OCTOBER 2002

D

R&D 100 AWARDS ...................... 6Two Glenn innovations namedmost significant products

IT'S ALL ABOUT ATTITUDE......... 8Duane Schaft proves that attitudedetermines altitude

NEW EMPLOYEE BREAKFAST ..... 12Director's Leadership Team andothers share breakfast andconversation with new hires

Continued on page 00

F2M task force shares its mission

Volume 4 Issue 10 October 2002

Continued on page 9

uring an All Hands Address on August 26, NASA Adminis-trator Sean O'Keefe reaffirmed his commitment to adoptingthree guiding principles of a great organization—professional-ism, resources, and recognition—and gave examples of howthe Agency has addressed these values since his first visit toGlenn in January.

ProfessionalismAdministrator O'Keefe referenced the Freedom to Manage(F2M) task force's August 22 visit to Glenn. "This (F2M) is avery significant initiative," he said. "We need to break downbarriers that go against professionalism and respect."

Citing the recent change that allows civil servants of anycenter to easily enter any NASA installation using theirbadge, Administrator O'Keefe noted that it was a greatexample of how the Agency is working to break downbarriers that perpetuate division and disrespect.

Furthermore, e-mail addresses that will change to @NASA.gov, rather than the currentaddresses that reflect individual centers, will bring more unity within the Agency.

BY DOREEN ZUDELL

s there a barrier that gets in the way ofyou performing your work efficientlyand effectively? NASA's Freedom toManage (F2M) task force recently trav-eled to Glenn to solicit input that willimprove work processes and practiceswithin the Agency.

ICentral to the President's ManagementAgenda, the F2M program was estab-lished in January by NASA AdministratorSean O'Keefe to encourage civil servantsand contractors to identify and stimulatechanges.

This program is about "getting rid ofextraneous, unnecessary impedimentsand getting on with our work at hand,"explained NASA Chief of Staff CourtneyStadd, who chairs the task force."F2M will be ongoing at NASA.

Administrator visits

Continued on page 7

Photo by Marvin Smith

With Center Director Donald Campbellat his side, Administrator Sean O'Keefespoke to and with Glenn employees duringan All Hands Address on August 26.

C–2002–1651

Contract awarded for new environmental satellite system

TRW Company of Redondo Beach, CA, has been awarded a $4.5 billion contract tobuild and deploy the Nation’s future environmental satellite system. The contract is forthe Acquisition and Operations phase of the National Polar-orbiting OperationalEnvironmental Satellite System (NPOESS), which will combine the Nation's militaryand civilian environmental satellite programs into a single national system to providevital information about our weather, environment, climate, and oceans. The newsystem represents an integrated effort among NASA, the Commerce Department’sNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Defensethat is expected to result in taxpayer savings of approximately $1.6 billion over theNPOESS lifetime. More information on the NPOESS program is available at http://www.ipo.noaa.gov/.

To better understand both the causes of an electricalstorm’s fury and its effects on our home planet, NASAand university research scientists are using a tool noatmospheric scientist has ever used to study lightning—an uninhabited aerial vehicle(UAV). Researchers chaseddown thunderstorms usingthe Altus II twin turbo remotelypiloted aircraft, based at theNaval Air Station Key West inFlorida, which allowed them toachieve the dual goals ofgathering weather data safelyand testing new aircrafttechnology. Capable of high-altitude flight up to 65,000feet, the UAV has the abilityto fly near thunderstorms forlong periods of time, allowinginvestigations to be conducted over the entire life cycle of storms. This research is partof the Altus Cumulus Electrification Study, a collaboration among NASA's Marshalland Goddard Centers, the University of Alabama at Huntsville, Penn State Universityat University Park, and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., in San Diego. Formore information, visit http://www1.msfc.nasa.gov/NEWSROOM.

NASA okays proposals for Solar Dynamics Observatory

NASA selected three proposals to execute on the Solar Dynamics Observatory(SDO), the cornerstone and first in a series of missions in the new Living With a Star(LWS) Program. The SDO will provide new data on the nature and consequence ofsolar variability. The proposals selected are the Helioseismic and Vector MagneticImager, Solar Heliospheric Activity Research and Prediction Program, and ExtremeUltraviolet Variability Experiment. All flight instruments for the SDO mission will becoordinated through the Goddard Center and flown on a NASA-supplied Sun-pointing spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit. The SDO mission is a multilateralinternational collaboration with university and industry participants from Belgium,Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, England, and the United States. NASAintends to launch in August 2007 for a prime mission of 5 years. More information onNASA's Living With a Star program is available at http://lws.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

Hubbard namedAmes director

NASA studies lightning with UAV

G.

Hubbard

Marshall’s Tony Kim and Dr. RichardBlakeslee test UAV sensors.

he 2002 Turbine Engine TechnologySymposium, sponsored by the U.S. AirForce, was held last week in Dayton,OH, in which Glenn was well represented.This event enabled the turbine enginecommunity to review and discuss thelatest technology advances achievedunder the Integrated High PerformanceTurbine Engine Technology (IHPTET) and,more recently, the Versatile AffordableAdvanced Turbine Engines (VAATE)Programs.

