By John Bendle, Public Policy Chair

Congressman Nick Lampson spoke to the AIAA Houston section at a luncheon held on August 10th.  The audience of approximately 80 consisted of industry professionals, managers, students and others who gathered at the Nassau Bay Hilton to hear what the Congressman feels is in store for the aerospace industry.

As a member of both the House Science Committee and the House Transportation Committee, Congressman Lampson has unique insight to the current government climate toward the aerospace industry.  The Congressman spoke for approximately 20 minutes about the government’s stance.  He pointed out the troubles the International Space Station has had in the past and the strong need for continued bipartisan support to continue the work that has begun.  He also noted that even though support for space and aeronautic projects has been strong recently, it is important to keep our elected officials informed of what we want to see more or less of as we welcome a new administration in the Fall.  He concluded his talk with the story of an individual who sent him a well-written letter requesting support and increased funding for the space program followed one week later by a second letter asking him to support tax cuts.  His story emphasized the importance of understanding that government funded programs are actually funded by our tax dollars.  The Congressman then fielded several questions at the end of the luncheon.

After the luncheon, Congressman Lampson took the time to meet with AIAA public policy representatives.  The meeting, which was very similar to the meetings held at Congressional Visits Day, was used to voice section concerns about the future of the industry and obtain his feedback.  The topics discussed included the decrease in research and development dollars being spent, the rise in dollars spent on foreign aerospace products and the decreasing skill base in industry.  He expressed a similar concern over these issues and encouraged this continuing dialogue, especially our thoughts on what our Nation’s legislators can do to improve the situation.

By Dr. Garland Bauch, Chairman

Welcome to the AIAA-Houston Section for the year 2000-2001.  We are presently planning an interesting series of activities for this year. The Calendar of Events can be viewed on the AIAA Houston Section website www.jsc.nasa.gov/aiaa.  Some of the upcoming events are:

• Open House Social September 6th, 2000

• Physics is Fun

• Service Vehicle Conference March, 2001

The Officers of the Section met at the Boeing Company Building on  August 30th and September 7th to plan activities for the year.

The Section leadership will also try to feed more national resources into Section activities, especially in the Professional Development area.  Emphasis on identifying Section members for awards at both the local and national level will be made.  Increasing the communication between Section leadership and company executives is a very important objective for the year.

Another important activity will be to emphasize the Technical Committee Lunch and Learns.  This “grass root” activity is important because it enhances outreach and helps recruit new members.  Also, it provides an educational and professional development service to the local aerospace community.

In summary, my vision for the Houston Section is to develop an effective cooperative partnership between the AIAA Houston Section, other management and technical societies, NASA-JSC, universities, community colleges, aerospace companies, and other community based activities. This will be our role to globally further and serve the aeronautics and astronautics profession.  I also want the Houston section to be a caring group where each member supports the other members.  I feel in this way that participation by the members in Section activities will increase.

We would like all of you to become active, get involved and improve our section to make it the best in our country. We need your support and your commitment to deliver better services. One way proposed to improve our caring is to form a phone tree where members who have not participated in Section activities for a while will be contacted.  Please feel free to call me at 281-483-1309 or email me at garland.t.bauch1@jsc.nasa.gov if you have any suggestions or comments for improvement of the Section services.  Thank you and let’s have a great year.

By Glenn Jenkinson, Vice Chair – Technical

Imagine adding to your life the personal, professional, technical, academic and social fulfillment of being an active, engaged member of an AIAA Houston Section Technical Committee!   All of the twelve technical committees are looking forward to producing valuable products and interesting activities this year. They are also now looking for a few good professionals like you to join and provide additional energy, interest, talent and perspective to enhance the experience even more for everyone.  If you have a little or a lot of time, I believe you will find that any time you spend engaged in a committee will be more rewarding than you might expect.  (I know my active engagement in AIAA has been more fulfilling than I expected).  Contact the chair of the technical committee you are interested in learning more about, or me, and we will be pleased to answer any questions you may have.  The phone numbers of the committee chairs are listed in the organization chart.

