Volume 10, Number 5 • September/October 2002 • Software Spotlight

Open Channel Software Leads Commercialization of NASA-Sponsored COMPARE Software

Open Channel Software, in conjunction with the NASA Glenn Research Center and the University of Akron, held a one-day seminar in early October on the COMPARE software program, which has been newly improved for commercial use. The COMPARE (Constitutive Material PARameter Estimator) software was originally developed through a NASA-sponsored collaboration between resear- chers at the NASA Glenn Research Center and the University of Akron to advance the power and performance of material science modeling in the design of engineering components and structures. The COMPARE seminar was conducted at the Ohio Aerospace Institute and provided industry participants and others with a hands-on opportunity to test the capabilities of the COMPARE software.

The COMPARE software greatly speeds the adaptation of experimental data to material science models. It utilizes advanced math to provide a fast and efficient tool to define the key parameters of a model from experi-mental data, reducing the time required from weeks or months to minutes and hours. In addition, it takes into consideration multi-axiality with the same ease as in uni-axial modeling, allowing for the modeling of far more complex environments. Further information on the COMPARE software is available at www.compare-ocs.com

Open Channel works in partnership with the NASA Glenn Research Center and other NASA Centers as part of the NASA Commercial Technology Program’s efforts to foster the market-driven development of NASA software for both NASA and commercial applications. The nonprofit Open Channel Foundation provides easy access to a growing array of NASA software code available for transfer, use and collaborative development through the Web site at www.openchannelfoundation.org

In turn, Open Channel’s commercialization arm focuses on transitioning software from NASA and other research institutions into the marketplace. In the case of COMPARE, over the past year Open
Channel Software worked with the Commercial Technology Office and key researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center, NASA’s Midwest Regional Technology Transfer Center (GLITeC), the NASA Illinois Commercialization Center and the University of Akron to craft a commercialization pathway and further enhance the COMPARE software. Q

For further information, go to www.nctn.hq.nasa.gov or contact Jonathan Root at NASA Headquarters, jonathan.root@hq.nasa.gov, phone: 202/358-1845. Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

NASA Official: Jonathan Root • Web Design: Printing & Design Office, NASA Headquarters • Credits