The theme of this year's symposium was"A Century of Power for Flight," whichacknowledges the contribution of pro-pulsion to the centennial celebration ofpowered flight that will occur in 2003.The technical program emphasized ac-complishments and future challenges todevelop superior propulsion capabilityfor weapon systems. �

T

Glenn participatesin symposium

Altus II

Scott Hubbard,former deputydirector for Re-search at Ames, wasselected centerdirector at AmesResearch Center.He replaces Dr.Henry "Harry" Mc-Donald who will

join the faculty at the University ofTennessee at Chattanooga as distin-guished professor of computationalengineering.

Hubbard was previously responsible forthe organization and oversight of Ames'research efforts. He is widely acknow-ledged as the originator of the highlysuccessful Mars Pathfinder missionconcept and was the project managerfor Ames' portion of that 1997 mission.He helped establish NASA's AstrobiologyInstitute at Ames, which addressesfundamental questions about the originand evolution of life in the universe, andserved as its initial director. �

Headquarters news release

2

OCTOBER 2002

Kennedy news release

dministratorSean O'Keefenamed James L.Jennings, for-mer deputydirector of theKennedy SpaceCenter, deputyassociate ad-ministrator forInstitutions and AssetManagement at Headquarters , effectiveSeptember 9.

Jennings, who has been with the Agencyfor 35 years, will be responsible forproviding operational and managementsupport for Headquarters and willdirect a full range of activities relatingto personnel and institutional manage-ment, reporting directly to DeputyAdministrator Frederick Gregory.

"Jim's diverse management experiencewith NASA makes him uniquelyqualified for this position," AdministratorO'Keefe said. "He has literally watchedthis Agency grow up from the front lines.Jim’s leadership and resource manage-ment expertise are needed in Washingtonas we re-evaluate the way NASA managesits infrastructure and assets." �

Jennings earns newHeadquarters post

Jennings

ASA's Associate Administrator forSpace Flight, William F. Readdy, an-nounced the appointment of James W.Kennedy as deputy center director at

Appointments emphasize "One NASA"Headquarters news release

Kennedy King

NA

Kennedy Space Center, and David A.King, as deputy center director at Mar-shall Space Flight Center, effectiveNovember 3. Kennedy currently servesas deputy center director at Marshallwhile King is director of shuttle process-ing at Kennedy.

The appointments reflect AdministratorSean O'Keefe's new approach of "OneNASA," which focuses on NASA Head-quarters and field centers havingenhanced coordination, collaboration,and communication to reach acommon goal. �

P

esearch aboard the InternationalSpace Station (ISS) is getting a boost.Administrator Sean O'Keefe named

Dr. Peggy Whitsonthe first ISS scienceofficer while notingthat it is time toincrease emphasison the orbitingoutpost's mainmission—research.

Whitson, who has adoctorate in bio-

chemistry from Rice University in Hous-ton, became the station's first residentscientist when she arrived at the space

station June 7 as an Expedition 5 flightengineer. Prior to selection as an astro-naut, Whitson's NASA career includedservice as a researcher developing spaceshuttle experiments, as project scientistfor the Shuttle-Mir program, and ascochair of the U.S.–Russian MissionScience Working Group.

The ISS science officer is a new dutyassignment that will be made for a NASAastronaut on each ISS Expedition Crew.The science officer will continue to be thepoint of contact for the space stationcrew with NASA-sponsored principalinvestigators as well as payload develop-ers, integrators, and trainers. �

O'Keefe names first ISS Science OfficerJohnson news release

Dr. Whitson

R

amela L. Mountjoy, 49, former curricu-lum/dissemination program officer forNASA's Office of Human Resources andEducation, died of cancer September 12at her home in Laurel, MD.

Mountjoy, who was a former schoolteacher, traveled to schools across thecountry to promote education in math-ematics and other sciences and to en-courage use of instructional materialsavailable through NASA's Educator Re-source Center Network and the CentralOperation of Resources for Educators.

Pamela Mountjoy dies; managed NASA teacher programsShe managed the Teacher in Space Pro-gram, which was suspended followingthe death of space shuttle Challenger'sentire crew in 1986, but was reactivatedin 1998. That mission included thefirst participating school teacherChrista McAuliffe.

Mountjoy also helped develop pro-grams and activities such as EarthKamthat enabled students to view images ofEarth taken from a camera mounted onspace shuttle flights and currently Inter-national Space Station.

During her 17 yearsof service to NASA,both as an indepen-dent contractorand civil servantMountjoy wasawarded NASA'sDistinguished Ser-vice Medal, whichshe received in Au-gust, the Excep-tional Service Medal and the SilverSnoopy for professional excellence.

