NASA Glenn Employees Earn Agency Honor, Center Awards

More than 100 NASA Glenn Research Center employees earned awards for their exemplary accomplishments in science, engineering, technology, leadership and administrative service as well as their contributions to NASA’s mission during the 2016 NASA Agency Honor and Center Awards Ceremony Aug. 31.

Dr. Janet Kavandi, Glenn’s center director, presided over the ceremony and introduced retired Navy Capt. Michael Coats, former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center and NASA astronaut, as the keynote speaker before joining him on stage to present the awards.

“Nothing gives me more pride as a director than recognizing the remarkable accomplishments of the amazing men and women working here,” said Kavandi. “I applaud your hard work and determination and look forward to seeing how your achievements will continue to contribute to the success of the NASA Glenn Research Center.”

NASA Glenn is proud to recognize the following Agency Honor Award and Center Award recipients:

Presidential Rank Award

The President of the United States of America has conferred upon Ajay K. Misra, of Strongsville, the rank of Meritorious Senior Executive in the Senior Executive Service for sustained superior accomplishment in management of programs of the United States Government and for noteworthy achievement of quality and efficiency in the public service.

NASA Small Business Goal Achievement Award

The Glenn Research Center earned the Small Business Prime Socioeconomical Goal Achievement Award, which was accepted by Kavandi.

Senior Executive Service and Senior Technologist Appointments

Susan M. Motil was appointed to the position of European Service Module Integration Office manager effective Nov. 15, 2015.

Lori O. Pietravoia, of Euclid, was appointed to the position of Office of Human Capital Management director effective July 24, 2016.

Robert R. Romanofsky, of Hinckley, was appointed to the position of Aerospace Communications Technology senior technologist effective March 20, 2016.

NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal

Renato Colantonio, of Brunswick, for his outstanding professional leadership across diverse, multi-center teams achieving significant changes in programmatic portfolio consistent with NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate’s strategy.

Robert Corban, of Westlake, for his outstanding leadership of Glenn’s International Space Station (ISS) Research Program, advancing NASA’s physical sciences research and exploration goals.

John Koudelka, of Aurora, for his outstanding performance in managing the execution of the Aeronautics portfolio at Glenn.

David Manzella, of Cleveland, for his exceptional leadership as the chief engineer for the Solar Electric Technical Demonstration Project as well as technical expert and advocate for Solar Electric Propulsion within the Agency.

Gene Stygles, of Medina, for his outstanding leadership and commitment in managing institutional projects, systems and staff to enable NASA missions.

NASA Outstanding Public Leadership Medal

Michael Bragg for his outstanding public leadership in support of NASA’s mission in icing research.

Belinda Walker, of Vermillion, for her exceptional work consistently demonstrating high integrity, quality and a commitment to continuous improvement in her role as center documentation manager.

NASA Exceptional Service Medal

Karen Bartos, of Berea, for her outstanding technical and business acumen as an engineering analyst and as a technology manager in the Technology Transfer Office, creating great value for NASA.

S. Michelle Doehne, of Avon, for her exceptional leadership of high-performing teams during operations, maintenance and enhancement of unique facilities used to support missions and meet NASA milestones.

James Jackson, of Fairview Park, for his outstanding leadership, service, innovative approaches and contributions in the area of quality and quality assurance for Safety and Mission Assurance across the agency.

Jacob Jevec, of Strongsville, for his exceptional institutional and program resources management and analysis support to Glenn.

Daniel Kovach, of Strongsville, for his exceptional service as the lead mechanical technician in the 10-by-10 Supersonic Wind Tunnel and enabling successful operation and testing of critical research.

Jonathan Litt, of Pepper Pike, for his exceptional performance in developing advanced control methods, cutting-edge engine health estimation concepts, and simulation tools for aircraft propulsion systems.

Jerry Myers, of Valley City, for his exceptional contributions in computational modeling to mitigate medical issues associated with the extreme space environment for long-duration human spaceflight.

Emily Nelson, of Hiram, for her outstanding and sustained contributions to multiple NASA programs and projects through innovative applications of physics-based computational techniques.

Beth Polansky, of Seven Hills, for her exceptional service in providing leadership and subject-matter expertise in support of financial and resource management initiatives at both the agency and center levels.

Patrick Spanos, of Sheffield Village, for his outstanding technical excellence and outstanding performance in manufacturing for aeronautics and space flight projects in support of NASA missions.

NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal

Victor Canacci, of Westlake, for his exceptional management of repair, maintenance and upgrade projects in the test facilities at Glenn.

James Kubera, of Broadview Heights, for his exceptional service to the design and deployment of innovative financial management processes resulting in efficiencies on multiple NASA contracts.

NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal

William Foster, of Lodi, for his outstanding management contributions and overall improvements to NASA’s physical science research program on the ISS.

Robert Green, of North Olmsted, for his exceptional development of electrode materials for carbon reduction enabling critical technology for Exploration Life Support, Mars missions and carbon emissions on Earth.

