heterogeneous sources, including CSV and XML files or SQL and SPARQL query results, and mapped directly to one or more ontologies. Advanced interoperability features include REST services, a SPARQL endpoint and LinkedData publication. These enable the creation of multiple applications for web, desktop or mobile environments, and empower a new knowledge federation layer. The platform, targeted at biomedical application developers, provides a complete skeleton ready for rapid application deployment, enhancing the creation of new semantic information systems. COEUS is available as open source at http://bioinformatics.ua.pt/coeus/.

Selection of software for mechanical engineering undergraduates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cheah, C. T.; Yin, C. S.; Halim, T.

A major problem with the undergraduate mechanical course is the limited exposure of students to software packages coupled with the long learning curve on the existing software packages. This work proposes the use of appropriate software packages for the entire mechanical engineering curriculum to ensure students get sufficient exposure real life design problems. A variety of software packages are highlighted as being suitable for undergraduate work in mechanical engineering, e.g. simultaneous non-linear equations; uncertainty analysis; 3-D modeling software with the FEA; analysis tools for the solution of problems in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, mechanical system design, and solid mechanics.

KSC-2014-2046

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-11

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Cocoa Beach, Fla., Greg Clements, chief of Kennedy's Control and Data Systems Division and lead for the Engineering and Technology's Small Payload Integrated Testing Services, or SPLITS, line of business, speaks to participants in the 4th International Workshop on Lunar and Planetary Compact and Cryogenic Science and Technology Applications. Scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs interested in research on the moon and other planetary surfaces, recently participated in the Workshop. Taking place April 8-11, 2014, the event was designed to foster collaborative work among those interested in solving the challenges of building hardware, software and businesses interested in going back to the moon and exploring beyond. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

KSC-2014-2047

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-04-11

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Cocoa Beach, Fla., Greg Clements, chief of Kennedy's Control and Data Systems Division and lead for the Engineering and Technology's Small Payload Integrated Testing Services, or SPLITS, line of business, speaks to participants in the 4th International Workshop on Lunar and Planetary Compact and Cryogenic Science and Technology Applications. Scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs interested in research on the moon and other planetary surfaces, recently participated in the Workshop. Taking place April 8-11, 2014, the event was designed to foster collaborative work among those interested in solving the challenges of building hardware, software and businesses interested in going back to the moon and exploring beyond. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

2012 Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates at Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castelaz, Michael W.; Cline, J. D.; Whitworth, C.; Clavier, D.; Owen, L.

2013-01-01

Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) offers research experiences for undergraduates (REU). PARI receives support for the internships from the NC Space Grant Consortium, NSF awards, private donations, and industry partner funding. The PARI REU program began in 2001 with 4 students and has averaged 6 students per year over the past 11 years. This year PARI hosted 8 funded REU students. Mentors for the interns include PARI’s Science, Education, and Information Technology staff and visiting faculty who are members of the PARI Research Faculty Affiliate program. Students work with mentors on radio and optical astronomy research, electrical engineering for robotic control of instruments, software development for instrument control and software for citizen science projects, and science education by developing curricula and multimedia and teaching high school students in summer programs at PARI. At the end of the summer interns write a paper about their research which is published in the annually published PARI Summer Student Proceedings. Several of the students have presented their results at AAS Meetings. We will present a summary of specific research conducted by the students with their mentors and the logistics for hosting the PARI undergraduate internship program.

Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Software Engineering Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

Experiences in measurement, utilization, and evaluation of software methodologies, models, and tools are discussed. NASA's involvement in ever larger and more complex systems, like the space station project, provides a motive for the support of software engineering research and the exchange of ideas in such forums. The topics of current SEL research are software error studies, experiments with software development, and software tools.

FMT (Flight Software Memory Tracker) For Cassini Spacecraft-Software Engineering Using JAVA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kan, Edwin P.; Uffelman, Hal; Wax, Allan H.

1997-01-01

The software engineering design of the Flight Software Memory Tracker (FMT) Tool is discussed in this paper. FMT is a ground analysis software set, consisting of utilities and procedures, designed to track the flight software, i.e., images of memory load and updatable parameters of the computers on-board Cassini spacecraft. FMT is implemented in Java.

Requirements: Towards an understanding on why software projects fail

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussain, Azham; Mkpojiogu, Emmanuel O. C.

2016-08-01

Requirement engineering is at the foundation of every successful software project. There are many reasons for software project failures; however, poorly engineered requirements process contributes immensely to the reason why software projects fail. Software project failure is usually costly and risky and could also be life threatening. Projects that undermine requirements engineering suffer or are likely to suffer from failures, challenges and other attending risks. The cost of project failures and overruns when estimated is very huge. Furthermore, software project failures or overruns pose a challenge in today's competitive market environment. It affects the company's image, goodwill, and revenue drive and decreases the perceived satisfaction of customers and clients. In this paper, requirements engineering was discussed. Its role in software projects success was elaborated. The place of software requirements process in relation to software project failure was explored and examined. Also, project success and failure factors were also discussed with emphasis placed on requirements factors as they play a major role in software projects' challenges, successes and failures. The paper relied on secondary data and empirical statistics to explore and examine factors responsible for the successes, challenges and failures of software projects in large, medium and small scaled software companies.

Sandia National Laboratories Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) software quality plan. Part 1 : ASC software quality engineering practices version 1.0.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Minana, Molly A.; Sturtevant, Judith E.; Heaphy, Robert

2005-01-01

The purpose of the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) Software Quality Plan is to clearly identify the practices that are the basis for continually improving the quality of ASC software products. Quality is defined in DOE/AL Quality Criteria (QC-1) as conformance to customer requirements and expectations. This quality plan defines the ASC program software quality practices and provides mappings of these practices to the SNL Corporate Process Requirements (CPR 1.3.2 and CPR 1.3.6) and the Department of Energy (DOE) document, ASCI Software Quality Engineering: Goals, Principles, and Guidelines (GP&G). This quality plan identifies ASC management andmore » software project teams' responsibilities for cost-effective software engineering quality practices. The SNL ASC Software Quality Plan establishes the signatories commitment to improving software products by applying cost-effective software engineering quality practices. This document explains the project teams opportunities for tailoring and implementing the practices; enumerates the practices that compose the development of SNL ASC's software products; and includes a sample assessment checklist that was developed based upon the practices in this document.« less

Explore Earth Science Datasets for STEM with the NASA GES DISC Online Visualization and Analysis Tool, Giovanni

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Z.; Acker, J.; Kempler, S.

2016-01-01

The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center(DISC) is one of twelve NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Data Centers that provide Earth science data, information, and services to users around the world including research and application scientists, students, citizen scientists, etc. The GESDISC is the home (archive) of remote sensing datasets for NASA Precipitation and Hydrology, Atmospheric Composition and Dynamics, etc. To facilitate Earth science data access, the GES DISC has been developing user-friendly data services for users at different levels in different countries. Among them, the Geospatial Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure (Giovanni, http:giovanni.gsfc.nasa.gov) allows users to explore satellite-based datasets using sophisticated analyses and visualization without downloading data and software, which is particularly suitable for novices (such as students) to use NASA datasets in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities. In this presentation, we will briefly introduce Giovanni along with examples for STEM activities.

Proceedings of the 14th Annual Software Engineering Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

Several software related topics are presented. Topics covered include studies and experiment at the Software Engineering Laboratory at the Goddard Space Flight Center, predicting project success from the Software Project Management Process, software environments, testing in a reuse environment, domain directed reuse, and classification tree analysis using the Amadeus measurement and empirical analysis.

Software Process Improvement through the Removal of Project-Level Knowledge Flow Obstacles: The Perceptions of Software Engineers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Susan Marie

2012-01-01

Uncontrollable costs, schedule overruns, and poor end product quality continue to plague the software engineering field. Innovations formulated with the expectation to minimize or eliminate cost, schedule, and quality problems have generally fallen into one of three categories: programming paradigms, software tools, and software process…

RICIS Software Engineering 90 Symposium: Aerospace Applications and Research Directions Proceedings Appendices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

Papers presented at RICIS Software Engineering Symposium are compiled. The following subject areas are covered: flight critical software; management of real-time Ada; software reuse; megaprogramming software; Ada net; POSIX and Ada integration in the Space Station Freedom Program; and assessment of formal methods for trustworthy computer systems.

