Space Station Reconfiguration
Dr. Ralph Muraca
Monday, January 31, 1994 at 10:00 a.m., in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium.
Global Energy, Security, and Environmental Realities
Henry E. Thomas
Tuesday, February 14, 1994 at 10:00 a.m., in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium.
Crime and the Information Society
by Marc Rotenberg
Tuesday, March 15, 1994, at 10:00 a.m., in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium.
Abstract
What we choose to protect and preserve in our “computerized” information society may be very different from what we have safeguarded in the past. Should accessing information in medical or credit databases be considered a criminal act? Should we punish people who copy personal or business electronic information and use it to gain either commercial or political advantage? In some cases, traditional legal principles provide guidance. In others we may need to ask more fundamental questions about the values we seek to preserve in the information society.
Speaker
Marc Rotenberg is a director of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, a national organization of professionals in the computing field, and is a professor of law at Georgetown University. He is a frequent commentator on issues involving technology and society, and has testified before the United States Congress on issues such as privacy, computer crime, and computer networks. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law School, and has spoken on technology and civil liberties at conferences around the world.
A Pioneer’s Perspective on Helicopters
by Sergei Sikorsky
Tuesday, April 12, 1994, at 10:00 a.m., in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium.
Abstract
This presentation will include descriptions of some of the earliest projects to create a vertical take off and landing machine and thereby solve the “challenge” of the helicopter. It will primarily focus on the work of Igor Sikorsky, and his fascination with the helicopter which lead him to design, build, and test-fly the first practical helicopter, the VS-300, in 1939. This machine went through a series of modifications during its experimental phase, and ultimately transformed the idea of a single main lifting rotor from being a much criticised concept into being the basis for a production aircraft.
Speaker
Sergei Sikorsky grew up in Connecticut, watching the development of the Sikorsky “Clipper Ships” which pioneered Pan American’s trans-oceanic routes. He flew as a passenger in the first successful Sikorsky helicopter, and during World War II he helped to develop helicopter rescue hoists and medivac litters and to set up training courses for Allied pilots. Following World War II he joined what is now United Technologies after graduating from the University of Florence, Italy. His efforts over the next two decades took him around the world, and culminated in the production of the Sikorsky CH-53G transport for Germany. He is a member of numerous aviation associations, is a guest lecturer worldwide, and has received awards and honorary degrees from both European and American institutions.
Pilot-Induced Oscillations – A Continuing Saga
by Duane T. McRuer
Thursday, May 19, 1994, at 2:00 p.m., in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium.
Abstract
The occasional and dramatic appearance of Pilot-Induced Oscillations (PIO’s) has motivated much research on pilot dynamics to better understand the causes and to point out the directions for cures. From the pilot’s perspective, PIO is a misnomer since they actually result from instabilities in the closed-loop feedback control system formed by the aircraft and its pilot. Although humans are extraordinarily adaptable and it is difficult to model their behavior in this context, several modes and patterns have been discovered, modeled, and quantified. The relevance of these modes and patterns to PIO’s, and a classification of the types of PIO’s that occur will be presented.
Speaker
Duane McRuer is Chairman of Systems Technology, Inc. (STI) in Mountain View, California, which specializes in research on vehicle and human operator dynamics, vehicle guidance and control, and control system analysis software. He has published over 125 technical papers and 7 books covering many of these subjects, and his patents include the first stability augmentation systems to fly in the U.S. He is also currently Chairman of the NRC Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board, and is a member of the NASA Advisory Council. His numerous awards include the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the AIAA Mechanics and Control of Flight Award, the Levy Medal of the Franklin Institute, and the HFS A.C. Williams Award.
Air Power Changes from WWII to the Present
by Colonel George A. Doersch, USAF, Ret.
Tuesday, June 14, 1994, at 2:00 p.m., in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium.
Abstract
Col. George Doersch, USAF, Ret., will relate some experiences in the development and application of air power during a career that spanned WWII propeller driven fighters and bombers, Strategic Air Command jet bombers, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, Pentagon duty, spooky space Ballistic Missile intercepts and modern guided missiles. Following fighter pilot duty in WWII, he participated in manned nuclear weapon delivery systems. As the cold war deepened, he participated in planning the deployment of Jupiter Ballistic Missiles to Italy and Turkey and later was in command of a Germany based nuclear tipped Mace Missile Squadron at the time of the Berlin Wall construction. During the 60’s he was assigned to the Pentagon advocating and deploying conventional weapons for the Viet Nam conflict. He was assigned to Program 437 in 1966 and retired from active duty in 1967. After joining the Hughes Aircraft Company in late 1967, Doersch was active in several air to air and air to ground missile quidance system development efforts running the amut of radar, infra red and anti-radiation technology.