Mountjoy

3

C–2002–1673 Photo by Marvin Smith

4

Tech Expo 2002

Although the Relay-for-Life campaign isusually months ahead of Breast CancerAwareness Month observed in October,Glenn's support for both on behalf of theAmerican Cancer Society is always ontime. This year’s NASA team, composedof Glenn employees and survivors fromthe Heart-to-Heart Breast Cancer SupportGroup, helped raise the approximately$50K collected during the BrunswickRelay-for-Life held June 7 to 8. Rick (5420)and Berny (0120) Baldwin organized theGlenn team. Strangers From the Street,a band composed of several Glennemployees, did a benefit performanceas well.

Ohio Congressional Repre-sentative Marcy Kaptur visitedPlum Brook Station on Sep-tember 3 to learn more aboutNASA's Nuclear Systems Ini-tiative and National AerospaceInitiative. During her visit,Facility Manager Robert Kozarprovided an overview ofPlum Brook and briefed heron the Nuclear ReactorDecommissioning Project.Representatives from the U.S.Department of Agriculture and

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife provided insight into their efforts for wildlife andhumans to live more harmoniously. Pictured (left to right) are Kozar, Rep.Kaptur, and Center Director Donald Campbell.

On August 22, more than 350 Glenngovernment and contract employeeswere treated to exhibits from 25 mostlysmall businesses including industry-leading manufacturers, developers, andsystems integrators during the"Technology Expo" in the Ad Bldg.Auditorium. The event, sponsored bythe Small Business Office, is an annualoutreach activity held at the Center toprovide the business community anopportunity to demonstrate theirtechnology, tools, software, furniture,and equipment. Pictured below areemployees trying out a work unitdisplayed by the Stephan Group.

Congresswoman visits Plum Brook

A warm welcomeEmployees throughout the Lab gathered inthe Main Cafeteria on August 13 to con-gratulate and welcome Dr. Julian Earls asGlenn's deputy director. The humorous"Toast and Roast" consisted of a series ofspeakers including Olga González-Sanabria,director of the Systems Management Office(pictured with Earls) who reminisced aboutEarl's past experiences at Glenn and pledgedsupport in the future.

Cancer awareness

Key personnel from the FederalAviation Administration (FAA)Engine and Propeller Directoraterecently met with personnel fromthe Glenn Aeronautics Directorate,the Ultra-Efficient Engine Technol-ogy (UEET) Program, the Office ofSafety and Assurance Technologies(OSAT), and Science ApplicationsInternational Corporation support-ing OSAT. The representativesdiscussed a joint technologycertifiability program. The end goal of this program is to reduce the development-to-implementation time of new technologies currently being developed within theUEET program. Pictured left to right are Victoria Briscoe (SAIC/5000), Fran Favaraand Jorge Fernandez (FAA), Dave Brewer (0300/5920), and Carol Ginty (2600).

Glenn dialogues with FAA

Photo by Tom Jares

Photo by S. Jenise Veris

Photo by Doreen Zudell

OCTOBER 2002

Nuclear Systems Initiative

B

� The Fifth Annual Halloween Party will be held on Thursday, October 31 from2 to 3 p.m. in the Main Cafeteria. Prizes will be awarded for the best costume.There will be lots of fun, food, and prizes!

� Mark your calendars for our next "Books Are Fun" book fair. The book fair willbe held on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 19 and 20.

� The Annual Thanksgiving Dinner Special will be held on Thursday, November 21.The dinner will be served in the Main and DEB Cafeterias from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

� As the holidays approach, consider the Exchange to cater your holiday events.The Deli and Catering Department can help you plan your next party. For moreinformation, call Becky Tinlin, 216–433–5534.

Exchange Corner

LESA MEETING: LESA/IFPTE, Local 28,will hold its next monthly membershipmeeting on Wednesday, October 9, atnoon in Bldg. 15, Rm. 101.

SAFETY FAIR: Safety Week is October 15to 18. Glenn's Safety Office and MedicalServices will present a Safety Fair onFriday, October 18, from 10 a.m. to 3p.m. in the Ad Bldg. Auditorium. Watchcoworkers and managers compete live,on stage in the game show "Wheel ofWisdom." Munch on popcorn asDuPont's "Torture Chamber" fightshand-to-hand with your work gloves. Youwill also have an opportunity to speak

with ergonomic experts about makingyour workspace more comfortable.

SAFETY AWARDS: On October 16, theCenter will present its annual SafetyAwards in the Ad Bldg. Auditorium from1 to 2 p.m. Astronaut Don Thomas isscheduled to participate.

AFGE MEETING: AFGE Local 2182will hold its next monthly membershipmeeting at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday,November 6, at the American LegionHall on Brookpark Rd. and W. 220th St.All members are encouraged to attend.

eginning in fiscal year 2003, NASAplans to embark on an exciting neweffort—the Nuclear Systems Initiative(NSI)—to develop technologies that willenable significant scientific explorationof the outer planets within our solar sys-tem. I am extremely proud that the GlennResearch Center, along with the MarshallSpace Flight Center, the Jet Propulsion

Laboratory, and the Departmentof Energy, will participate in this newinitiative.

