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Stephenson (NASA/ MSFC)

Release: 01-354

NASA Marshall Center Director Stephenson receives top national engineering management award

Art Stephenson, director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has received the Engineering Manager of the Year Award from the American Society of Engineering Management (ASEM).

The award was presented earlier this month during the organization's 22nd national conference, held in Huntsville.

ASEM members nominate candidates for the Engineering Manager of the Year Award, and the national board of directors selects the recipient.

"Art Stephenson was selected for the award because of his demonstrated leadership," said Dr. Jerry Westbrook, conference chairman. "Mr. Stephenson has inspired employees to emphasize Marshall values - people, customers, excellence, teamwork and innovation. He has secured the leading role for Marshall in the Space Launch Initiative (SLI), a new NASA program. He stresses excellence in performance and leadership while fostering a people-oriented culture. His words and actions qualify him for this prestigious award."

"It is people that make technology and projects successful," said Stephenson.

Hosting this year's award was ASEM's Tennessee Valley Section and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Engineering Management at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Conference participants came to Huntsville from around the world to meet with their peers in engineering management, to network and update themselves on new ideas in the field. The conference enables managers to exchange ideas with industry, government and academic leaders interested in the practice of leadership in engineering, scientific and technical organizations.

Founded in 1979, ASEM's purpose is to assist its members in developing and improving their skills, maintain high professional standards and to promote the engineering management profession. ASEM has its headquarters at the University of Missouri in Rolla.

Stephenson leads the Marshall Center -- NASA's premier organization for development of space transportation and propulsion systems and NASA's leader in microgravity research and advanced large optics manufacturing technology. He administers a broad range of research and development activities, along with more than 6,500 civil service and contract employees and an annual budget of $2.3 billion.

Since joining Marshall in 1998, he has overseen the Center's work on critical NASA initiatives such as development of new reusable launch vehicles, Space Shuttle propulsion, advanced space transportation systems, research in microgravity, and science payload operations aboard the International Space Station, and the launch and continuing successful operation of the Chandra X-ray Observatory - the world's most powerful X-ray telescope.

He began his career in 1964 with TRW in Redondo Beach, Calif. In his first assignment, he designed a computer test set to verify performance of the Apollo Lunar Excursion Abort Guidance System. He later led development of the Pioneer Jupiter Spacecraft receiver, the first spacecraft to leave our solar system, and development of the Space Shuttle S-band communication network transponder, still in use today.

From 1988 to 1992, Stephenson was director of space transportation and advanced programs, heading TRW's study teams for NASA's Assured Crew Return Vehicle De-Orbit Module as well as projects for U.S. military and international space programs.

In 1992, he joined Oceaneering International Inc., and served as vice president and general manager of Oceaneering Space Systems in Houston. Under his leadership, the organization grew from 30 to 220 employees in five years, serving Marshall, Johnson Space Center in Houston, the Departments of Defense and Energy, and many prime contractors.Stephenson was promoted to president of Oceaneering Advanced Technologies in 1997. This position combined Oceaneering Space Systems with responsibilities for Oceaneering's U.S. Navy, Department of Energy and entertainment businesses, including submarine rescue system design, robotics for hazardous waste cleanup at nuclear waste sites in the United States, and attractions for theme parks in Florida, California and Japan.

Stephenson is an Associate Fellow member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the National Space Society and American Astronautical Society. He was awarded NASA's Exceptional Service Medal earlier this year at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

A graduate in electrical engineering from the University of Redlands, Calif., he also completed the executive program in management at the John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Stephenson is a native of New London, Conn.