Speaker
Born on October 14, 1921 in Seymour, Wisconsin, (then) Lt. Doersch was assigned to the 370th Fighter Squadron of the 359th Fighter Group, after having been appointed a cadet in June of 1940. On May 8, 1944 he scored his first two victories flying his first P-51 combat mission while single-handedly engaging a large German FW-190 formation that was attacking a “box” of Allied bombers. He became the 359th’s third ace three weeks later when he shared in the destruction of two FW-190s near Stettin. He became a double ace on January 14, 1945 when he downed two FW-190s near Heimingstadt. He was involved in numerous encounters with Me-262 jet fighters during the last months of the war, but all ended inconclusively. After the war, Doersch was employed by the Hughes Aircraft Company, and retired from that organization in 1989.
The Lunar Orbit Rendezvous, the Lunar Module, and the Apollo Mission
by Dr. John C. Houbolt
Tuesday, July 20, 1994, at 2:00 p.m., in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium.
Abstract
Dr. Houbolt will review space activities for the 1957 to 1969 time period, from Sputnik to the first Apollo landing on the moon. The story will highlight the struggle to have the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) and the Lunar Module (LM) concept adopted, and how they finally emerged as the choice for the central element in successfully performing one of the most remarkable achievements in human history — that of landing humans on the moon 25 years ago, on July 20, 1969.
Speaker
Dr. Houbolt, a distinguished aeronautical engineer, was a key player in the development of the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous and the Lunar Module. Dr. Houbolt began his career at the Langley Research Center in 1942. He served as the Associate Chief of the Dynamic Loads Division from 1949 to 1961, and as Chief of the Theoretical Mechnaics Division from 1961 to 1963. He was Senior Vice President and Senior Consultant at Aeronautical Research Associates of Princeton, Inc. from 1963 to 1975. From 1976 until his retirement in 1985, he served as Langley’s Chief Aeronautical Engineer. During his engineering career, he authored or co-authored more than 140 technical reports. Dr. Houbolt received the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Award in 1963 for the conception and development of the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous for manned lunar landings. In 1983, he received the Space Act Award for the LOR concept. Dr. Houbolt was selected as the Peninsula Engineer of the Year in 1989, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1990.
Building the Information Superhighway: From Dream to Reality
by Dr. Jose’-Marie Griffiths
Monday, August 8, 1994, at 2:00 p.m., in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium.
Abstract
The last few years have seen intensive discussion, lobbying, funding and implementation of components of a National Information Infrastructure (NII), more popularly known as the information superhighway. The National Information Infrastructure (NII) is not the dream of an engineer, nor the answer to a marketing person’s dream. The NII is already here today, in the shape of the radio systems used in public safety agencies, in the miles of fiber that run in the streets, and in the telephone wires and utility lines that use our rights-of-way.
While the dream of the information superhighway has captured our collective imagination, some serious questions have emerged regarding the reality of putting the superhighway into place. Concerns exist over private versus public interests, privacy and security, equal access opportunities, and legal and financial issues. Will you have access to the highway? Where will it take you? Do you want to go there? What service will be available to you and what will it take to use them? What roadblocks will lie in your way?
These questions, as well as a look at the emerging National Information Infrastructure and its impact on the individual and on the Langley Research Center, will be addressed in the colloquium.
Speaker
Jose’-Marie Griffiths is Vice Chancellor for Computing and Telecommunications at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is also Director of the School of Information Sciences and the Center for Information Studies, as well as Professor and Collaborating Scientist, a position jointly sponsored by the University and Martin Marietta Energy Systems. She has a B.Sc. in Physics and a Ph.D. in Information Science, both from the University of London (England).
In recognition of her work, Dr. Griffiths has been the recipient of several honors, including the Alice Rankin Distinguished Lecturer, Lazrow Distinguished Lecturer, the American Society for Information Science’s Research Award, the OCLC Distinguished Lecturer, Royal Society Fellowship in Information Science, Research Fellow in Systems Science at the City University, and an Honorary Fellowship in Statistics and Computer Science at University College, London. In 1990 she was elected President of the American Society for Information Science.
STS-60: A New Era of U.S./Russian Cooperation in Space
by Kenneth S. Reightler, Jr. (Captain, USN), NASA Astronaut
Wednesday, September 7, 1994, at 2:00 p.m., in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium.
