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Release: 00-198

NASA and the Marshall Center recognize employees during annual honor ceremony

NASA and the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., have recognized the achievements and contributions to America’s space program of 388 Marshall Center civil service and contractor employees.

For Marshall’s annual Honor Awards ceremony June 20, Marshall Center Director Art Stephenson was joined by Joseph H. Rothenberg, associate administrator for space flight at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., to honor the employees for special accomplishments during 1999.

Among the awards for presentation were 11 Outstanding Leadership Medals, two Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medals, two Patent Awards, 20 Software of the Year Awards, two Invention of the Year Awards, 15 Research and Technology Awards, and six Technology Transfer Awards.

Also to be presented were 39 Exceptional Service Medals recognizing significant, sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creativity; 45 Exceptional Achievement Medals recognizing significant, specific contributions to NASA’s mission; 60 Public Service Medals awarded to contractors for exceptional contributions to NASA’s mission; 32 NASA Group Achievement

Awards; 41 Certificates of Appreciation, 72 Director’s Commendation Certificates; 38 Marshall Certificates of Appreciation; and 16 Marshall Group Achievement Awards.

The Outstanding Leadership Medal is awarded to individuals for notably outstanding leadership that has a pronounced effect on NASA’s technical or administrative programs. Recipients include Sandra C. Coleman, Sheila S. Cloud, Pamela H. Cucarola, Gerald F. Flanagan, John T. Humphreys, Robert J. Jackson, Anthony R. Lavoie, John M. McDougal, Harvey D. Tananbaum, Lawrence D. Thomas and Lewis Wooten.

The Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal was awarded to Hugh J. Christian Jr. and Mona J. Hagyard.

R. Jeffrey Ding and William T. Powers received the Marshall Patent Award recognizing NASA employees winning patents during 1999. Ding’s patent was for an auto-adjustable pin tool for friction stir welding and Powers’ was for the cryogenic high-pressure sensor module.

Marshall’s Software of the Year Award, to authors of software developed and owned by NASA, was presented to Tami L. McGhee, Terry A. Brown, Amy N. Cardno, Charles L. Nola, Richard H. Beckham, Charles H. Horne, Michele A. Farr, Robert L. Stevens, Charlie Tarrant, Jerry Crook, Joe Hamaker, William R. Rutledge, Keith Smith, Spencer Hill, Tara Claborn, Gary Davis, Mary Heck, Sharon Winn, John Rutledge and Julie McAfee.

Marshall’s Invention of the Year Award recognizes employees with patented inventions that have realized their commercial potential or have contributed significantly to specific NASA programs. Recipients were Richard W. Dabney and Richard T. Howard for the closed-loop autonomous docking system.

Marshall’s Technology Transfer Award recognizes excellence in applying NASA technology to commercial uses. Recipients included Melvin A. Bryant III, Jeffrey R. Ding, David H. Hathaway, Emory E. Lynn, Paul J. Meyer and the Research Triangle Institute in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Marshall’s Research and Technology Award recognizes notable achievements in current technology development. Recipients were members of the Chandra X-ray Observatory team and included Melvin R. Carruth Jr., Thomas K. Delay, Brandon S. Dewberry, David L. Edwards, Harold P. Gerrish Jr., Lisa W. Griffin, Marshall K. Joy, Anthony R. Kelley, Andrew S. Keys, Jonathan A. Lee, Jeffrey L. Lindner, Jody L. Minor, Paul K. Tucker, Jason A. Vaughn and Martin Weisskopf, chief project scientist for Chandra.

In an honor awards ceremony last week at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Marshall Center Director Stephenson and two Marshall engineers were presented NASA awards. Stephenson received NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal. The Distinguished Service Medal — NASA’s highest honor — was presented to John W. Kilpatrick Jr., deputy director of Marshall’s Engineering Directorate, and W. Neill Myers, an engineer specializing in propulsion in Marshall’s Space Transportation Directorate.

The Marshall Center is NASA’s premier organization for developing space transportation and propulsion systems and for conducting microgravity research. Marshall also is NASA’s Center of Excellence for Space Propulsion.