The 2000-2001 technical committees are up and running.  Already there are three In-Space Imaging Committee Lunch and Learns in planning.  The first one being planned will be by  Dr. Karen Scott who will speak on “Optical Quality of ISS Windows for Imaging.”  The other two are on “Analysis of Space Environment and Windows of Mir.” and (tentatively) “Earth Imaging from Satellites.” Stay tuned to the AIAA Houston Section web page, www.jsc.nasa.gov/aiaa, the AIAA Poster Boards and Horizons for details on these and other Lunch and Learns as they are developed.  We look forward to seeing you there!

We will be featuring a profile of a technical committee chair each month in Horizons.  The first in this series features our Space Science and Astronomy Committee Chair Dr. Larry Friesen.

Before I close, I would like to take this time to express my appreciation for your vote to elect me as the 2000-2001 Vice Chair – Technical.  It is an honor to have your support and to have the opportunity to serve AIAA in this important role.   This year like last year we have an excellent cadre of Technical Committee Chairmen and Members, which will make my job a pleasure.  My hope is that you will be pleased with the various technical products, events and activities we are planning throughout the year.   I have an “Open Door” policy; so do not hesitate to contact me on anything relative to the Technical Committees.  I will do my best to help you in every way I can.  I can be reached at 281-336-4528 or at my email address:  Glenn.Jenkinson@SW.Boeing.com.

Thank you.

Technical Committee Chair Profile

Dr. Larry Friesen -
Space Science and Astronomy Committee Chair
 
 

Dr. Larry Friesen is the Chair of the Space Science and Astronomy Technical Committee.  He was born September 7, 1946 and grew up in Kansas.  He acquired an early interest in science, astronomy, and space flight.  (He read some of von Braun's articles in Collier's.)  He even formed a Space Club with some grade school friends at age 8, in 1954.  In 1967 he earned a B.A. in physics and mathematics at the University of Kansas, an M.S. in space science at Rice University in 1972, and a Ph.D. in space physics and astronomy at Rice in 1974.  Dr. Friesen was drafted in the middle of graduate school and spent 2 years (1969-70) in the U.S. Army as an electronics maintenance technician.  He did post-doctorate work in the Geology Department at the University of Georgia in 1974-75.  The majority of the rest of his career has been at JSC, working for McDonnell Douglas 1976-87 and Lockheed Martin 1987-93 and 1995-98.  Dr. Friesen taught physics at Houston Community College (1994) and Galveston College (1998-2000).

What Dr. Friesen hopes to gain from chairing this technical committee:  “I would like to keep this Technical Committee active to provide an avenue for people who are interested in space science and astronomy to share that interest and to communicate it with like-minded people, other members of the local aerospace community, and the public.”

For more information on this committee, contact Dr. Larry Friesen at 281-334-5268.

If you’ve ever wanted to get involved with the engineers of tomorrow, then check out these opportunities below.  Most of the events are in the Clear Lake area and are quite rewarding for the small amount of time you invest.  If you are interested in volunteering or just want some more information for your own kids then contact Joy Conrad at 281-480-4101, extension 220.   October 21, 2000 Physics is Fun  (Hosted by AIAA) Show quick and easy science demos to elementary and middle school kids.  Create your own demo or use one that’s already been developed.   October 28, 2000  Kite Day Kids learn some basic aeronautics in George Bush Park out in Katy.   January 2001  FIRST Robotics Competition Use hands-on engineering to help high school students build a robot to compete with others in national competitions.   January 2001 Future City Design Competition  7th and 8th graders use SimCity ä computer software to design futuristic cities.   February 2001 Mars Settlement Design Competition Industry simulation weekend for high school students to design a futuristic Mars community.   February 18-24, 2001  National Engineers Week Visit classrooms around the Houston area.   March 23, 2001 Science and Engineering Fair of Houston  Judge middle and high school projects to select AIAA prize winners.

By Dr. Merri Sanchez, Past Chairman