Technology transfer in software engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bishop, Peter C.

1989-01-01

The University of Houston-Clear Lake is the prime contractor for the AdaNET Research Project under the direction of NASA Johnson Space Center. AdaNET was established to promote the principles of software engineering to the software development industry. AdaNET will contain not only environments and tools, but also concepts, principles, models, standards, guidelines and practices. Initially, AdaNET will serve clients from the U.S. government and private industry who are working in software development. It will seek new clients from those who have not yet adopted the principles and practices of software engineering. Some of the goals of AdaNET are to become known as an objective, authoritative source of new software engineering information and parts, to provide easy access to information and parts, and to keep abreast of innovations in the field.

Houston prefreshman enrichment program (Houston PREP). Final report, June 10, 1996--August 1, 1996

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1996-10-01

The 1996 Houston Pre-freshman Enrichment Program (PREP) was conducted on the campus of the University of Houston-Downtown from June 10 to August 1, 1996. Program Participants were recruited from the Greater Houston area. All participants were identified as high achieving students with an interest in learning about the engineering and science professions. The goal of the program was to better prepare our pre-college youth prior to entering college as mathematics, science and engineering majors. The program participants were middle school and high school students from the Aldine, Alief, Channel View, Crockett, Cypress-Fairbanks, Fort Bend, Galena Park, Houston, Humble, Katy, Klein,more » North Forest, Pasadena, Private, and Spring Branch Independent School Districts. Of the 197 students starting the program, 170 completed, 142 students were from economically and socially disadvantage groups underrepresented in the engineering and science professions, and 121 of the 197 were female. Our First Year group for 1996 composed of 96% minority and women students. Our Second and Third Year students were 100% and 93.75% minority or women respectively. This gave an overall minority and female population of 93.75%. This year, special efforts were again made to recruit students from minority groups, which caused a significant increase in qualified applicants. However, due to space limitations, 140 applicants were rejected. Investigative and discovery learning were key elements of PREP. The academic components of the program included Algebraic Structures, Engineering, Introduction to Computer Science, Introduction to Physics, Logic and Its Application to Mathematics, Probability and Statistics, Problem Solving Seminar using computers and PLATO software, SAT Preparatory Seminars, and Technical Writing.« less

Effective Software Engineering Leadership for Development Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cagle West, Marsha

2010-01-01

Software is a critical component of systems ranging from simple consumer appliances to complex health, nuclear, and flight control systems. The development of quality, reliable, and effective software solutions requires the incorporation of effective software engineering processes and leadership. Processes, approaches, and methodologies for…

Development of a comprehensive software engineering environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartrum, Thomas C.; Lamont, Gary B.

1987-01-01

The generation of a set of tools for software lifecycle is a recurring theme in the software engineering literature. The development of such tools and their integration into a software development environment is a difficult task because of the magnitude (number of variables) and the complexity (combinatorics) of the software lifecycle process. An initial development of a global approach was initiated in 1982 as the Software Development Workbench (SDW). Continuing efforts focus on tool development, tool integration, human interfacing, data dictionaries, and testing algorithms. Current efforts are emphasizing natural language interfaces, expert system software development associates and distributed environments with Ada as the target language. The current implementation of the SDW is on a VAX-11/780. Other software development tools are being networked through engineering workstations.

Software reengineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fridge, Ernest M., III

1991-01-01

Today's software systems generally use obsolete technology, are not integrated properly with other software systems, and are difficult and costly to maintain. The discipline of reverse engineering is becoming prominent as organizations try to move their systems up to more modern and maintainable technology in a cost effective manner. JSC created a significant set of tools to develop and maintain FORTRAN and C code during development of the Space Shuttle. This tool set forms the basis for an integrated environment to re-engineer existing code into modern software engineering structures which are then easier and less costly to maintain and which allow a fairly straightforward translation into other target languages. The environment will support these structures and practices even in areas where the language definition and compilers do not enforce good software engineering. The knowledge and data captured using the reverse engineering tools is passed to standard forward engineering tools to redesign or perform major upgrades to software systems in a much more cost effective manner than using older technologies. A beta vision of the environment was released in Mar. 1991. The commercial potential for such re-engineering tools is very great. CASE TRENDS magazine reported it to be the primary concern of over four hundred of the top MIS executives.

The FORTRAN static source code analyzer program (SAP) user's guide, revision 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decker, W.; Taylor, W.; Eslinger, S.

1982-01-01

The FORTRAN Static Source Code Analyzer Program (SAP) User's Guide (Revision 1) is presented. SAP is a software tool designed to assist Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) personnel in conducting studies of FORTRAN programs. SAP scans FORTRAN source code and produces reports that present statistics and measures of statements and structures that make up a module. This document is a revision of the previous SAP user's guide, Computer Sciences Corporation document CSC/TM-78/6045. SAP Revision 1 is the result of program modifications to provide several new reports, additional complexity analysis, and recognition of all statements described in the FORTRAN 77 standard. This document provides instructions for operating SAP and contains information useful in interpreting SAP output.

A Recommended Framework for the Network-Centric Acquisition Process

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-01

ISO /IEC 12207 , Systems and Software Engineering-Software Life-Cycle Processes  ANSI/EIA 632, Processes for Engineering a System. There are...engineering [46]. Some of the process models presented in the DAG are:  ISO /IEC 15288, Systems and Software Engineering-System Life-Cycle Processes...e.g., ISO , IA, Security, etc.). Vetting developers helps ensure that they are using industry best industry practices and maximize the IA compliance

The Impact of Software on Associate Degree Programs in Electronic Engineering Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hata, David M.

1986-01-01

Assesses the range and extent of computer assisted instruction software available in electronic engineering technology education. Examines the need for software skills in four areas: (1) high-level languages; (2) assembly language; (3) computer-aided engineering; and (4) computer-aided instruction. Outlines strategies for the future in three…

Software engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fridge, Ernest M., III; Hiott, Jim; Golej, Jim; Plumb, Allan

1993-01-01

Today's software systems generally use obsolete technology, are not integrated properly with other software systems, and are difficult and costly to maintain. The discipline of reverse engineering is becoming prominent as organizations try to move their systems up to more modern and maintainable technology in a cost effective manner. The Johnson Space Center (JSC) created a significant set of tools to develop and maintain FORTRAN and C code during development of the space shuttle. This tool set forms the basis for an integrated environment to reengineer existing code into modern software engineering structures which are then easier and less costly to maintain and which allow a fairly straightforward translation into other target languages. The environment will support these structures and practices even in areas where the language definition and compilers do not enforce good software engineering. The knowledge and data captured using the reverse engineering tools is passed to standard forward engineering tools to redesign or perform major upgrades to software systems in a much more cost effective manner than using older technologies. The latest release of the environment was in Feb. 1992.

GeoFramework: A Modeling Framework for Solid Earth Geophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurnis, M.; Aivazis, M.; Tromp, J.; Tan, E.; Thoutireddy, P.; Liu, Q.; Choi, E.; Dicaprio, C.; Chen, M.; Simons, M.; Quenette, S.; Appelbe, B.; Aagaard, B.; Williams, C.; Lavier, L.; Moresi, L.; Law, H.

