2013 NASA Engineering and Safety Center Honor Awards

NESC Director’s Award:

Sotiris Kellas
In recognition of technical excellence in the professional and persistent pursuit of technical risks associated with the Orion Avcoat material test methods and by identifying and demonstrating a viable alternative with improved results

James C. Ross
In recognition of technical excellence in identifying high uncertainty in predicting the separated flow aerodynamics of entry capsules and executing a comprehensive test campaign to characterize these flows

NESC Leadership Award:

Robert M. Button
In recognition of outstanding technical leadership of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit Lithium Ion Battery Assessment

Yuan Chen
In recognition of outstanding technical leadership of the Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Commercial Off-The-Shelf Parts Case Study for the Commercial Crew Program

Brent A. Evernden
In recognition of outstanding technical leadership of the mechanical design of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center Titanium Orthogrid Alternate Heat Shield Carrier

Amri I. Hernandez-Pellerano
In recognition of outstanding technical leadership of the International Space Station Plasma Contactor Unit Utilization Plan Update Assessment

James W. Jeans
In recognition of outstanding technical leadership of the structural analysis and design of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center Titanium Orthogrid Heat Shield Carrier Structure

Dwayne R. Morgan
In recognition of outstanding technical leadership of the Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite Advanced Topographical Laser Altimeter System Instrument Beam Steering Mechanism Quick Reaction Assessment

Regor L. Saulsberry
In recognition of outstanding technical leadership of the Expendable Launch Vehicle Payload Pyrovalve Reliability Assessment Team to successful conclusion and achievement of a value-added result for the Mars 2020 Program

NESC Engineering Excellence Award:

James Ainsworth
In recognition of engineering excellence in the structural sizing on the NASA Engineering and Safety Center Titanium Orthogrid Heat Shield

Gregory A. Carr
In recognition of engineering excellence in support of the independent review of the Space Launch System electrical power system

Richard T. French
In recognition of engineering excellence in the development and implementation of the Thermal Performance Data Services Module; an Agency archive for historical and future thermal protection system performance data

Lawrence L. Green
In recognition of engineering excellence in the development of analytical techniques resulting in improved reliability predictions for the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Heat Shield

James T. Heineck
In recognition of engineering excellence in the development and implementation of a unique Particle Imaging Velocimetry capability in the NASA Ames Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel

Patricia A. Howell
In recognition of engineering excellence in the application of X-ray computed tomography to characterize damage progression in advanced materials used in the Orion Launch Abort System

Judith A. Jeevarajan
In recognition of engineering excellence in the support of NASA and industry efforts to understand and resolve lithium ion battery incidents

William M. Johnston
In recognition of engineering excellence in developing and conducting high priority Orion Avcoat material tests for the NASA Engineering and Safety Center

David O. Ordway
In recognition of engineering excellence and project leadership in the formulation and execution of the Pyroshock Characterization of Composite Materials Independent Assessment

G. Geoffrey Vining
In recognition of engineering excellence and dedication to continuously improve and stretch boundaries in mathematical analysis of real data and efficient test planning in support of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center

Gloria K. Yamauchi
In recognition of engineering excellence in the development, integration, and application of a three-dimensional Particle Image Velocimetry instrument to the Orion wake characterization wind tunnel test

NESC Administrative Excellence Award:

Mariah K. Champagne
In recognition of exemplary performance and sustained, dedicated support to the NASA Engineering and Safety Center as the Business Point of Contact for the Kennedy Space Center

NESC Group Achievement Award:

Autonomous Aerobraking Development Team
In recognition of the successful development and demonstration of Autonomous Aerobraking in an operational readiness test (award accepted by Robert W. Maddock on behalf of the team)

High Fidelity Data Acquisition System Development Team
In recognition of outstanding contributions to design, development, fabrication, and testing efforts supporting the High Fidelity Data Acquisition System Project (award accepted by R. Jeremy Kenny on behalf of the team)

E-1 Test Facility Blast/Acoustic Effect Mitigation Tools Assessment Team
In recognition of tireless dedication and innovative solutions on the highly complex NASA Engineering and Safety Center E-1 Test Facility Blast/Acoustic Effect Mitigation Tools Assessment (award accepted by David J. Coote on behalf of the team)

Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Parts Case Study Team
In recognition of outstanding contributions in support of the possible use of commercial off-the-shelf electrical, electronic, and electromechanical parts in critical human space flight applications (award accepted by Daniel E. Yuchnovicz on behalf of the team)

Expendable Launch Vehicle Payload Pyrovalve Reliability Team
In recognition of outstanding contributions in conducting a comprehensive assessment to evaluate the reliability of pyrotechnic-operated valves in controlling hazardous gases and fluids and providing recommendations to stakeholders that ultimately facilitated Mars 2020 (award accepted by Stephen H. McDougle on behalf of the team)

Elevated Temperature on Chandra X-Ray Observatory Integral Propulsion System Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel Evaluation Team
In recognition of exceptional service in the expedited risk assessment of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Integral Propulsion System Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel titanium liner and carbon fiber/epoxy composite (award accepted by Lorie R. Grimes-Ledesma on behalf of the team)

Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite Laser Pointing Evaluations of Alternative Design Solutions Team
In recognition of outstanding accomplishments in evaluating the Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat-2) Advanced Topographical Laser Altimeter System Instrument Beam Steering Mechanism design and recommending alternative solutions for the ICESat-2 Project (award accepted by Gerardo G. Ortiz on behalf of the team)

NASA Engineering and Safety Center Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Drogue Parachute High Altitude Qualification Team
In recognition of outstanding contributions in assessing the crew module aerodynamic stability predictions and parachute tools validity to predict drogue parachute high altitude loads and performance (award accepted by Rick Barton on behalf of the team)

NASA Lithium Ion Thermal Runaway Assessment Team
In recognition of outstanding support in assessing the risk of thermal runaway in lithium ion batteries used in NASA systems (award accepted by Judith A. Jeevaragan on behalf of the team)

NASA Engineering and Safety Center Reinforced Carbon/Carbon-Silicon Carbide Materials Assessment Team
In recognition of outstanding support developing essential new understanding of reinforced carbon/carbon-silicon carbide material to ensure the safe operation of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Launch Abort System (award accepted by Paul M. Munafo on behalf of the team)

Orion Wake Characterization Test Team
In recognition of outstanding contributions to the acquisition of unique, unsteady wake flowfield data on an Orion capsule at transonic flight conditions (award accepted by James C. Ross on behalf of the team)

Probing Aircraft Flight Test Hazard Mitigation for the Alternative Fuel Effects on Contrails and Cruise Emissions Assessment Team
In recognition of exemplary support in conducting an independent aircraft loads analysis, margin assessment, and flight test risk characterization and mitigation resulting in improved flight test safety (award accepted by Michael R. Mendenhall on behalf of the team)

Solar Probe Plus Upper Stage Performance Assessment Team
In recognition of outstanding contributions in support of the successful time-critical assessment of the Solar Probe Plus Upper Stage Performance (award accepted by William W. Benson on behalf of the team)