SATOP Insider - Spring 2022

Spring 2022 | Issue: 1

Volume 15

SATOP Insider Inside This Issue: Director’s Letter

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Success Story

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RTA #4036 New Mexico State University Alliance Partner assists with development of cart handle cover

SATOP provides rich and varied experience for UHCL intern

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What is SATOP?

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SATOP Alliance Partners How to Submit a Request

“Transforming space technology into commercial products.”

www.SATOP.Space

18045 Saturn Lane Houston, TX 77058

832.536.3255

Director’s Letter The Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP), administered by the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership (BAHEP), continues to assist small business owners in the State of Texas to overcome technical challenges and bring new products to market. The state has funded SATOP since 1999, which has resulted in more than 1,000 Texas small businesses receiving technical assistance otherwise unavailable to the public sector. Through community outreach and word-of-mouth, SATOP has been able to reach these small businesses in need.

As we continue to expand our outreach in Texas, SATOP success stories illustrate just how pivotal technical assistance is regarding the positive impact it has on a small business. Inside this issue of SATOP Insider, you will find such a story for Ramona Williams, owner of CC Coveralls.

BAHEP has worked with the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) over the past years to provide interns to SATOP to gain industry experience and contribute to SATOP’s mission. UHCL student Oscar D. Lazaro’s internship is featured in this issue.

Additionally, through the partnership with the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, SATOP has begun offering small businesses that require extensive technical assistance the opportunity to enter Texas A&M University’s Engineering Capstone Design Program. Teams of senior engineering students led by a professor of practice work on a project for two consecutive semesters to assist small businesses with design, development, and even prototyping.

Sincerely, Bob Payne SATOP Director Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership

Success Story Entrepreneur receives assistance with development of protective cart handle cover Inventor Ramona Williams is developing a disposable and biodegradable cart handle cover for use in medical facilities and retail stores to mitigate the spread of viruses and bacteria. In fall 2021, she sent a Request for Technical Assistance to SATOP, because she needed a recommendation for a thin plastic material that would be biodegradable, readily available, and cost-effective. Williams also requested assistance in developing a dispenser for rolls of the plastic and finding a manufacturer capable of mass producing the covers which she named Coveralls.

Williams said, “I found a link to the SATOP website on the Houston Inventors Association website. I completed a Request for Technical Assistance application, and I was glad to have qualified for the program.”

SATOP matched Williams with Alliance Partner engineer Dr. Yu-Ping Tang, a retired New Mexico State University professor. SATOP organized an introductory virtual meeting between Dr. Tang and Williams in October 2021 to discuss Williams’ request for technical assistance and develop the scope of work

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Success Story cost efficient – PLA film with adhesive applied to one side, cut into sheets, and stacked in a dispensable box.

This solution allows for a more efficient manufacturing process by cutting the sheets to a size that meets Williams’ specification for cart handles.

Dr. Tang’s research and analyses helped Williams identify the limitations to the product design and manufacturing process as well as establish the cost of bringing Coveralls to market. Through his recommendation, Williams also explored domestic avenues of production and connected with a New York-based manufacturer who said that he could manufacture the Coveralls.

Williams noted, “My experience with SATOP has been great. Everyone involved in the project has been awesome. They provided good advice and really refined my ideas. Finding the right manufacturer has been difficult, but I am grateful to SATOP and Yu-Ping for the assistance I’ve received in getting Coveralls ready to manufacture.”

needed to identify the optimal material, develop a design for dispensing the product, and, if time permitted, identify a manufacturer that could produce the Coveralls to Williams’ specifications using that material.

Dr. Tang’s materials research and brainstorming with Williams and manufacturers resulted in identifying biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) plastic film as the desired material to act as a barrier for pathogens. During his research to recommend a material, he even helped her obtain samples of candidate materials from manufacturers. Dr. Tang then evaluated Williams’ concept of dispensing roll film that could be separated along a perforation into individual sheets with an adhesive for consumer use on cart handles.

Dr. Tang contacted manufacturers about this approach, and, based on the feedback, Williams and he concluded that this manufacturing process would be cost prohibitive. Dr. Tang followed up with a manufacturer who arrived with a solution that would be more

SATOP provides rich and varied experience for UHCL intern The Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership has worked with the Office of Strategic Partnerships at the University of HoustonClear Lake for many years as it facilitates internship placement at companies throughout the region.

UHCL student Oscar D. Lazaro completed a fall 2021 internship and has continued in a spring 2022 internship at BAHEP’s Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP). Lazaro said,

“I really like the spectrum of different projects that come across my desk, the different people I encounter, as well as access to the various groups and committees at BAHEP. I’m exposed to a lot of different environments and communities that I wouldn’t have at other places.” He has plans to apply to an MBA program at UHCL following graduation, and the highly successful SATOP program could well have a permanent opening for a project engineer. Oscar’s work ethic has definitely not gone unnoticed by his director.

Bob Payne said, “Oscar’s willingness to take responsibility for his tasks and work independently led to his becoming a valued member of the SATOP team.”

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About SATOP What is SATOP? The Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP) is a State of Texas-funded program that helps small businesses faced with technical challenges by providing up to 40 hours of FREE technical assistance for qualified requests. This is accomplished by utilizing the vast engineering expertise of participating Alliance Partners (NASA Johnson Space Center, NASA contractors, subcontractors, and colleges/universities). SATOP is designed to speed the transfer of the U.S. Space Program’s knowledge and technology to the private sector, to provide economic benefits to the community, and to raise public awareness of the Space Program.

For more information, visit SATOP’s website at www.SATOP.Space

How to Submit a Request 1) Go to www.SATOP.Space and click on SUBMIT A REQUEST on the header.

SATOP Alliance Partners The consortium of Alliance Partners is the driving force behind the success of the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program. SATOP Alliance Partners include NASA Johnson

2) Begin the process for a Request for Technical Assistance application by filling out the short inquiry form.

3) A SATOP project engineer will contact you to discuss your application and how to proceed.

Space Center, aerospace firms, and colleges/universities.

Barrios Technology The Boeing Company College of the Mainland Design by Analysis GeoControl Systems Jacobs KBR MEI Technologies MRI Technologies

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NASA Johnson Space Center New Mexico State University Oceaneering Space Systems San Jacinto College District Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station Texas A&M University at Galveston TMAC—Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center