Abstract
STS-60, launched on February 3, 1994, the first space shuttle mission with Russian Cosmonauts, opened a new and very important era in international cooperation in space. The international implications of this historic mission, as well as the mission itself, will be discussed and illustrated by mission pilot, Captain Kenneth S. Reightler, Jr.
Speaker
Kenneth S. Reightler, Jr. was born in 1951 in Patuxent River, MD but considers Virginia Beach, where he grew up and attended Bayside High School, to be his home. Reightler graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1973, and served in Corpus Christi, TX and Jacksonville, FL. Following his jet transition training, he attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, MD and graduated in 1978. Until 1981 he served at the Naval Air Test Center and the Test Pilot School as test pilot, project officer, and instructor. After two deployments to the Mediterranean aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, Reightler attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterry, CA. After his redesignation as an Aerospace Engineering Duty Officer, he transitioned to the F/A-18 and served at the the Naval Air Station in Lemoore, CA. He then returned to the Test Pilot School and served as the chief flight instructor until he was selected as a NASA astronaut in June 1987. Reightler was mission pilot on STS-48 in September 1991, and on STS-60 in February 1994. He has logged over 327 hours in space, and is currently the Chief of the Astronaut Office Space Station Branch.
Recent Innovations in Materials Science: The Interrelationships of Materials Science with other Scientific Disciplines
by Dr. Robert E. Green, Jr., Professor Robert B. Pond, and Dr. Robert B. Pond, Jr.
Tuesday, October 4, 1994, at 2:00 p.m., in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium.
Abstract
Materials science and engineering is presented as the link that connects all avenues of tangible human endeavor. The presentation includes examples in old as well as new art and science, and is offered as a platform for innovative thinking and experimentation.
Speakers
Robert E. “Bob” Green received his Bachelor’s degree from William and Mary, and his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Brown University. He became a professor at Johns Hopkins University in 1980 after a Fulbright Fellowship at the Technical Institute in Aachen, Germany. He is the co- founder of the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Hopkins, and he is the Director of the Center for Non-Destructive Evaluation and also the Theophilus Halley Smoot Professor of Engineering.
Robert B. “Bob” Pond received his Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. After five years of production work with Bethlehem Steel Corporation, he joined the Mechanical Engineering Department of Johns Hopkins University as a junior faculty member in 1947. He holds many U.S. and foreign patents, and is recognized as an enthusiastic lecturer for the young at heart. He is co-founder of the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Johns Hopkins, where he is currently Professor Emeritus.
Robert B. “Rob” Pond, Jr. received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanics from Johns Hopkins University, and his Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Metallurgy and Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Rob is a part-time lecturer for Johns Hopkins and for the American Society for Materials. He is Principal Engineer in the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory at the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company.
Research on Methods for Reducing the Aerodynamic Drag at Transonic Speeds
by Dr. Richard T. Whitcomb
Monday, November 14, 2:00 p.m. in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium. Reception to follow: All invited.
Abstract
The methods to be discussed (the Area Rule, the NASA Super- critical wing, and winglets) resulted primarily from experimental research conducted in the wind tunnels of the Transonic Aero- dynamics Branch of the Langley Research Center during the period from 1950 to 1980. The background for this research, flow studies used to elucidate the pertinent phenomena, basic concepts, and selected comparisons of measured drags will be presented. In addition, the flight tests conducted at the NASA flight test center to verify the wind tunnel drag results, as well as applications of these methods to the design of production aircraft, will be described briefly.
Speaker
Dr. Richard T. Whitcomb obtained a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering (aeronautical) “with high distinction” from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1943. That same year he began his career in the Transonic Aerodynamics Branch of the Langley Research Center, then under NASA’s predecessor agency, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). He became head of his branch in 1958, and supervised development of ways to improve aerodynamic performance of aircraft at transonic speeds until his retirement in 1980. He authored more than 30 technical reports on transonic aerodynamics, and he was instructor for several years in Langley’s graduate study program.
Dr. Whitcomb has received many awards for his contributions to the advancement of flight in the United States, including: the Collier Trophy in 1954 for that year’s “greatest achievement in aviation in America;” the Exceptional Service Medal of the Air Force in 1955; the first Distinguished Service Medal to be presented by NACA in 1956; the NASA Scientific Achievement Medal in 1969; the 1969 Sylvanus Albert Reed Award by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; and the National Medal of Science from the President of the United States in 1973. He was awarded his alma mater’s honorary doctor of engineering degree in 1958, was elected a Fellow of the AIAA in 1971, and was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1976.