The focus of NSI will be technologydevelopments for radioisotope powersystems (RPS) and fission-poweredpropulsion systems for spacecraft. Glennwill support both of these areas. RPS

focuses on selection, development, andvalidation of the power system intendedfor use on the Mars Mobile SurfaceLaboratory, currently scheduled forlaunch in 2009. Our responsibilities forRPS include technical support of theStirling radioisotope generator. For thefission-powered spacecraft aspect,Glenn will provide technology and sup-port in the areas of power conversion,thermal and power management, anddistribution technologies for electricpropulsion systems. A key componentof both focuses is safety.

NSI will enable the technologies requiredfor this Nation to extend its scientificreach to the outermost planets. As ourreach becomes greater in terms of timeand distance, we have the opportunity tofurther extend our knowledge of thesolar system and our universe. I am veryexcited about this opportunity for us toparticipate in this bold initiative. �

On October 21, native Clevelandastronaut Carl Walz and Interna-tional Space Station Expedition 4crewmate Dan Bursch will visitthe Center as part of their post-mission tour. An employee brief-ing is being planned at whichtime the astronauts will share anoverview and personal reflectionsof their 196 days in space.

During their mission, Walz andBursch broke the U.S. spaceflightendurance record. Walz also holdsthe U.S. record for most cumula-tive time in space with 231 days,and Bursch is second with 227days. The two astronauts will bemeeting with teams from theSpace Directorate to reviewhardware and experiment perfor-mance and results. Stay tuned toToday@Glenn for details.

Pictured(left)BurschandWalz inthespacestation.

Astronauts to visit

6

A

Two Glenn innovations named2002 most significant products

Graphic by Terry Condrich

rt restoration and computer simula-tion are not the kind of work readilyassociated with aerospace research, butat Glenn, such work is changing peoples'perceptions. This year, Glenn is the re-cipient of two prestigious R&D 100awards, which are presented annually byR&D Magazine for the year’s 100 mosttechnologically significant new products.

Atomic oxygen applied in art restorationand the Numerical Propulsion SystemSimulation (NPSS), a propulsion systemsimulation software program, arethe Glenn winners for 2002. This

Glenn news release

brings Glenn's total to 85 since theaward's inception.

NPSS, a world-class propulsion systemsimulation tool emerging as the U.S.standard for aerospace simulation, wasbuilt and maintained with the fullinteraction of every major U.S. aircraftengine manufacturer.

NPSS provides NASA and the U.S.aerospace industry with ease of use anda revolutionary engineering capabilitythat will reduce cost and risk associatedwith advanced propulsion system

development, translating into increasedsafety for aeronautics and the humanexploration of space.

Cynthia Gutierrez Naiman, Glenn's NPSSteam lead, worked with a team of 39,Glenn engineers and other organizations,including Analex, Cleveland; Arnold En-gineering Development Center, ArnoldEngineering Development Center, AFB,TN; The Boeing Company, Seattle, WA;General Electric Aircraft Engines, Cincin-nati; Honeywell, Phoenix, AZ; IntegralSystems Inc., Cleveland; Modern Tech-nologies Corp., Middleburg Hts.; Pratt &Whitney, East Hartford, CT; Rolls RoyceCo., Indianapolis, IN; RS Information Sys-tems Inc., Cleveland; Teledyne Conti-nental Motors Turbine Engines, Toledo;Williams International, Walled Lake, MI;Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Day-ton; and ZIN Technologies, Cleveland.

Removal of organic and carbon contami-nants from the surfaces of paintings andother art objects by means of low-energyatomic oxygen is the second award-winning technology. This technology,developed to simulate the low-Earth-orbital space environment, has made itpossible to etch as well as alter thesurface chemistry and texture of manymaterials through atomic oxygen interac-tion processes. Commercial applicationsof this technology include medical andindustrial and air restoration.

"We haven't even begun to realize allthe potential applications for this tech-nology," said Bruce Banks, Glenn'sElectro-Physics Branch chief, whocodeveloped the technique with SharonMiller, a researcher in the same branch.

The 2002 R&D 100 awards will bepresented on October 16 during abanquet at Chicago's Navy PierConvention Center. �

Glenn-developed 50-kW Hall thrus-ter test program is underway in the Elec-tric Propulsion Laboratory’s VacuumFacility-5 (VF5/Tank 5), and all systemsare operating as expected. The facility’sunique size and pumping speed allowresearchers to validate hardware andtechnologies quickly simulated in thevacuum of space that may be key compo-nents in the Agency's future missions toEarth orbit and beyond.

Significant ground test programs will berequired to develop these thrusters oper-ating at power levels exceeding 20 kW—an order of magnitude above the state ofthe art. Recent testing of the high-powerNASA 457M Hall thruster achieved threetimes the power of any previous level inexcess of 70 kW.

Located in Building 301, Tank 5 includesa number of isolated ports (up to 6 m indiameter) that allow multiple tests to beconducted without the need to cycle theentire facility to atmosphere. With over100 kW of installed power for thrustertesting, integral propellant feed systems,thrust stands, and plume diagnostics, Tank5 provides the world’s most-capablefacility for high-power electric thrusterand system testing.

