Preview
Creation Date
2019
Biography
I began my aerospace career at age 17 as a graduate of Titusville High School in 1959 working summers as a member of the von Braun rocket team for the Army Ballistic Missile Agency at its Missile Firing Lab on Cape Canaveral. My first launch was Juno 17 from complex 5/6 on the Cape in that first summer.
When the ABMA rocket team was transferred to NASA, I was assigned to the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Vehicle Operations Directorate, including manning a console in the Firing Room for most of the Apollo launches, including Apollo 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13.
I remained at NASA for 32 years, earning Masters and Doctoral degrees in management from Florida State University. During my final ten years I led the first Environmental Management Staff and headed the development of the KSC Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Space Shuttle. I served as the KSC Biomedical Program Manager and the Center’s Environmental Health Officer, overseeing operations in industrial hygiene, radiation protection, microbiological services, and environmental monitoring. We were launching rockets from the middle of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge!
My final activities at KSC including consulting in Total Quality Management, and I took early retirement in 1992 to pursue a lifelong commitment to education at Brevard Community College.
In 1999 I became the Executive Director of the BCC Aerospace Program, leading a national consortium of colleges that won more than $15M in grants to create SpaceTEC – the National Science Foundation’s Center for Aerospace Technical Education. I served as SpaceTEC PI and Managing Director until retiring in December of 2013.
In my private life, I’ve served as President of the NASA Alumni League Florida Chapter, Chairman of the Titusville Chamber of Commerce, and Rotarian of the Year, and I remain active in aerospace consulting. I have taught at several universities, consulted for private and public organizations, and am nationally published in the technical and management fields, as well as in international education. You can learn more at my website: www.e3company.com.
I married my wife, the former Carol Ann Knight of Jacksonville, Fl, in our senior year in college more than 56 years ago. We have resided in Titusville since we moved here in 1964. We raised three daughters, a son, and now have ten grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren. I remain active in aerospace, currently preparing for the 46th Space Congress to be held June 4-6 in Cape Canaveral. Life is good!