STS-64 (LITE) Mission
by Col. Mark Lee, STS-64 Mission Specialist
Monday, November 28, 2:00 p.m. in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium.
Abstract
Langley’s Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE) was a primary payload of STS-64 and was a tremendous success in demonstrating the utility of a lidar system in space. In addition to LITE, STS-64 carried SPARTAN-201 (Shuttle Pointing Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy) which was deployed for 48 hours to measure solar coronal properties and then retrieved, SPIFEX (Shuttle Plume Impingement Flight Experiment) which measured shuttle RCS plume impingement loads, and SAFER (Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue) which involved extravehicular activities. Col. Mark Lee, a member of the astronaut crew, will discuss shuttle maneuvers, target selection, experiment operation, and photographic support. He will also show video and photographs taken during the almost 11-day flight.
Speaker
Col. Mark Lee was a mission specialist on STS-64.
Space Science as a Driver for the U.S. Space Program
by Dr. France Anne-Dominic Cordova
Wednesday, November 30, 1:00 p.m. in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium.
Abstract
NASA spends about 24 % of its budget on science programs plus another 6% on the launches and communications for its science missions. NASA science programs include Mission to Planet Earth, planetary science, astrophysics, solar and space physics, life science in space, and microgravity research. Space science maintains American leadership in science and space. It continues making profound discoveries about the universe and our place in it. It deepens our knowledge base, leading to new concepts and new technologies. Space science improves the American economy and competitiveness. It strenghtens the quality of American education. It developes a more scientific and technologically literate society. The talk will also cover the role of NASA and the NASA centers in space science, the productivity of NASA’s investment in science, and NASA’s relationship with the public in science.
Speaker
Dr. Cordova was selected as NASA’s Chief Scientist in 1993. From 1989 to 1993, she was a Professor and Department Head for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Pennsylvania State University. From 1979 to 1989, Dr. Cordova was first Staff Scientist, Earth and Space Science Division, and then Deputy Group Leader, Space Astronomy and Astrophysics Group, at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. She participated in a number of NASA space science missions, including the Rontgen X-ray Observatory (ROSAT), the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE), and the Hubble Space Telescope. Dr. Cordova authored or co-authored more than 90 scientific papers and reports. She received a B.A. with Distinction in English from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Physics from the California Institute of Technology.
CEBAF: An Accelerator Laboratory for Nuclear Physics
by Dr. Beverly K. Hartline
Tuesday, December 13, 1994 at 2:00 p.m. in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium.
Abstract
The Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) is an accelerator laboratory for basic nuclear physics research under construction since 1987 in Newport News, Virginia. CEBAF’s mission is to provide forefront scientific facilities, opportunities, and leadership essential for discovering the fundamental nature of nuclear matter, to partner with industry to apply its advanced technology, and to serve the nation and its communities through education and public outreach, all with uncompromising excellence in environment, health, and safety. The project scope includes a pair of linked, computer-controlled, superconducting linear accelerators in an underground racetrack-shaped concrete tunnel 7/8 of a mile around, three large experiment buildings equipped with thousand-ton spectrometers and detectors to observe interactions between accelerated electrons and the nuclei in materials under study, and supporting facilities and equipment.
This talk describes CEBAF’s scientific purpose, accelerator concept, technologies, status, and educational outreach programs. Construction of the $600 million facility is 99% complete, the first beam was delivered to a target in July 1994, and experiments are scheduled to start in December 1994.
Speaker
Dr. Beverly K. Hartline is Associate Director and Project Manager of CEBAF. She joined CEBAF in June 1985 as Scientific Assistant to the Director, and in March 1989 assumed her current role. In this position, she is responsible for the technical, cost, and schedule success of the construction phase of the laboratory, which involves managing the work of building the accelerator, its three nuclear physics experimental halls with their specialized equipment, and all supporting facilities and subsystems. In 1990 she also assumed responsibility for CEBAF’s precollege education programs, then in their infancy. Both as a parent and a scientist, she has been interested in and involved in precollege science and math education. Already as a teenager she participated as an enthusiastic volunteer in curriculum development and activity testing for hands-on, exploratory elementary school science. CEBAF’s education programs now motivate 10,000 students and support and enhance 1,500 teachers annually through interaction with the lab’s staff and facilities. Dr. Hartline came to CEBAF from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, where she served as Scientific Assistant in the Office for Planning and Development. Previously, she worked as a research scientist for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, as a Research News writer for Science magazine, and as a college teacher. She received her Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of Washington in 1978, and her B.A. in chemistry and physics from Reed College in Portland, Oregon in 1971.