Tank 5 was used to acceptance test ionengines and power processors (PPU)including the spaceflight engine andPPU that have successfully flown on theDeep Space 1 mission. �

An inside view of Tank 5, which is 4.6 m indiameter by 19.2 m in length. The chamber hasa pumping speed in excess of 3,500,000 litersper second.

Tank 5: tops in electrical propulsion testing

A

OCTOBER 2002

7

Administrator looksahead with optimismContinued from page1

ResourcesAdministrator O'Keefe pointed to threemission objectives that will guide wherethe Agency will dedicate the bulk ofits resources: power generation, in-space propulsion, and the NuclearSystems Initiative.

He noted that Glenn would play key rolesin these areas as well as the IntegratedFinancial Management Program (IFMP),which debuts at Glenn in October.Reengineering NASA's business structure,IFMP will implement enabling technol-ogy that will provide information forbetter decisionmaking and seamlessmanagement of multicenter programs.

Administrator O'Keefe explained that"Glenn is critical to what we do toestablish credibility" outside as well aswithin the Agency.

Recognition"On October 1 when IFM comes online,everyone at NASA will notice," Adminis-trator O'Keefe said, "and in the next 10months the entire Agency will go to IFM,looking to emulate what you have done."

Along with recognition within the Agency,public awareness is vital to NASA. Thismeans ensuring not only that the publicis familiar with Agency programs, goals,and initiatives, but also that these factorsinspire young people to pursue careersin math, science, and engineering.

Noting the maturity of the Agency, theAdministrator affirmed the importanceof reaching the next generation. "A majorfocus in the coming year and thereafteris how to pull together the initiatives todo this," he explained.

He cited two ways he hopes to achievethis goal: naming an Associate Adminis-trator for Education (an enterpriseequivalent) and forming an EducationMission Specialist category within theAstronaut Corp. A national recruitingeffort for teachers to fill these roles will be

IFMP premiers at Glenn

Photos by Marvin Smith

forthcoming. To celebrate thisgoal, O'Keefe proudly pre-sented Center DirectorDonald Campbell with aposter of Education MissionSpecialist Barbara Morgantalking to young students—thefuture generation of NASAscientists and engineers. �

Top:AdministratorO'Keefe unveilsa posterpromotingEducationMissionSpecialists.Below: (left toright) DirectorCampbell,AdministratorO'Keefe, andAssistantAdministrator ofPublic AffairsGlenn Mahone,meet with thelocal media.

lenn is leading the way to the Agency's new common financial managementsystem, the Core Financial module. Core Financial and Travel Management areprojects within the Integrated Financial Management Program (IFMP) that will golive for the first time this month at Glenn. IFMP is an Agencywide effort tomodernize NASA's financial and administrative systems and processes.

During his recent visit, Administrator Sean O'Keefe thanked Glenn for its leader-ship in helping to make this happen. In the past year, NASA employees on theIFMP project teams logged thousands of hours gathering input, redesigningprocesses, configuring software and hardware, converting data, communicatingchanges, and more. Core Financial end-users attended almost 6,000 hours oftraining during August with more scheduled in September. Both elements arecritical for a successful system implementation. Glenn needs to have both a systemthat is ready for use and users trained to access it from day one. Successfulimplementation is a team effort.

The Travel Management software is the Agency solution for an integrated travelmanagement system that provides electronic routing, e-mail notifications, andup-to-date travel information. Travelers will now electronically sign their travelvouchers in the system in order to receive reimbursement for travel expenses.While other centers are using the same Travel Manager software, only Glenn hasintegrated that software with the Core Financial system, SAP. �

C–2002–1647

C–2002–1655

G

BY S. JENISE VERIS

Schaft proves that attitude determines altitude

Airport construction updateNew facilities coming along

8

he City of Cleveland has begun the relocation of several Glenn facilities as partof its airport expansion project.

In August, construction began on the Small Scale Multi-Purpose ResearchFacility (SMiRF) at the Abram Creek valley along Creek Road. Meanwhile,construction progresses on the Liquid Hydrogen Transfer Facility off of Guerinand Cryogenics roads in the West Area.

Support service contractor trailer storage areas, originally clustered in theSouth 40 area, are being relocated to make room for the new runway as well.They will be placed in areas under construction near the South Gate and in theWest Area off of Guerin Road.

In October, workers will begin building three facilities in the West Area—theLewis Little Folks Daycare Center, the Fitness Center, and the Picnic Grounds.These facilities will be constructed across the street from their current locationson West Area Road (behind the baseball diamonds and near OAI). Construc-tion of these recreational-educational facilities is expected to be complete byJune of 2003.

The relocation of the Central Chemical Storage Facility (CCSF) and theCryogenics Components Laboratory (CCL) is currently in the design process.Planning for relocating of pressure vessels to the Hypersonic Test Facility (HTF)are is also underway. CCSF will be constructed near Substation A in the South40 area, and CCL and HTF will relocate to Plum Brook Station in Sandusky. �

T

1985, shortly afterearning his account-ing degree fromBaldwin-Wal laceCollege. He imme-diately took advan-tage of the widevariety of trainingand developmentopportunities avail-able at Glenn.

