Jeff has been involved in aerospace journalism since the mid 1990s. Prior to joining Aviation Week, Jeff served as managing editor of Launchspace magazine and the International Space Industry Report. He has been the editor and chief of Aviation Week's Aerospace Daily & Defense Report since 2007 and has been a regular contributor to Aviation Week magazine. He received his B.A. from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England described the Department of Defense as a separate entity within the U.S. economic system, one isolated by "walls" of regulations that inhibit the efficient transfer of commercial technology into warfighters' hands. "There's literally a wall between the DOD ... and the commercial sector, and we have erected [the wall]," said England, speaking at the Second Annual Naval-Industry R&D Partnership Conference at the Reagan International Trade Building in Washington, D.C. Aug. 13.
The Air Force relies too much on outside agencies for science and technology work, according to the authors of a recent National Research Council report on Air Force S&T. The Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), which currently spends most of its budget on outside organizations such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and others, is a perfect example of this trend, according to Albert Sciaretta, report co-author and president of CNS Technologies, Inc.
NASA researchers are already looking forward to designing cockpit interfaces for the next-generation reusable launch vehicle (RLV) that will represent a marked improvement over current space shuttle systems. Among other changes, future human-automation interfaces will take better advantage of multiple senses, according to NASA Ames Research Psychologist Rob McCann.