2003-12-01

As data sets in geophysics become larger and of greater relevance to other earth science disciplines, and as earth science becomes more interdisciplinary in general, modeling tools are being driven in new directions. There is now a greater need to link modeling codes to one another, link modeling codes to multiple datasets, and to make modeling software available to non modeling specialists. Coupled with rapid progress in computer hardware (including the computational speed afforded by massively parallel computers), progress in numerical algorithms, and the introduction of software frameworks, these lofty goals of merging software in geophysics are now possible. The GeoFramework project, a collaboration between computer scientists and geoscientists, is a response to these needs and opportunities. GeoFramework is based on and extends Pyre, a Python-based modeling framework, recently developed to link solid (Lagrangian) and fluid (Eulerian) models, as well as mesh generators, visualization packages, and databases, with one another for engineering applications. The utility and generality of Pyre as a general purpose framework in science is now being recognized. Besides its use in engineering and geophysics, it is also being used in particle physics and astronomy. Geology and geophysics impose their own unique requirements on software frameworks which are not generally available in existing frameworks and so there is a need for research in this area. One of the special requirements is the way Lagrangian and Eulerian codes will need to be linked in time and space within a plate tectonics context. GeoFramework has grown beyond its initial goal of linking a limited number of exiting codes together. The following codes are now being reengineered within the context of Pyre: Tecton, 3-D FE Visco-elastic code for lithospheric relaxation; CitComS, a code for spherical mantle convection; SpecFEM3D, a SEM code for global and regional seismic waves; eqsim, a FE code for dynamic earthquake rupture; SNAC, a developing 3-D coded based on the FLAC method for visco-elastoplastic deformation; SNARK, a 3-D FE-PIC method for viscoplastic deformation; and gPLATES an open source paleogeographic/plate tectonics modeling package. We will demonstrate how codes can be linked with themselves, such as a regional and global model of mantle convection and a visco-elastoplastic representation of the crust within viscous mantle flow. Finally, we will describe how http://GeoFramework.org has become a distribution site for a suite of modeling software in geophysics.

The Personal Software Process (PSPSM): An Empirical Study of the Impact of PSP on Individual Engineers.

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-12-01

Watts Humphrey and is described in his book A Discipline for Software Engineering [ Humphrey 95]. Its intended use is to guide the planning and...Pat; Humphrey , Watts S .; Khajenoori, Soheil; Macke, Susan; & Matvya, Annette. "Introducing the Personal Software Process: Three Industry Case... Humphrey 95] Humphrey , Watts S . A Discipline for Software Engineering. Reading, Ma.: Addison-Wesley, 1995. [Mauchly 40] Mauchly, J.W. "Significance

ICME — A Mere Coupling of Models or a Discipline of Its Own?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bambach, Markus; Schmitz, Georg J.; Prahl, Ulrich

Technically, ICME — Integrated computational materials engineering — is an approach for solving advanced engineering problems related to the design of new materials and processes by combining individual materials and process models. The combination of models by now is mainly achieved by manual transformation of the output of a simulation to form the input to a subsequent one. This subsequent simulation is either performed at a different length scale or constitutes a subsequent step along the process chain. Is ICME thus just a synonym for the coupling of simulations? In fact, most ICME publications up to now are examples of the joint application of selected models and software codes to a specific problem. However, from a systems point of view, the coupling of individual models and/or software codes across length scales and along material processing chains leads to highly complex meta-models. Their viability has to be ensured by joint efforts from science, industry, software developers and independent organizations. This paper identifies some developments that seem necessary to make future ICME simulations viable, sustainable and broadly accessible and accepted. The main conclusion is that ICME is more than a multi-disciplinary subject but a discipline of its own, for which a generic structural framework has to be elaborated and established.

Recent activities in science and technology and the progress of women in physics in the last three years in Iran

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izadi, Dina; Azad, Masoud Torabi; Mahmoudi, Nafiseh; Izadipanah, Nona; Eshghi, Najmeh

2013-03-01

For the 4th IUPAP International Conference of Women in Physics, we report on activities in science and engineering in Iran, and conditions for women in physics, in the three years since the 3rd IUPAP International Conference of Women in Physics was held in 2008. Iran has made prominent advancements and astonishing progress in laser technology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, genetics, computer software and hardware, and robotics. Iranian scientists have been very productive in several experimental fields, such as pharmaceutical, organic, and polymer chemistry. Conditions for women in physics have improved greatly in recent years. A project to improve the environment for learning physics, and science in general, by focusing on real-life applications, and the creation of new student competitions in Iran, have increased the numbers of both women and men in physics and all sciences in recent years.

Computational Science at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romero, Nichols

2014-03-01

The goal of the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) is to extend the frontiers of science by solving problems that require innovative approaches and the largest-scale computing systems. ALCF's most powerful computer - Mira, an IBM Blue Gene/Q system - has nearly one million cores. How does one program such systems? What software tools are available? Which scientific and engineering applications are able to utilize such levels of parallelism? This talk will address these questions and describe a sampling of projects that are using ALCF systems in their research, including ones in nanoscience, materials science, and chemistry. Finally, the ways to gain access to ALCF resources will be presented. This research used resources of the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility at Argonne National Laboratory, which is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC02-06CH11357.

Computational Materials Science and Chemistry: Accelerating Discovery and Innovation through Simulation-Based Engineering and Science

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Crabtree, George; Glotzer, Sharon; McCurdy, Bill

This report is based on a SC Workshop on Computational Materials Science and Chemistry for Innovation on July 26-27, 2010, to assess the potential of state-of-the-art computer simulations to accelerate understanding and discovery in materials science and chemistry, with a focus on potential impacts in energy technologies and innovation. The urgent demand for new energy technologies has greatly exceeded the capabilities of today's materials and chemical processes. To convert sunlight to fuel, efficiently store energy, or enable a new generation of energy production and utilization technologies requires the development of new materials and processes of unprecedented functionality and performance. Newmore » materials and processes are critical pacing elements for progress in advanced energy systems and virtually all industrial technologies. Over the past two decades, the United States has developed and deployed the world's most powerful collection of tools for the synthesis, processing, characterization, and simulation and modeling of materials and chemical systems at the nanoscale, dimensions of a few atoms to a few hundred atoms across. These tools, which include world-leading x-ray and neutron sources, nanoscale science facilities, and high-performance computers, provide an unprecedented view of the atomic-scale structure and dynamics of materials and the molecular-scale basis of chemical processes. For the first time in history, we are able to synthesize, characterize, and model materials and chemical behavior at the length scale where this behavior is controlled. This ability is transformational for the discovery process and, as a result, confers a significant competitive advantage. Perhaps the most spectacular increase in capability has been demonstrated in high performance computing. Over the past decade, computational power has increased by a factor of a million due to advances in hardware and software. This rate of improvement, which shows no sign of abating, has enabled the development of computer simulations and models of unprecedented fidelity. We are at the threshold of a new era where the integrated synthesis, characterization, and modeling of complex materials and chemical processes will transform our ability to understand and design new materials and chemistries with predictive power. In turn, this predictive capability will transform technological innovation by accelerating the development and deployment of new materials and processes in products and manufacturing. Harnessing the potential of computational science and engineering for the discovery and development of materials and chemical processes is essential to maintaining leadership in these foundational fields that underpin energy technologies and industrial competitiveness. Capitalizing on the opportunities presented by simulation-based engineering and science in materials and chemistry will require an integration of experimental capabilities with theoretical and computational modeling; the development of a robust and sustainable infrastructure to support the development and deployment of advanced computational models; and the assembly of a community of scientists and engineers to implement this integration and infrastructure. This community must extend to industry, where incorporating predictive materials science and chemistry into design tools can accelerate the product development cycle and drive economic competitiveness. The confluence of new theories, new materials synthesis capabilities, and new computer platforms has created an unprecedented opportunity to implement a "materials-by-design" paradigm with wide-ranging benefits in technological innovation and scientific discovery. The Workshop on Computational Materials Science and Chemistry for Innovation was convened in Bethesda, Maryland, on July 26-27, 2010. Sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) Offices of Advanced Scientific Computing Research and Basic Energy Sciences, the workshop brought together 160 experts in materials science, chemistry, and computational science representing more than 65 universities, laboratories, and industries, and four agencies. The workshop examined seven foundational challenge areas in materials science and chemistry: materials for extreme conditions, self-assembly, light harvesting, chemical reactions, designer fluids, thin films and interfaces, and electronic structure. Each of these challenge areas is critical to the development of advanced energy systems, and each can be accelerated by the integrated application of predictive capability with theory and experiment. The workshop concluded that emerging capabilities in predictive modeling and simulation have the potential to revolutionize the development of new materials and chemical processes. Coupled with world-leading materials characterization and nanoscale science facilities, this predictive capability provides the foundation for an innovation ecosystem that can accelerate the discovery, development, and deployment of new technologies, including advanced energy systems. Delivering on the promise of this innovation ecosystem requires the following: Integration of synthesis, processing, characterization, theory, and simulation and modeling. Many of the newly established Energy Frontier Research Centers and Energy Hubs are exploiting this integration. Achieving/strengthening predictive capability in foundational challenge areas. Predictive capability in the seven foundational challenge areas described in this report is critical to the development of advanced energy technologies. Developing validated computational approaches that span vast differences in time and length scales. This fundamental computational challenge crosscuts all of the foundational challenge areas. Similarly challenging is coupling of analytical data from multiple instruments and techniques that are required to link these length and time scales. Experimental validation and quantification of uncertainty in simulation and modeling. Uncertainty quantification becomes increasingly challenging as simulations become more complex. Robust and sustainable computational infrastructure, including software and applications. For modeling and simulation, software equals infrastructure. To validate the computational tools, software is critical infrastructure that effectively translates huge arrays of experimental data into useful scientific understanding. An integrated approach for managing this infrastructure is essential. Efficient transfer and incorporation of simulation-based engineering and science in industry. Strategies for bridging the gap between research and industrial applications and for widespread industry adoption of integrated computational materials engineering are needed.« less