Schaft's hard-working philosophy hasproven key to his ability to take on theresponsibilities of his current assignmentas Glenn's lead for data conversion of theCore Financial module of NASA's Inte-grated Financial Management Program.Schaft oversees what he described as a

"consuming effort" to convert all thefinancial data from Glenn's legacyaccounting systems into the new SAPsoftware.

Recognizing how his hard work anddetermination could encourage others,Schaft joined Glenn's Disability Aware-ness Advisory Group (DAAG) about ayear ago.

"I finally realized that my attitude andwork ethic is an asset and example worthsharing with DAAG members andothers," Schaft reflected. "Also, participa-tion in DAAG afforded me opportunitiesto meet new people and to broaden myvision on Agency processes and issues ofcommon concern." �

A lthough a native of Berea, DuaneSchaft grew up with little knowledge ofthe neighboring NASA facility. Never-theless, his father's memories of "an ex-cellent place to work" back in the 1950'sas an electrical apprentice was enough toencourage application for his first job outof college. Seventeen years later, Schaftsaid his experience at Glenn is everythinghe dreamed it could be.

"I was immediately impressed with theprofessionalism and positive attitudeduring my first interview," said Schaft,an information technology specialistin the Financial Management Division."Right away, Glenn offered me a senseof equality, unlike some of the 15 othercompanies that weren't receptiveto my inquiries about employmentopportunities."

Equal opportunity was especiallyimportant to Schaft, who was raised towork hard and never to allow the fact thathe lacked hands to be the focus of whathe could accomplish.

Schaft brought that philosophy with himwhen he began his career at Glenn in

Today's Disabilities...Tomorrow's Opportunities

Disability AwarenessMonth Theme:

with keynote speakersZoe Koplowitz,

award-winning author ofThe Winning Spirit—Life Lessons

Learned in Last Placeand

Nelson Lauver, a.k.a.the American Story Teller

Look for details on date and time onToday@Glenn.

Disability Awareness Month

Schaft

OCTOBER 2002

9

Having a say in theway we do businessContinued from page 1

The Administrator is personally commit-ted to finding barriers to getting the jobdone."

Stadd, along with Cochair Gregory Reck,deputy chief technologist at Headquar-ters, and four members of the task forceparticipated in the address in the DEBAuditorium on August 22. Glenn was

Freedom to Manage

the first stop for the F2Mtask force team, who willbe visiting all NASA centersin the coming months.

"We've made some real progress sincethe F2M team was established," Recksaid. "Our first effort to solicit inputresulted in well over 300 suggestions.We've already addressed many of theitems that fall under NASA's control—theones we have 'the power to change.'Suggestions that influence other Federal

agencies will take us moretime to work through."

The F2M task force hasorganized the initial sugges-tions—obtained through theWeb site or F2M contacts atindividual Centers—underfive categories: humanresources (34 percent),procurement (28 percent),financial management (21percent, intellectual pro-

perty (5 percent),and other (12percent).

Reck explainedthat the team hasmoved aggress-ively to analyzethe issues raised

that require legislative relief or reform.Eighteen F2M legislative proposals wereincorporated into the FY2003 draftNASA authorization bill. In addition, theteam is already drafting legislation forFY2004 based on employee suggestions.

"By mid-September we hope to get backto everyone with positive feedback," Recksaid. "In addition, we're working at add-ing a tiger team approach to address thedaunting issues."

During the All Hands Address, task forcemembers Richard Beck, Olga Domin-guez, Anne Guenther, and Greg Hayesalso reported on their respective areasand provided figures and examplesof how the Agency has or will addressthe issues.

Later in the day, team members con-ducted breakout sessions, open to allemployees, in Buildings 500 and 3 toprovide further details on the processand encourage additional input.

"I received positive feedback from theF2M task force concerning their dayhere at Glenn," said Deputy DirectorDr. Julian Earls, Glenn's F2M contact."The break-out sessions were especiallyvaluable and resulted in new suggestionsfor the task force to consider."

All NASA employees—civil servants andsupport service contractors—are encour-aged to visit the F2M Web site to learnspecifics about the suggestions andactions and to submit new ideas forconsideration. The site can be reachedat http://f2m.nasa.gov. �

Above: These five categories reflect thepercentage of the initial suggestionsreceived.

(A) Stadd (standing)outlines the object-ives of the F2M taskforce as (left) Reck

and Center DirectorCampbell look on.

(B) Dominguez (center)addresses questions and

records suggestionsduring one of the

breakout sessions.

(C) Task force members(left to right) Dominguez,

Beck, Hayes, andGuenther share statistics

and solutions.

B

Graphic by Kelly Shankland

C

Photos by Quentin Schwinn

A

10

DEADLINES: News items and brief announcementsfor publication in the November issue must be re-ceived by noon, Friday, October 11. The deadline forthe December issue is noon, Thursday, November 14.Submit contributions to the editor via e-mail atdoreen.zudell@grc.nasa.gov, fax 216–433–8143,phone 216–433–5317 or 216–433–2888, or send toMS 3–11. Ideas for news stories are welcome andwill be published as space allows.

