NASA Postdoctoral Program Opportunities

Aeronautics Innovation Studies – An Internal and Scientific Examination How to Increase Disruptive Innovation

Location –  Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681

How to apply – https://npp.usra.edu/opportunities/details/?ro=19183

Citizenship requirement – U.S. Citizens Only

Description – Several factors propel NASA Aeronautics to take a rigorous examination of what amplifies and dampens the creation of the most disruptive types of innovation at NASA. These factors include: the increasing speed of technological advancements, the changing nature of the aeronautics industry, the opportunities that may be enabled by integrating capabilities from non-aerospace domains, and the recognition that large organizations such as NASA can create unintended barriers to the desired disruptive innovations. In this research effort, we seek to study both what encourages and what inhibits NASA Aeronautics researchers from innovating in a manner that is quick, transformative, cross-disciplinary, and cross-professional domain. Further, we seek to design and implement enhancements to identified amplifiers, and solutions to inhibitors, so that we can proactively infuse NASA Aeronautics with the requisite skills, tools, methods, and organizational processes and structures to support this type of innovation. With an appreciation for the complexity of innovation in a large organization and the challenge of fostering culture change, the scope of this study is intentionally broad to include, but not be limited to, the domains of: organization science, business management, technology policy, design science, operations research, psychology, information science, system dynamics, network science, anthropology, etc.

Applications are due November 1, 2019