48 CFR 227.7206 - Contracts for architect-engineer services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Rights in Computer Software and Computer Software Documentation 227.7206 Contracts for architect-engineer services. Follow 227.7107 when contracting for architect-engineer services. ...-engineer services. 227.7206 Section 227.7206 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION...

48 CFR 227.7206 - Contracts for architect-engineer services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Rights in Computer Software and Computer Software Documentation 227.7206 Contracts for architect-engineer services. Follow 227.7107 when contracting for architect-engineer services. ...-engineer services. 227.7206 Section 227.7206 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION...

48 CFR 227.7206 - Contracts for architect-engineer services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Rights in Computer Software and Computer Software Documentation 227.7206 Contracts for architect-engineer services. Follow 227.7107 when contracting for architect-engineer services. ...-engineer services. 227.7206 Section 227.7206 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION...

48 CFR 227.7206 - Contracts for architect-engineer services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Rights in Computer Software and Computer Software Documentation 227.7206 Contracts for architect-engineer services. Follow 227.7107 when contracting for architect-engineer services. ...-engineer services. 227.7206 Section 227.7206 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION...

48 CFR 227.7206 - Contracts for architect-engineer services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...-engineer services. 227.7206 Section 227.7206 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEFENSE ACQUISITION... Rights in Computer Software and Computer Software Documentation 227.7206 Contracts for architect-engineer services. Follow 227.7107 when contracting for architect-engineer services. ...

Modeling a distributed environment for a petroleum reservoir engineering application with software product line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Faria Scheidt, Rafael; Vilain, Patrícia; Dantas, M. A. R.

2014-10-01

Petroleum reservoir engineering is a complex and interesting field that requires large amount of computational facilities to achieve successful results. Usually, software environments for this field are developed without taking care out of possible interactions and extensibilities required by reservoir engineers. In this paper, we present a research work which it is characterized by the design and implementation based on a software product line model for a real distributed reservoir engineering environment. Experimental results indicate successfully the utilization of this approach for the design of distributed software architecture. In addition, all components from the proposal provided greater visibility of the organization and processes for the reservoir engineers.

An analysis of integrated science and language arts themes in software at the elementary school level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Libidinsky, Lisa Jill

2002-09-01

There are many demands on the elementary classroom teacher today, such that teachers often do not have the time and resources to instruct in a meaningful manner that would produce effective, real instruction. Subjects are often disjointed and not significant. When teachers instruct using an integrated approach, students learn more efficiently as they see connections in the subjects. Science and language arts, when combined to produce an integrated approach, show positive associations that can enable students to learn real-life connections. In addition, with the onset of technology and the increased usage of technological programs in the schools, teachers can use technology to support an integrated curriculum. When teachers use a combined instructional focus of science, language arts, and technology to produce lessons, students are able to gain knowledge of concepts and skills necessary for appropriate academic growth and development. Given that there are many software programs available to teachers for classroom use, it is imperative that quality software is used for instruction. Using criteria based upon an intensive literature review of integrated instruction in the areas of science and language arts, this study examines science and language arts software programs to determine whether there are science and language arts integrated themes in the software analyzed. Also, this study examines whether more science and language arts integrated themes are present in science or language arts software programs. Overall, this study finds a significant difference between language arts software and science software when looking at integrated themes. This study shows that science software shows integrated themes with language arts more often than does language arts software with science. The findings in this study can serve as a reference point for educators when selecting software that is meaningful and effective in the elementary classroom. Based on this study, it is apparent that there is a need to evaluate software for appropriate use in the classroom in order to promote effective education.

Implementing large projects in software engineering courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coppit, David

2006-03-01

In software engineering education, large projects are widely recognized as a useful way of exposing students to the real-world difficulties of team software development. But large projects are difficult to put into practice. First, educators rarely have additional time to manage software projects. Second, classrooms have inherent limitations that threaten the realism of large projects. Third, quantitative evaluation of individuals who work in groups is notoriously difficult. As a result, many software engineering courses compromise the project experience by reducing the team sizes, project scope, and risk. In this paper, we present an approach to teaching a one-semester software engineering course in which 20 to 30 students work together to construct a moderately sized (15KLOC) software system. The approach combines carefully coordinated lectures and homeworks, a hierarchical project management structure, modern communication technologies, and a web-based project tracking and individual assessment system. Our approach provides a more realistic project experience for the students, without incurring significant additional overhead for the instructor. We present our experiences using the approach the last 2 years for the software engineering course at The College of William and Mary. Although the approach has some weaknesses, we believe that they are strongly outweighed by the pedagogical benefits.

A Role-Playing Game for a Software Engineering Lab: Developing a Product Line

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuppiroli, Sara; Ciancarini, Paolo; Gabbrielli, Maurizio

2012-01-01

Software product line development refers to software engineering practices and techniques for creating families of similar software systems from a basic set of reusable components, called shared assets. Teaching how to deal with software product lines in a university lab course is a challenging task, because there are several practical issues that…

On the Prospects and Concerns of Integrating Open Source Software Environment in Software Engineering Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kamthan, Pankaj

2007-01-01

Open Source Software (OSS) has introduced a new dimension in software community. As the development and use of OSS becomes prominent, the question of its integration in education arises. In this paper, the following practices fundamental to projects and processes in software engineering are examined from an OSS perspective: project management;…

Building a Science Software Institute: Synthesizing the Lessons Learned from the ISEES and WSSI Software Institute Conceptualization Efforts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Idaszak, R.; Lenhardt, W. C.; Jones, M. B.; Ahalt, S.; Schildhauer, M.; Hampton, S. E.

2014-12-01

The NSF, in an effort to support the creation of sustainable science software, funded 16 science software institute conceptualization efforts. The goal of these conceptualization efforts is to explore approaches to creating the institutional, sociological, and physical infrastructures to support sustainable science software. This paper will present the lessons learned from two of these conceptualization efforts, the Institute for Sustainable Earth and Environmental Software (ISEES - http://isees.nceas.ucsb.edu) and the Water Science Software Institute (WSSI - http://waters2i2.org). ISEES is a multi-partner effort led by National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS). WSSI, also a multi-partner effort, is led by the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI). The two conceptualization efforts have been collaborating due to the complementarity of their approaches and given the potential synergies of their science focus. ISEES and WSSI have engaged in a number of activities to address the challenges of science software such as workshops, hackathons, and coding efforts. More recently, the two institutes have also collaborated on joint activities including training, proposals, and papers. In addition to presenting lessons learned, this paper will synthesize across the two efforts to project a unified vision for a science software institute.