Editor..................................................Doreen B. Zudell InDyne, Inc.

Assistant Editor......................................S. Jenise Veris InDyne, Inc.

Managing Editor....................................Lori J. Rachul

AeroSpace Frontiers is an official publication of GlennResearch Center, National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration. It is published the first Friday of eachmonth by the Community and Media Relations Officein the interest of the Glenn workforce, retirees, gov-ernment officials, business leaders, and the generalpublic. Its circulation is approximately 6700.

James Bagwell,Space Directorate,retired on Sept-ember 30, 2002,with 38 years ofNASA service.

Suggestion award

PDP graduates

Deputy chiefJames Onest hasbeen named deputychief for the CentralProcess SystemsOperations Branch.Onest has workedin the central pro-cess systems areafor his entire 28-yearcareer. In additionto taking on lead

roles and responsibilities of leadershipover the years, Onest has expert knowl-edge of the central process systems andhas demonstrated excellent personnelskills in dealing with a large staff.

Theresa McCoy,Scientific Applica-tions DevelopmentBranch, was re-cently recognized inthe Employee Sug-gestion AwardProgram for hersuggestion of On-line Leave Record.Annually, the NASA

C–418 is distributed to employees sothey can track their leave. McCoysuggested placing a form online thatcan be used and printed out if desired.

Griebel

McCoy

Two Glenn employees—Theresa Griebeland Dr. Chan Kim—were among 17NASA employees who were recentlyrecognized for successfully completingthe NASA Professional DevelopmentProgram (PDP). In his address to thegraduates, Administrator Sean O'Keefereminded the class of their responsibil-ity to mentor and share what theylearned this past year.

Administrator O'Keefe said, "Part of yourleadership responsibility now is to bringthe energy and enthusiasm you have tohelp others improve."

As a PDP participant, Griebel, SpaceTransportation Project Office, worked inthe Office of Aerospace Technology for8 months providing leadership and sup-port to many activities, particularly forthe Space Transportation programs. The

final 4 months of her PDP, Griebel workedin the Office of Space Science, support-ing the formation of the NuclearSystems Initiative (NSI), including leadingthe effort to write the NSI NASA ResearchAnnouncement (NRA) entitled "Radio-scope Power Conversion Technology."This NRA is expected to result in $18million per year in contracts that will beimplemented out of Glenn.

As a PDP participant, Kim, Telecommuni-cations and Networking Branch, workedin the Office of the Chief InformationOfficer for 9 months providing support tomany Agency activities, including theStrategic Resources Review item "Con-solidated Business Services," portal whitepaper, and directives vulnerabilities task.He also worked at the Department of theNavy for 3 months, sharing bestpractices in and providing support toenterprise architecture and applicationmanagement activities. He currentlyworks in the Office of the Chief Informa-tion Officer on enterprise architectureand data management.

Onest

Dr. Kim

AchievementsDavid Lewicki, Ve-hicle TechnologyDirectorate as-signed to the Me-chanical Compo-nents Branch, andtwo Boeing employ-ees won the bestpaper award of thepropulsion sessionsat the recent American Helicopter Soci-ety 58th Forum in Montreal. The paper"Torque Splitting by a Concentric FaceGear Transmission" demonstrated thatface gears can be applied effectively insplit torque rotorcraft transmissions,yielding potential for significant weight,cost, and reliability improvementsover existing equipment using spiralbevel gearing.

Carl Silski, Procurement Division, wasrecognized at the New England SmallBusiness Conference, one of two nationalNASA-sponsored small business confer-ences. He received the 2002

Lewicki

Commitment toExcellence Awardas the GovernmentAdvocate of theYear for his work insupport of smalland women andminor i ty -ownedbusinesses.

Silski

Bagwell

11

a closer look at our colleagues

Keith Peecook

Job Assignment: I'm the senior project engineer for the PlumBrook Reactor Decommissioning.Time at Glenn: I've been with the Center—working at bothLewis Field and Plum Brook Station— for 15 years.Hometown: I was born in Avon Lake and currently reside inHuron.Describe your family: My family is the center of my life. Mywife, Kaye, and I recently celebrated our 22nd weddinganniversary. We have two daughters: Allison, a freshman at

Ohio University; and Erica, a sophomore at Huron High School.Favorite food: Almost any kind of pasta.Favorite music: I enjoy Celtic, both traditional and modern.Favorite book or magazine: I bounce between science fiction for pleasure andhistory and biographies for substance. Two recent favorites were Fallen Dragon(sci-fi) and Founding Brothers (history).Favorite movie or play: Noises Off is a very funny farce that was good as a moviebut even funnier on stage.Person most admired: My father, a man of many talents and interests, taught methrough example the importance of family.Activities when away from Glenn: I enjoy kayaking, traveling, and working withstained glass. I'm also active in the U.S. Navy Reserves as an engineering dutyofficer. I currently hold the rank of captain.

