Independent Verification and Validation Facility

The main entrance to the NASA IV and V facility

NASA's Independent Verification and Validation Facility (IV&V) was established in 1993 and is located in Fairmont, West Virginia^{[citation needed]}. The IV&V Facility was founded under the NASA Office of Safety and Mission Assurance in the aftermath of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. The IV&V Facility houses over 150 full-time employees.

Purpose

Its purpose is to provide a higher level of safety and efficiency for "mission-critical software". Using a rigorous software engineering approach both ground and in-flight software systems are independently evaluated during planning, coding and testing in an effort to circumvent mission failure, the loss of equipment or personnel, and to meet time and cost constraints. All phases of software development are examined: concept, requirements, design, coding, testing and operation. Human operated software, robotic software, instrument software and data analysis software may all be assigned to IV&V by NASA.

The IV&V Facility's efforts have contributed to NASA's improved safety record since the facility's inception.

Educator Resource Center

Introduction

The Independent Verification and Validation Facility Educator Resource Center provides resources and training opportunities for approximately 1,000-2,000 in-service, pre-service, and informal educators in West Virginia annually. The materials and training cover a wide range of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics.

History

The NASA Educator Resource Center (ERC) was started in 2001 (need reference) by director Ned Keeler under the direction of then West Virginia University (WVU) graduate assistant Karen Davis. From 2001 till 2005 the ERC was funded as a grant through WVU with Dr. Eric Pyle as the principal investigator where it grew to include two full-time educators and developed a strong following, especially in the K-8 grade levels. In 2006, the program moved to Fairmont State University where it has become recognized for increased opportunities in the areas of earth and environmental science, technology, and secondary education under the leadership of principal investigator, Dr. Debra Hemler.

Training program

The ERC staff provides workshops for educators on a variety of topics to supplement the curriculum and help meet national and state educational standards. Topics include Aeronautics, Astronomy, Engineering Design Challenges, Mars, Moon Rocks and Meteorites, Planetary Geology, Podcasting, Rocketry, Robotics, or any other NASA educational product. The ERC is also the WV Partner for The GLOBE Program and provides teacher certification workshops in the areas of Hydrology, Soils, Atmosphere, Land Cover, and Seasons, as well as training in Global Positioning System (GPS), remote sensing, and the latest Geographic Information System (GIS) tools.

Equipment loan program

In support of the training, the ERC loans millions of dollars of equipment and classroom kits to educators who have attended trainings. The kits include: STARLAB Portable Planetarium, GPS, Kindernauts, GLOBE Protocol Kits (hydrology, soil, surface temperature, etc.), NEED Program Energy Kits (Science of Energy, Kid Wind, Solar, H2 Educate and Fuel-Cell Cars), Video iPod preloaded with NASA Podcasts, Mars THEMIS planetary geology, Making the Invisible Detectable, Robotics kits (LEGO NXT), Engineering Design Challenges (Thermal Protection System, Launch Platforms), Echo the Bat, Rocketry (Soda Bottle, Air, and Estes Rockets, and RockSim software), Pasco GLX Probeware and My World GIS, and much more.

Affiliations

The NASA IV&V Facility is affiliated with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the ERC is part of a nation-wide network of training sites at NASA centers and facilities.

See also

• Verification and validation

External links

• NASA IV&V Facility ERC
• NASA ERC Network
• NASA IV&V Facility