Model Driven Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaševic, Dragan; Djuric, Dragan; Devedžic, Vladan

A relevant initiative from the software engineering community called Model Driven Engineering (MDE) is being developed in parallel with the Semantic Web (Mellor et al. 2003a). The MDE approach to software development suggests that one should first develop a model of the system under study, which is then transformed into the real thing (i.e., an executable software entity). The most important research initiative in this area is the Model Driven Architecture (MDA), which is Model Driven Architecture being developed under the umbrella of the Object Management Group (OMG). This chapter describes the basic concepts of this software engineering effort.

Interacting with Petabytes of Earth Science Data using Jupyter Notebooks, IPython Widgets and Google Earth Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erickson, T. A.; Granger, B.; Grout, J.; Corlay, S.

2017-12-01

The volume of Earth science data gathered from satellites, aircraft, drones, and field instruments continues to increase. For many scientific questions in the Earth sciences, managing this large volume of data is a barrier to progress, as it is difficult to explore and analyze large volumes of data using the traditional paradigm of downloading datasets to a local computer for analysis. Furthermore, methods for communicating Earth science algorithms that operate on large datasets in an easily understandable and reproducible way are needed. Here we describe a system for developing, interacting, and sharing well-documented Earth Science algorithms that combines existing software components: Jupyter Notebook: An open-source, web-based environment that supports documents that combine code and computational results with text narrative, mathematics, images, and other media. These notebooks provide an environment for interactive exploration of data and development of well documented algorithms. Jupyter Widgets / ipyleaflet: An architecture for creating interactive user interface controls (such as sliders, text boxes, etc.) in Jupyter Notebooks that communicate with Python code. This architecture includes a default set of UI controls (sliders, dropboxes, etc.) as well as APIs for building custom UI controls. The ipyleaflet project is one example that offers a custom interactive map control that allows a user to display and manipulate geographic data within the Jupyter Notebook. Google Earth Engine: A cloud-based geospatial analysis platform that provides access to petabytes of Earth science data via a Python API. The combination of Jupyter Notebooks, Jupyter Widgets, ipyleaflet, and Google Earth Engine makes it possible to explore and analyze massive Earth science datasets via a web browser, in an environment suitable for interactive exploration, teaching, and sharing. Using these environments can make Earth science analyses easier to understand and reproducible, which may increase the rate of scientific discoveries and the transition of discoveries into real-world impacts.

Architecture independent environment for developing engineering software on MIMD computers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Valimohamed, Karim A.; Lopez, L. A.

1990-01-01

Engineers are constantly faced with solving problems of increasing complexity and detail. Multiple Instruction stream Multiple Data stream (MIMD) computers have been developed to overcome the performance limitations of serial computers. The hardware architectures of MIMD computers vary considerably and are much more sophisticated than serial computers. Developing large scale software for a variety of MIMD computers is difficult and expensive. There is a need to provide tools that facilitate programming these machines. First, the issues that must be considered to develop those tools are examined. The two main areas of concern were architecture independence and data management. Architecture independent software facilitates software portability and improves the longevity and utility of the software product. It provides some form of insurance for the investment of time and effort that goes into developing the software. The management of data is a crucial aspect of solving large engineering problems. It must be considered in light of the new hardware organizations that are available. Second, the functional design and implementation of a software environment that facilitates developing architecture independent software for large engineering applications are described. The topics of discussion include: a description of the model that supports the development of architecture independent software; identifying and exploiting concurrency within the application program; data coherence; engineering data base and memory management.

NASA Software Documentation Standard

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The NASA Software Documentation Standard (hereinafter referred to as "Standard") is designed to support the documentation of all software developed for NASA; its goal is to provide a framework and model for recording the essential information needed throughout the development life cycle and maintenance of a software system. The NASA Software Documentation Standard can be applied to the documentation of all NASA software. The Standard is limited to documentation format and content requirements. It does not mandate specific management, engineering, or assurance standards or techniques. This Standard defines the format and content of documentation for software acquisition, development, and sustaining engineering. Format requirements address where information shall be recorded and content requirements address what information shall be recorded. This Standard provides a framework to allow consistency of documentation across NASA and visibility into the completeness of project documentation. The basic framework consists of four major sections (or volumes). The Management Plan contains all planning and business aspects of a software project, including engineering and assurance planning. The Product Specification contains all technical engineering information, including software requirements and design. The Assurance and Test Procedures contains all technical assurance information, including Test, Quality Assurance (QA), and Verification and Validation (V&V). The Management, Engineering, and Assurance Reports is the library and/or listing of all project reports.

Training, Quality Assurance Factors, and Tools Investigation: a Work Report and Suggestions on Software Quality Assurance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Pen-Nan

1991-01-01

Previously, several research tasks have been conducted, some observations were obtained, and several possible suggestions have been contemplated involving software quality assurance engineering at NASA Johnson. These research tasks are briefly described. Also, a brief discussion is given on the role of software quality assurance in software engineering along with some observations and suggestions. A brief discussion on a training program for software quality assurance engineers is provided. A list of assurance factors as well as quality factors are also included. Finally, a process model which can be used for searching and collecting software quality assurance tools is presented.

EngineSim: Turbojet Engine Simulator Adapted for High School Classroom Use

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petersen, Ruth A.

2001-01-01

EngineSim is an interactive educational computer program that allows users to explore the effect of engine operation on total aircraft performance. The software is supported by a basic propulsion web site called the Beginner's Guide to Propulsion, which includes educator-created, web-based activities for the classroom use of EngineSim. In addition, educators can schedule videoconferencing workshops in which EngineSim's creator demonstrates the software and discusses its use in the educational setting. This software is a product of NASA Glenn Research Center's Learning Technologies Project, an educational outreach initiative within the High Performance Computing and Communications Program.

Tethys: A Platform for Water Resources Modeling and Decision Support Apps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swain, N. R.; Christensen, S. D.; Jones, N.; Nelson, E. J.

2014-12-01

Cloud-based applications or apps are a promising medium through which water resources models and data can be conveyed in a user-friendly environment—making them more accessible to decision-makers and stakeholders. In the context of this work, a water resources web app is a web application that exposes limited modeling functionality for a scenario exploration activity in a structured workflow (e.g.: land use change runoff analysis, snowmelt runoff prediction, and flood potential analysis). The technical expertise required to develop water resources web apps can be a barrier to many potential developers of water resources apps. One challenge that developers face is in providing spatial storage, analysis, and visualization for the spatial data that is inherent to water resources models. The software projects that provide this functionality are non-standard to web development and there are a large number of free and open source software (FOSS) projects to choose from. In addition, it is often required to synthesize several software projects to provide all of the needed functionality. Another challenge for the developer will be orchestrating the use of several software components. Consequently, the initial software development investment required to deploy an effective water resources cloud-based application can be substantial. The Tethys Platform has been developed to lower the technical barrier and minimize the initial development investment that prohibits many scientists and engineers from making use of the web app medium. Tethys synthesizes several software projects including PostGIS for spatial storage, 52°North WPS for spatial analysis, GeoServer for spatial publishing, Google Earth™, Google Maps™ and OpenLayers for spatial visualization, and Highcharts for plotting tabular data. The software selection came after a literature review of software projects being used to create existing earth sciences web apps. All of the software is linked via a Python-powered software development kit (SDK). Tethys developers use the SDK to build their apps and incorporate the needed functionality from the software suite. The presentation will include several apps that have been developed using Tethys to demonstrate its capabilities. Based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1135483.

Evaluating software development characteristics: Assessment of software measures in the Software Engineering Laboratory. [reliability engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Basili, V. R.

1981-01-01

Work on metrics is discussed. Factors that affect software quality are reviewed. Metrics is discussed in terms of criteria achievements, reliability, and fault tolerance. Subjective and objective metrics are distinguished. Product/process and cost/quality metrics are characterized and discussed.