We would like to thank everyone whosent cards, called, said a prayer, or visitedour son, Tony, after his car accident inMay. Tony and the family have beenthrough a very difficult time, and weare glad that we have had the supportof so many friends here at Glenn. Tonyhas been released from the hospitaland continues to improve with hisphysical therapy at home. A special notefrom us: Please wear your seat belts! Thistragedy could have been prevented bybuckling up.

—Steve and Luann Keys

Richard Fink, 76, who retired from Glenn'sPlum Brook Station in 1974 with 24 yearsof service, recently died. He worked asan equipment management leader.

Frances Haas, 93, who began herNACA/NASA career at Langley in 1939,recently died. Her work later broughther to Glenn, where she worked until theearly 1950s.

Robert Hess,,,,, 86, who retired from Glennin 1975 with 30 years of service, recentlydied. Hess was a former model maker.

Alois Krsek, 92, who retired from Glennin 1969, recently died. He began hisNACA/NASA career at Langley in 1931.He came to Glenn in 1942 at which timehe conducted research on aircraft enginefuels. During his career, he worked onfuels for WWII fighter planes, jet airlines,and spacecraft.

Susan Ledel, 61, who worked in theNuclear Systems Division between 1960and 1970, recently died. Her husband,Donald, who died before her, retiredfrom Glenn in 1987.

Job Assignment: I'm an attorney advisor in the Office of theChief Counsel.Time at Glenn: I've been with the Center for 1 year.Hometown/current residence: ClevelandDescribe your family: My husband, Robert L. Allen, retiredfrom Glenn in 1995. I have two daughters: Cicely, age 21,a senior at Hampton University; and Tiffany, age 16, a juniorat Collinwood High School. We also have a toy poodlenamed Buster.

Favorite food: Any kind of pasta.Favorite music: I enjoy gospel and anything by Al Green.Favorite book or magazine: The BibleFavorite movie or play: The Color PurplePerson most admired: My mother, Mary Watts, who is an actress, a poet, adirector of dramatic productions, and an inspiration to those who have talent andthose who have not yet discovered their talent. Though she is well up in her senioryears, she still believes she will be discovered and become a famous star. To ourfamily she is already famous.Activities when away from Glenn: I am the president of Renaissance PlaceHomeowners Association, the president of Mount Olive Baptist Church Commu-nity Development Corporation, and a member of Network, Inc., in the Houghneighborhood of Cleveland. I am also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Dr. Carolyn Watts Allen

My friends at NASA Glenn, your kindnessand sympathy at this time are moreappreciated than any words can everexpress at the loss of our son, Michael.Thank you.

—Nona Akos and Family

12

Volume 4 Issue 10 October 2002

AeroSpace Frontiersis recyclable!

National Aeronautics andSpace Administration

John H. Glenn Research CenterLewis Field21000 Brookpark RoadCleveland, Ohio 44135

New employee breakfast: agood start to a successful careerBY S. JENISE VERIS

I

Photo by Marvin Smith

t was an introduction for some and areacquaintance for others as CenterDirector Donald Campbell and mem-bers of the Director's Leadership Teamextended a warm welcome to 84 newhires during the New Employees Break-fast held August 9 in the Main Cafeteria.

In welcoming remarks, Director Camp-bell spoke of the importance of bringingin new talent to mesh with the old tocreate a learning environment that isinvaluable to everyone.

"We have a high caliber of people whohave sharpened the stature of this Cen-ter," Director Campbell said. "Now,we've really turned a corner in terms ofour resources and you (new hires) willbe able to build upon our pioneeringresearch, to advance cutting-edge tech-nologies, and to complete missionsthat are still on our drawing boards."

These new hires should help provide thenecessary resources and intellectualcapital that will enable Glenn to stay acut above competitors. Many of the

new employees are co-ops andformer interns who have had thebenefit of on-the-job trainingthrough internships, grants, andacademic partnerships.

"Interning here several years gave me ahead start and put me at an advantage forjob opportunities," said Joseph Ishac, agraduate of Case Western Reserve Uni-versity who interned between 1998 and2000, then continued as a researchassistant under grant in 2001. "I enjoy theproblem-solving associated with myassignment in the Satellite and Architec-tures Branch. It presents a challenge andthat's very important to me."

Adjustment to a new job often presents anumber of challenges. However, theOffice of Human Resources' (OHR) NewEmployees Orientation Program (NEOP)team has worked tirelessly to organize aseries of events to make the transitionsmoother. The breakfast, coordinated byNEOP team members Judith Budd,Nazzetta Robinson, and Darlene Jack-son, is a highlight in a series of events

including facilities tours and special brief-ings scheduled to provide informationabout Center and Agency operations.

Cindy Forman, chief of OHR's Organiza-tion Development and Training Office,compared the experience of adjustingto a new job with entering a marriage—full of wonder and the unexpected, excit-ing and intimating at the same time, andoften tested. She assured the new hires,however, that maintaining open commu-nications is the key to a successful workenvironment.

"Just hang in there and don't be afraid toask questions," Forman said. "You arepart of a whole new generation of lead-ers. We believe in you and we want youto believe in yourself." �

C–2002–1592

Breakfast participants listen as they receivesupport and encouragement from CenterDirector Campbell.