Jacques van Oene
December 3rd 05, 11:05 AM
Dec. 2, 2005
Dryden Flight Research Center
P.O. Box 273
Edwards, California 93523
Phone 661/276-3449
FAX 661/276-3566
Alan Brown
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
Phone: (661) 276-2665
RELEASE: 05-75
NASA DRYDEN ENGINEER HONORED BY MEXICAN-AMERICAN ENGINEERING GROUP
An aerospace engineer at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center has been
named the recipient of the National Society of Mexican American
Engineers and Scientists (MAES) top award for 2005.
Robert Navarro, currently project manager for flight experiments on
the Altair unmanned aircraft system at NASA Dryden, was honored with
the MAES Medalla de Oro (Gold Medallion) Award for outstanding
technical contributions and educational outreach to the Hispanic
community over the course of his career at the NASA field center,
located at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. He was one of three
Hispanic engineers who received the honor in November at the
black-tie La Medalla do Oro banquet held in connection with the
organization's 31st annual symposium in San Jose, Calif. The event is
intended to honor professional members of MAES, industry supporters
and representatives of academia for outstanding achievement,
technical contribution and service to the Mexican American community.
The Medalla de Oro Award is intended to honor members and supporters
of MAES who have distinguished themselves by demonstrating a
dedication to service and to humankind that carries with it
responsibilities and strict disciplines. It carries with it the
challenge for honorees to make the most of their abilities and
talents, the responsibility of hard work, and demands self-reliance
and self-discipline. It also requires that honorees conduct
themselves so that their lives demonstrate the dignity of man.
In addition to the award, a $4,000 scholarship was presented in
Navarro's name to Maria Hernandez, an engineering student at the
University of New Mexico. The MAES Padrino / Ahijada (godfather /
godchild) scholarship's pairing of a professional with a student
member symbolizes the mentoring relationship of the Hispanic culture
in which the Medalla de Oro recipient provides guidance and serves as
a role model for the young engineer or scientist.
Navarro has been a member of MAES since he was an engineering student
at California State University – Fullerton. He has presented
technical papers at their conferences and has also conducted
motivational workshops, as well as serving as a keynote speaker at
various activities of regional MAES chapters.
After obtaining his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in
1989, Navarro joined NASA at the Glenn Research Center in Ohio as a
gas and fluids engineer. He worked on a variety of projects,
including serving as principal engineer on three thermal and fluids
experiments flown on space shuttle missions.
After transferring to NASA Dryden in 1995, Navarro was involved in a
number of increasingly responsible engineering roles, serving as
principal investigator for a series of experiments on the F/A-18
Systems Research Aircraft and as chief engineer for both that
aircraft and the Helios solar-electric flying wing developmental
research effort. More recently, he served as project manager for a
short series of research flights by the Pathfinder-Plus solar
aircraft earlier this year that acquired data to improve existing
aeroelastic analytical tools for flexible-structure aircraft. He led
the Dryden team that was responsible for range and ground safety and
mission success of the test program.
In his present position, Navarro is responsible for management of
earth science missions using General Atomics Aeronautical Systems'
Altair unmanned aircraft system (UAS). These missions are conducted
for various government agencies to validate their scientific
instruments or models and/or gather environmental data throughout the
world.
For more information on MAES, log on to www.maes-natl.org on the
Internet.
For more about flight research at NASA Dryden, visit
www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/home/ .
PHOTO EDITORS: High-resolution photos to support this release are
available electronically on the NASA Dryden web site at:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/newsphotos/index.html
-end-
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info
Dryden Flight Research Center
P.O. Box 273
Edwards, California 93523
Phone 661/276-3449
FAX 661/276-3566
Alan Brown
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
Phone: (661) 276-2665
RELEASE: 05-75
NASA DRYDEN ENGINEER HONORED BY MEXICAN-AMERICAN ENGINEERING GROUP
An aerospace engineer at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center has been
named the recipient of the National Society of Mexican American
Engineers and Scientists (MAES) top award for 2005.
Robert Navarro, currently project manager for flight experiments on
the Altair unmanned aircraft system at NASA Dryden, was honored with
the MAES Medalla de Oro (Gold Medallion) Award for outstanding
technical contributions and educational outreach to the Hispanic
community over the course of his career at the NASA field center,
located at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. He was one of three
Hispanic engineers who received the honor in November at the
black-tie La Medalla do Oro banquet held in connection with the
organization's 31st annual symposium in San Jose, Calif. The event is
intended to honor professional members of MAES, industry supporters
and representatives of academia for outstanding achievement,
technical contribution and service to the Mexican American community.
The Medalla de Oro Award is intended to honor members and supporters
of MAES who have distinguished themselves by demonstrating a
dedication to service and to humankind that carries with it
responsibilities and strict disciplines. It carries with it the
challenge for honorees to make the most of their abilities and
talents, the responsibility of hard work, and demands self-reliance
and self-discipline. It also requires that honorees conduct
themselves so that their lives demonstrate the dignity of man.
In addition to the award, a $4,000 scholarship was presented in
Navarro's name to Maria Hernandez, an engineering student at the
University of New Mexico. The MAES Padrino / Ahijada (godfather /
godchild) scholarship's pairing of a professional with a student
member symbolizes the mentoring relationship of the Hispanic culture
in which the Medalla de Oro recipient provides guidance and serves as
a role model for the young engineer or scientist.
Navarro has been a member of MAES since he was an engineering student
at California State University – Fullerton. He has presented
technical papers at their conferences and has also conducted
motivational workshops, as well as serving as a keynote speaker at
various activities of regional MAES chapters.
After obtaining his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in
1989, Navarro joined NASA at the Glenn Research Center in Ohio as a
gas and fluids engineer. He worked on a variety of projects,
including serving as principal engineer on three thermal and fluids
experiments flown on space shuttle missions.
After transferring to NASA Dryden in 1995, Navarro was involved in a
number of increasingly responsible engineering roles, serving as
principal investigator for a series of experiments on the F/A-18
Systems Research Aircraft and as chief engineer for both that
aircraft and the Helios solar-electric flying wing developmental
research effort. More recently, he served as project manager for a
short series of research flights by the Pathfinder-Plus solar
aircraft earlier this year that acquired data to improve existing
aeroelastic analytical tools for flexible-structure aircraft. He led
the Dryden team that was responsible for range and ground safety and
mission success of the test program.
In his present position, Navarro is responsible for management of
earth science missions using General Atomics Aeronautical Systems'
Altair unmanned aircraft system (UAS). These missions are conducted
for various government agencies to validate their scientific
instruments or models and/or gather environmental data throughout the
world.
For more information on MAES, log on to www.maes-natl.org on the
Internet.
For more about flight research at NASA Dryden, visit
www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/home/ .
PHOTO EDITORS: High-resolution photos to support this release are
available electronically on the NASA Dryden web site at:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/newsphotos/index.html
-end-
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info