Using Transom Jack in the Human Engineering Analysis of the Materials Science Research Rack-1 and Quench Module Insert

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunn, Mariea C.; Alves, Jeffrey R.; Hutchinson, Sonya L.

1999-01-01

This paper describes the human engineering analysis performed on the Materials Science Research Rack-1 and Quench Module Insert (MSRR-1/QMI) using Transom Jack (Jack) software. The Jack software was used to model a virtual environment consisting of the MSRR-1/QMI hardware configuration and human figures representing the 95th percentile male and 5th percentile female. The purpose of the simulation was to assess the human interfaces in the design for their ability to meet the requirements of the Pressurized Payloads Interface Requirements Document - International Space Program, Revision C (SSP 57000). Jack was used in the evaluation because of its ability to correctly model anthropometric body measurements and the physical behavior of astronauts working in microgravity, which is referred to as the neutral body posture. The Jack model allows evaluation of crewmember interaction with hardware through task simulation including but not limited to collision avoidance behaviors, hand/eye coordination, reach path planning, and automatic grasping to part contours. Specifically, this virtual simulation depicts the human figures performing the QMI installation and check-out, sample cartridge insertion and removal, and gas bottle drawer removal. These tasks were evaluated in terms of adequate clearance in reach envelopes, adequate accessibility in work envelopes, appropriate line of sight in visual envelopes, and accommodation of full size range for male and female stature maneuverability. The results of the human engineering analysis virtual simulation indicate that most of the associated requirements of SSP 57000 were met. However, some hardware design considerations and crew procedures modifications are recommended to improve accessibility, provide an adequate work envelope, reduce awkward body posture, and eliminate permanent protrusions.

Automated Big Data Analysis in Bottom-up and Targeted Proteomics

PubMed Central

van der Plas-Duivesteijn, Suzanne; Domański, Dominik; Smith, Derek; Borchers, Christoph; Palmblad, Magnus; Mohamme, Yassene

2014-01-01

Similar to other data intensive sciences, analyzing mass spectrometry-based proteomics data involves multiple steps and diverse software using different algorithms and data formats and sizes. Besides that the distributed and evolving nature of the data in online repositories, another challenge is that a scientists have to deal with many steps of analysis pipelines. A documented data processing is also becoming an essential part for the overall reproducibility of the results. Thanks to different e-Science initiatives, scientific workflow engines have become a means for automated, sharable and reproducible data processing. While these are designed as general tools, they can be employed to solve different challenges that we are facing in handling our Big Data. Here we present three use cases: improving the performance of different spectral search engines by decomposing input data and recomposing the resulting files, building spectral libraries from more than 20 million spectra, and integrating information from multiple resources to select most appropriate peptides for targeted proteomics analyses. The three use cases demonstrate different challenges in exploiting proteomics data analysis. In the first we integrate local and cloud processing resources in order to obtain better performance resulting in more than 30-fold speed improvement. By considering search engines as legacy software our solution is applicable to multiple search algorithms. The second use case is an example of automated processing of many data files of different sizes and locations, starting with raw data and ending with the final, ready-to-use library. This demonstrates the robustness and fault tolerance when dealing with huge amount data stored in multiple files. The third use case demonstrates retrieval and integration of information and data from multiple online repositories. In addition to the diversity of data formats and Web interfaces, this use case also illustrates how to deal with incomplete data.

Software engineering and Ada in design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oneill, Don

1986-01-01

Modern software engineering promises significant reductions in software costs and improvements in software quality. The Ada language is the focus for these software methodology and tool improvements. The IBM FSD approach, including the software engineering practices that guide the systematic design and development of software products and the management of the software process are examined. The revised Ada design language adaptation is revealed. This four level design methodology is detailed including the purpose of each level, the management strategy that integrates the software design activity with the program milestones, and the technical strategy that maps the Ada constructs to each level of design. A complete description of each design level is provided along with specific design language recording guidelines for each level. Finally, some testimony is offered on education, tools, architecture, and metrics resulting from project use of the four level Ada design language adaptation.

CrossTalk: The Journal of Defense Software Engineering. Volume 20, Number 6, June 2007

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-06-01

California. He has co-authored the book Software Cost Estimation With COCOMO II with Barry Boehm and others. Clark helped define the COCOMO II model...Software Engineering at the University of Southern California. She worked with Barry Boehm and Chris Abts to develop and calibrate a cost-estimation...2003/02/ schorsch.html>. 2. See “Software Engineering, A Practitioners Approach” by Roger Pressman for a good description of coupling, cohesion

Agile Software Teams: How They Engage with Systems Engineering on DoD Acquisition Programs

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-01

under Contract No. FA8721-05-C-0003 with Carnegie Mellon University for the operation of the Software Engineer- ing Institute, a federally funded...issues that would preclude or limit the use of Agile methods within the DoD” [Broadus 2013]. As operational tempos increase and programs fight to...environment in which it operates . This makes software different from other disciplines that have toleranc- es, generally resulting in software engineering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peck, T; Sparkman, D; Storch, N

''The LLNL Site-Specific Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASCI) Software Quality Engineering Recommended Practices VI.I'' document describes a set of recommended software quality engineering (SQE) practices for ASCI code projects at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). In this context, SQE is defined as the process of building quality into software products by applying the appropriate guiding principles and management practices. Continual code improvement and ongoing process improvement are expected benefits. Certain practices are recommended, although projects may select the specific activities they wish to improve, and the appropriate time lines for such actions. Additionally, projects can rely on the guidance ofmore » this document when generating ASCI Verification and Validation (VSrV) deliverables. ASCI program managers will gather information about their software engineering practices and improvement. This information can be shared to leverage the best SQE practices among development organizations. It will further be used to ensure the currency and vitality of the recommended practices. This Overview is intended to provide basic information to the LLNL ASCI software management and development staff from the ''LLNL Site-Specific ASCI Software Quality Engineering Recommended Practices VI.I'' document. Additionally the Overview provides steps to using the ''LLNL Site-Specific ASCI Software Quality Engineering Recommended Practices VI.I'' document. For definitions of terminology and acronyms, refer to the Glossary and Acronyms sections in the ''LLNL Site-Specific ASCI Software Quality Engineering Recommended Practices VI.I''.« less

The Effective Use of Professional Software in an Undergraduate Mining Engineering Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kecojevic, Vladislav; Bise, Christopher; Haight, Joel

2005-01-01

The use of professional software is an integral part of a student's education in the mining engineering curriculum at The Pennsylvania State University. Even though mining engineering represents a limited market across U.S. educational institutions, the goal still exists for using this type of software to enrich the learning environment with…

The Curiosity Mars Rover's Fault Protection Engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benowitz, Ed

2014-01-01

The Curiosity Rover, currently operating on Mars, contains flight software onboard to autonomously handle aspects of system fault protection. Over 1000 monitors and 39 responses are present in the flight software. Orchestrating these behaviors is the flight software's fault protection engine. In this paper, we discuss the engine's design, responsibilities, and present some lessons learned for future missions.

Network Profiling Using Flow

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-08-01

Software Engineering Institute, a federally funded research and development center. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations...CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY AND SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INSTITUTE MATERIAL IS FURNISHED ON AN “AS-IS” BASIS. CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY MAKES NO WARRANTIES OF...required for any other external and/or commercial use. Requests for permission should be directed to the Software Engineering Institute at permission

Comparison of Four Search Engines and their efficacy With Emphasis on Literature Research in Addiction (Prevention and Treatment).

PubMed

Samadzadeh, Gholam Reza; Rigi, Tahereh; Ganjali, Ali Reza

2013-01-01

Surveying valuable and most recent information from internet, has become vital for researchers and scholars, because every day, thousands and perhaps millions of scientific works are brought out as digital resources which represented by internet and researchers can't ignore this great resource to find related documents for their literature search, which may not be found in any library. With regard to variety of documents presented on the internet, search engines are one of the most effective search tools for finding information. The aim of this study is to evaluate the three criteria, recall, preciseness and importance of the four search engines which are PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar and federated search of Iranian National Medical Digital Library in addiction (prevention and treatment) to select the most effective search engine for offering the best literature research. This research was a cross-sectional study by which four popular search engines in medical sciences were evaluated. To select keywords, medical subject heading (Mesh) was used. We entered given keywords in the search engines and after searching, 10 first entries were evaluated. Direct observation was used as a mean for data collection and they were analyzed by descriptive statistics (number, percent number and mean) and inferential statistics, One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc Tukey in Spss. 15 statistical software. P Value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results have shown that the search engines had different operations with regard to the evaluated criteria. Since P Value was 0.004 < 0.05 for preciseness and was 0.002 < 0.05 for importance, it shows significant difference among search engines. PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar were the best in recall, preciseness and importance respectively. As literature research is one of the most important stages of research, it's better for researchers, especially Substance-Related Disorders scholars to use different search engines with the best recall, preciseness and importance in that subject field to reach desirable results while searching and they don't depend on just one search engine.

Comparison of Four Search Engines and their efficacy With Emphasis on Literature Research in Addiction (Prevention and Treatment)

PubMed Central

Samadzadeh, Gholam Reza; Rigi, Tahereh; Ganjali, Ali Reza

2013-01-01

Background Surveying valuable and most recent information from internet, has become vital for researchers and scholars, because every day, thousands and perhaps millions of scientific works are brought out as digital resources which represented by internet and researchers can’t ignore this great resource to find related documents for their literature search, which may not be found in any library. With regard to variety of documents presented on the internet, search engines are one of the most effective search tools for finding information. Objectives The aim of this study is to evaluate the three criteria, recall, preciseness and importance of the four search engines which are PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar and federated search of Iranian National Medical Digital Library in addiction (prevention and treatment) to select the most effective search engine for offering the best literature research. Materials and Methods This research was a cross-sectional study by which four popular search engines in medical sciences were evaluated. To select keywords, medical subject heading (Mesh) was used. We entered given keywords in the search engines and after searching, 10 first entries were evaluated. Direct observation was used as a mean for data collection and they were analyzed by descriptive statistics (number, percent number and mean) and inferential statistics, One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc Tukey in Spss. 15 statistical software. P Value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Results have shown that the search engines had different operations with regard to the evaluated criteria. Since P Value was 0.004 < 0.05 for preciseness and was 0.002 < 0.05 for importance, it shows significant difference among search engines. PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar were the best in recall, preciseness and importance respectively. Conclusions As literature research is one of the most important stages of research, it's better for researchers, especially Substance-Related Disorders scholars to use different search engines with the best recall, preciseness and importance in that subject field to reach desirable results while searching and they don’t depend on just one search engine. PMID:24971257

Reuse of Software Assets for the NASA Earth Science Decadal Survey Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattmann, Chris A.; Downs, Robert R.; Marshall, James J.; Most, Neal F.; Samadi, Shahin

2010-01-01

Software assets from existing Earth science missions can be reused for the new decadal survey missions that are being planned by NASA in response to the 2007 Earth Science National Research Council (NRC) Study. The new missions will require the development of software to curate, process, and disseminate the data to science users of interest and to the broader NASA mission community. In this paper, we discuss new tools and a blossoming community that are being developed by the Earth Science Data System (ESDS) Software Reuse Working Group (SRWG) to improve capabilities for reusing NASA software assets.

IPAD project overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fulton, R. E.

1980-01-01

To respond to national needs for improved productivity in engineering design and manufacturing, a NASA supported joint industry/government project is underway denoted Integrated Programs for Aerospace-Vehicle Design (IPAD). The objective is to improve engineering productivity through better use of computer technology. It focuses on development of technology and associated software for integrated company-wide management of engineering information. The project has been underway since 1976 under the guidance of an Industry Technical Advisory Board (ITAB) composed of representatives of major engineering and computer companies and in close collaboration with the Air Force Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing (ICAM) program. Results to date on the IPAD project include an in-depth documentation of a representative design process for a large engineering project, the definition and design of computer-aided design software needed to support that process, and the release of prototype software to integrate selected design functions. Ongoing work concentrates on development of prototype software to manage engineering information, and initial software is nearing release.

Catalog of Resources for Education in Ada (Trade Name) and Software Engineering (CREASE). Version 5.0.

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-04-01

are eligible to participate in this course. This course is not offered for graduate credit. This course is taught by Timothy J. Fullam. For more...information on this course, contact Timothy J. Fullman at the above address and phone number. University of Alaska Southeast CREASE Version 5.0 13 CS 202...259 DATA STRUCTURES USING Ada University Offeror: Gallaudet University Department of Math/Computer Science Washington, DC 20002 (202) 651-5315 The

Introduction to Computational Physics for Undergraduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zubairi, Omair; Weber, Fridolin

2018-03-01

This is an introductory textbook on computational methods and techniques intended for undergraduates at the sophomore or junior level in the fields of science, mathematics, and engineering. It provides an introduction to programming languages such as FORTRAN 90/95/2000 and covers numerical techniques such as differentiation, integration, root finding, and data fitting. The textbook also entails the use of the Linux/Unix operating system and other relevant software such as plotting programs, text editors, and mark up languages such as LaTeX. It includes multiple homework assignments.

SEI Report on Graduate Software Engineering Education for 1991

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-04-01

12, 12 (Dec. 1979), 85-94. Andrews83 Andrews, Gregory R . and Schneider, Fred B. “Concepts and Notations for Concurrent Programming.” ACM Computing...Barringer87 Barringer , H. “Up and Down the Temporal Way.” Computer J. 30, 2 (Apr. 1987), 134-148. Bjørner78 The Vienna Development Method: The Meta-Language...Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Bruns86 Bruns, Glenn R . Technology Assessment: PAISLEY. Tech. Rep. MCC TR STP-296-86, MCC, Austin, Texas, Sept

Multicore: Fallout From a Computing Evolution (LBNL Summer Lecture Series)

ScienceCinema

Yelick, Kathy [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)

2018-05-07

Summer Lecture Series 2008: Parallel computing used to be reserved for big science and engineering projects, but in two years that's all changed. Even laptops and hand-helds use parallel processors. Unfortunately, the software hasn't kept pace. Kathy Yelick, Director of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center at Berkeley Lab, describes the resulting chaos and the computing community's efforts to develop exciting applications that take advantage of tens or hundreds of processors on a single chip.

A Discussion of the Software Quality Assurance Role

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kandt, Ronald Kirk

2010-01-01

The basic idea underlying this paper is that the conventional understanding of the role of a Software Quality Assurance (SQA) engineer is unduly limited. This is because few have asked who the customers of a SQA engineer are. Once you do this, you can better define what tasks a SQA engineer should perform, as well as identify the knowledge and skills that such a person should have. The consequence of doing this is that a SQA engineer can provide greater value to his or her customers. It is the position of this paper that a SQA engineer providing significant value to his or her customers must not only assume the role of an auditor, but also that of a software and systems engineer. This is because software engineers and their managers particularly value contributions that directly impact products and their development. These ideas are summarized as lessons learned, based on my experience at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Testing Scientific Software: A Systematic Literature Review.

PubMed

Kanewala, Upulee; Bieman, James M

2014-10-01

Scientific software plays an important role in critical decision making, for example making weather predictions based on climate models, and computation of evidence for research publications. Recently, scientists have had to retract publications due to errors caused by software faults. Systematic testing can identify such faults in code. This study aims to identify specific challenges, proposed solutions, and unsolved problems faced when testing scientific software. We conducted a systematic literature survey to identify and analyze relevant literature. We identified 62 studies that provided relevant information about testing scientific software. We found that challenges faced when testing scientific software fall into two main categories: (1) testing challenges that occur due to characteristics of scientific software such as oracle problems and (2) testing challenges that occur due to cultural differences between scientists and the software engineering community such as viewing the code and the model that it implements as inseparable entities. In addition, we identified methods to potentially overcome these challenges and their limitations. Finally we describe unsolved challenges and how software engineering researchers and practitioners can help to overcome them. Scientific software presents special challenges for testing. Specifically, cultural differences between scientist developers and software engineers, along with the characteristics of the scientific software make testing more difficult. Existing techniques such as code clone detection can help to improve the testing process. Software engineers should consider special challenges posed by scientific software such as oracle problems when developing testing techniques.

Reusable science tools for analog exploration missions: xGDS Web Tools, VERVE, and Gigapan Voyage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Susan Y.; Lees, David; Cohen, Tamar; Allan, Mark; Deans, Matthew; Morse, Theodore; Park, Eric; Smith, Trey

2013-10-01

The Exploration Ground Data Systems (xGDS) project led by the Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) at NASA Ames Research Center creates software tools to support multiple NASA-led planetary analog field experiments. The two primary tools that fall under the xGDS umbrella are the xGDS Web Tools (xGDS-WT) and Visual Environment for Remote Virtual Exploration (VERVE). IRG has also developed a hardware and software system that is closely integrated with our xGDS tools and is used in multiple field experiments called Gigapan Voyage. xGDS-WT, VERVE, and Gigapan Voyage are examples of IRG projects that improve the ratio of science return versus development effort by creating generic and reusable tools that leverage existing technologies in both hardware and software. xGDS Web Tools provides software for gathering and organizing mission data for science and engineering operations, including tools for planning traverses, monitoring autonomous or piloted vehicles, visualization, documentation, analysis, and search. VERVE provides high performance three dimensional (3D) user interfaces used by scientists, robot operators, and mission planners to visualize robot data in real time. Gigapan Voyage is a gigapixel image capturing and processing tool that improves situational awareness and scientific exploration in human and robotic analog missions. All of these technologies emphasize software reuse and leverage open source and/or commercial-off-the-shelf tools to greatly improve the utility and reduce the development and operational cost of future similar technologies. Over the past several years these technologies have been used in many NASA-led robotic field campaigns including the Desert Research and Technology Studies (DRATS), the Pavilion Lake Research Project (PLRP), the K10 Robotic Follow-Up tests, and most recently we have become involved in the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) field experiments. A major objective of these joint robot and crew experiments is to improve NASAs understanding of how to most effectively execute and increase science return from exploration missions. This paper focuses on an integrated suite of xGDS software and compatible hardware tools: xGDS Web Tools, VERVE, and Gigapan Voyage, how they are used, and the design decisions that were made to allow them to be easily developed, integrated, tested, and reused by multiple NASA field experiments and robotic platforms.

An Investigation of an Open-Source Software Development Environment in a Software Engineering Graduate Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ge, Xun; Huang, Kun; Dong, Yifei

2010-01-01

A semester-long ethnography study was carried out to investigate project-based learning in a graduate software engineering course through the implementation of an Open-Source Software Development (OSSD) learning environment, which featured authentic projects, learning community, cognitive apprenticeship, and technology affordances. The study…

Implementing Large Projects in Software Engineering Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coppit, David

2006-01-01

In software engineering education, large projects are widely recognized as a useful way of exposing students to the real-world difficulties of team software development. But large projects are difficult to put into practice. First, educators rarely have additional time to manage software projects. Second, classrooms have inherent limitations that…

The Structure of Medical Informatics Journal Literature

PubMed Central

Morris, Theodore A.; McCain, Katherine W.

1998-01-01

Abstract Objective: Medical informatics is an emergent interdisciplinary field described as drawing upon and contributing to both the health sciences and information sciences. The authors elucidate the disciplinary nature and internal structure of the field. Design: To better understand the field's disciplinary nature, the authors examine the intercitation relationships of its journal literature. To determine its internal structure, they examined its journal cocitation patterns. Measurements: The authors used data from the Science Citation Index (SCI) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) to perform intercitation studies among productive journal titles, and software routines from SPSS to perform multivariate data analyses on cocitation data for proposed core journals. Results: Intercitation network analysis suggests that a core literature exists, one mark of a separate discipline. Multivariate analyses of cocitation data suggest that major focus areas within the field include biomedical engineering, biomedical computing, decision support, and education. The interpretable dimensions of multidimensional scaling maps differed for the SCI and SSCI data sets. Strong links to information science literature were not found. Conclusion: The authors saw indications of a core literature and of several major research fronts. The field appears to be viewed differently by authors writing in journals indexed by SCI from those writing in journals indexed by SSCI, with more emphasis placed on computers and engineering versus decision making by the former and more emphasis on theory versus application (clinical practice) by the latter. PMID:9760393

Engineering and Software Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, Michael

The phrase ‘software engineering' has many meanings. One central meaning is the reliable development of dependable computer-based systems, especially those for critical applications. This is not a solved problem. Failures in software development have played a large part in many fatalities and in huge economic losses. While some of these failures may be attributable to programming errors in the narrowest sense—a program's failure to satisfy a given formal specification—there is good reason to think that most of them have other roots. These roots are located in the problem of software engineering rather than in the problem of program correctness. The famous 1968 conference was motivated by the belief that software development should be based on “the types of theoretical foundations and practical disciplines that are traditional in the established branches of engineering.” Yet after forty years of currency the phrase ‘software engineering' still denotes no more than a vague and largely unfulfilled aspiration. Two major causes of this disappointment are immediately clear. First, too many areas of software development are inadequately specialised, and consequently have not developed the repertoires of normal designs that are the indispensable basis of reliable engineering success. Second, the relationship between structural design and formal analytical techniques for software has rarely been one of fruitful synergy: too often it has defined a boundary between competing dogmas, at which mutual distrust and incomprehension deprive both sides of advantages that should be within their grasp. This paper discusses these causes and their effects. Whether the common practice of software development will eventually satisfy the broad aspiration of 1968 is hard to predict; but an understanding of past failure is surely a prerequisite of future success.

Enhancing requirements engineering for patient registry software systems with evidence-based components.

PubMed

Lindoerfer, Doris; Mansmann, Ulrich

2017-07-01

Patient registries are instrumental for medical research. Often their structures are complex and their implementations use composite software systems to meet the wide spectrum of challenges. Commercial and open-source systems are available for registry implementation, but many research groups develop their own systems. Methodological approaches in the selection of software as well as the construction of proprietary systems are needed. We propose an evidence-based checklist, summarizing essential items for patient registry software systems (CIPROS), to accelerate the requirements engineering process. Requirements engineering activities for software systems follow traditional software requirements elicitation methods, general software requirements specification (SRS) templates, and standards. We performed a multistep procedure to develop a specific evidence-based CIPROS checklist: (1) A systematic literature review to build a comprehensive collection of technical concepts, (2) a qualitative content analysis to define a catalogue of relevant criteria, and (3) a checklist to construct a minimal appraisal standard. CIPROS is based on 64 publications and covers twelve sections with a total of 72 items. CIPROS also defines software requirements. Comparing CIPROS with traditional software requirements elicitation methods, SRS templates and standards show a broad consensus but differences in issues regarding registry-specific aspects. Using an evidence-based approach to requirements engineering for registry software adds aspects to the traditional methods and accelerates the software engineering process for registry software. The method we used to construct CIPROS serves as a potential template for creating evidence-based checklists in other fields. The CIPROS list supports developers in assessing requirements for existing systems and formulating requirements for their own systems, while strengthening the reporting of patient registry software system descriptions. It may be a first step to create standards for patient registry software system assessments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Software Engineering Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1993-01-01

The workshop provided a forum for software practitioners from around the world to exchange information on the measurement, use, and evaluation of software methods, models, and tools. This year, approximately 450 people attended the workshop, which consisted of six sessions on the following topics: the Software Engineering Laboratory, measurement, technology assessment, advanced concepts, process, and software engineering issues in NASA. Three presentations were given in each of the topic areas. The content of those presentations and the research papers detailing the work reported are included in these proceedings. The workshop concluded with a tutorial session on how to start an Experience Factory.