Gary Horsham, of Strongsville, for his exceptional achievement of providing the export guidance and the import certification processes for the European Service Module.

Jeffrey Lark, of Medina, for his outstanding mission contributions to the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle European Service Module project and exceptional service as a vibroacoustics expert.

Steve Lilley, of Berea, for his exceptional achievement and leadership in providing technical excellence in communicating and disseminating safety information for management and agency use.

Daniel Rodriguez, of Cleveland, for his exceptional achievement in the implementation of the agency’s eInvoicing system.

Maryann Pawson for her exceptional achievement as the center’s Purchase Card Program coordinator.

Carl Sandifer, of Garfield Heights, for his exceptional achievements developing cooperative management processes with the Department of Energy to improve their plutonium 238 processes.

Judith Van Zante, of Fairview Park, for her exceptional technical and leadership excellence in developing testing techniques to support Turbine Engine Icing Research.

Mark Woodling, of Medina, for his outstanding development and implementation of significant Maintenance Program improvements that sustain Glenn’s facility and infrastructure capabilities.

NASA Exceptional Public Achievement Medal

Darrell Gaydosh, of Middleburg Heights, for his exceptional service in enabling testing capabilities to advance Shape Memory Alloy technology development.

Kamana Katiyar, of Strongsville, for exceptional achievement in support of the space test facilities and operations at Glenn.

NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal

Robert Christie for his exceptional engineering achievement in the thermal analysis and design of NASA aerospace systems.

Louis Ghosn, of Strongsville, for his exceptional engineering achievement in developing solutions to complex fracture mechanics problems, with significant impact to many critical NASA missions.

James Nessel, of Lakewood, for his outstanding design, development and demonstration of advanced propagation ground terminals leading to the optimization of space communications systems for NASA missions.

NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal

Jack Telesman, of Strongsville, for exceptional scientific contributions advancing the fundamental understanding of fatigue and crack growth in engine components.

NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal

Kenneth Burke, of Chardon, for his outstanding contributions in developing electrochemical power and energy storage systems with specific contributions to surface exploration and life support missions.

Nathan Jacobson, of Beachwood, for his exceptional achievement that advances high temperature mass spectrometry and enables understanding of key reactions in aerospace systems and planetary science.

William Wright, of Strongsville, for his exceptional leadership and successful development of the LEWis ICE accretion program 2D computational fluid dynamics code and technology transfer to external organizations.

NASA Early Career Achievement Medal

Jeffrey Csank, of Parma, for his exceptional innovation in the development of technologies for dynamic systems analysis of engine designs to support increased efficiency in commercial aeropropulsion systems.

Charles Doxley, of Lakewood, for his exceptional early career achievement in developing and implementing hardware systems in support of the Space Communications and Navigation Program and for his commitment to NASA’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) goals.

Monica Guzik, of Avon, for her outstanding achievements in the fluids and cryogenics systems discipline, including the Advanced Exploration Systems Modular Power System Fuel Cell demonstration, evolvable cryogenics, and the 2014 Thermal and Fluids Analysis Workshop.

Kristin Hawkins, of Peninsula, for her exceptional performance and innovative improvements in NASA’s accounting and financial analysis practices.

Natalie Henrich, of Mansfield, for her exceptional early career performance with an emphasis on continuous improvement and Scientific and Technical Information Program leadership.

Evan Pineda, of Cleveland, for his outstanding and significant contributions in the fields of multiscale modeling and progressive damage modeling of heterogeneous materials.

Abigail Rodriguez, of Strongsville, for her exceptional dedication and technical excellence in providing safety and mission assurance support to the Space Technology Project Office.

Joseph Rymut, of Broadview Heights, for his exceptional early career performance in the design, implementation and operation of ground-based space test facilities in support of NASA missions.

NASA Early Career Public Achievement Medal

Darrell Williams, of Fairview Park, for his outstanding achievement, substantially improving operational policies and procedures, resulting in more efficient security operations and excellent customer service.

NASA Silver Achievement Medal

Paul Bartolotta, of Medina, for his outstanding leadership and achieving positive results by forging critical partnerships to sustain hypersonic research and launching Rocket University and Adopt-A-City.

James Doglio, of Avon, for exceptional leadership in facilities project management and engineering contributions to fulfill Glenn’s mission.

Kimlan Pham, of North Olmsted, for exceptional demonstration of NASA’s core value of teamwork and excellence in leadership in aeronautics management and execution of project acquisitions.

James Smith, of Sagamore Hills, for his outstanding dedication and excellence contributing to the successful implementation of Glenn’s safety and health programs.

Mark Hyatt, of Columbia Station, for his achievements in enabling collaborative relationships among Glenn Safety and Mission Assurance, project management and engineering organizations, other NASA centers and the local community.

NASA Group Silver Achievement Medal

Glenn’s Fiscal Year 14 and 15 Agency Strategic Implementation Plan Assessment Team for exceptional teamwork, excellence and integrity in developing and integrating the center’s response to the Agency Strategic Implementation Plan.

Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Team for outstanding achievement and commitment in supporting safety, teamwork and excellence to improve the center’s traffic and pedestrian safety program.

Rocket University Team for outstanding technical achievement, excellence and innovation in developing and flight-validating the Autonomously Navigated ParaGliding Experimental Lander.

Cool Flames Discover Team for outstanding discovery and validation of the existence of a new mode of quasi-steady Cool Flames, which has opened new paths for combustion kinetic model validation.

Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Integrated Technology Demonstrations 30A, 35A and 40A for outstanding group achievement in support of the ERA goals.

NASA Career Service Recognition Awards

Forty-Year Service Award:

Thomas Cressman of Berea
Gary Kelm
Wayne Whyte
Kathryn Roser of Bay Village
Kathleen Zona of Sullivan
Robert Lallier Jr.
Raymond Beach of North Olmsted
Robert Makovec of Strongsville
James Budinger of Rocky River

Fifty-Year Service Award:

Robert Cataldo of Rocky River
Fifty-five-Year Service Award:

Louis Povinelli of Westlake
NASA Group Achievement Award

Glenn’s Test Facility Request System Team for exceptional teamwork, innovation and excellence in the design, development and implementation of the Glenn’s Test Facility Request System.

National Lab Day Team for outstanding innovation in providing Northeast Ohio students with dynamic career exploration experience in STEM fields.

Fleet Management and Transportation Team for exceptional service in developing and implementing environmentally friendly fleet management and transportation initiatives producing significant cost savings.

10-by-10 Supersonic Wind Tunnel Combined-Cycle Engine Project Team for outstanding achievement in the execution of the CCE-Large Scale Inlet Mode Transition Experiment Phase 3a testing in the 10-by-10 Abe Silverstein Supersonic Wind Tunnel.

Corrective and Preventative Actions Report Team for Mandatory Contractor Training for outstanding accomplishment in creating a process to assure support service contractors take required training and for exceeding the expectations resulting in a best practice for the agency.

Vehicle Integrated Propulsion Research Team for exceptional performance while conducting extremely complicated wing tests in a sophisticated and professional manner with all partners working to achieve technical success

Shape Memory Alloys Development Team for outstanding achievements in the development of new classes of Shape Memory Alloys.

European Service Module Structural Test Article (E-STA) Transportation and Logistics Team for outstanding performance delivering the E-STA to Plum Brook Station that enabled the Orion Program to begin integration and test of the article ahead of schedule.

ISS Microgravity Science Glovebox Investigation Team for outstanding execution of multiple glovebox investigations on the ISS delivering significant research data to NASA and the science community.

Spacecraft Fire Safety (SAFFIRE) Project Team for exceptional achievement in the execution of the SAFFIRE project resulting in the successful completion of the first three flight units.

Chief Safety and Mission Assurance Officer Summit Team for outstanding contributions to support the design and execution of NASA’s inaugural Chief Safety and Mission Assurance Officer Summit.

Legionnaires’ Incident Response Team for outstanding dedication and excellence in providing an organized emergency response effort for the Legionnaires’ incident that occurred at Glenn.

Glenn CyberSprint Response Team for exceptional achievement in the execution of the Federal Cybersprint initiative, displaying technical and programmatic excellence to improve Glenn’s Cyber security posture.

Center Awards

James Smialek, of Strongsville, earned the Abe Silverstein Medal for his significant contributions toward understanding degradation of thermal barrier coatings and developing new coatings with increased durability and temperature capability.

The Radio Frequency Mass Guage (RFMG) Team earned the Steven V. Szabo Engineering Exellence Award for the design, analysis, build and test activities resulting in the successful design qualification of RFMG flight hardware and software.

Kevin Blake, of Medina, earned the Craftsmanship Award for his significant contributions toward Hall Thruster design, fabrication, assembly and installation.

Mark Wernet, of Hinckley, and Brenda Henderson earned the Distinguished Publication Award for their paper entitled “An Experimental Investigation of Overexpanded Jets with Chevrons.”

The Glenn Higher Education/University Affairs Team earned the Diversity Leadership Award for significant contributions that exemplify NASA’s commitment to diversity through the recruitment and selection of students from minority serving institutions in the Office of Education internship program.

Carol Ginty, of Olmsted Township, earned an Individual Safety Award for her exceptional stewardship of personnel health and safety while managing a challenging schedule for the Orion E-STA test campaign.

Roderick Case, of Lorain, earned an Individual Safety Award for his commitment to the “As Low As Reasonably Achievable” philosophy of radiation safety as demonstrated in efforts to minimize adverse impacts from radioactive materials.

The Area 9 Safety Committee earned a Group Safety Award for demonstrating excellence and commitment in delivering safety permits to assure safe operation of test facilities at the Plum Brook Station, effectively applying Safety and Mission Assurance requirements for success.

The Hangar NASA Logo Painting Team earned a Group Safety Award for demonstrating excellence and commitment in the hangar NASA logo painting project, effectively and diligently following safety practices to assure personnel safety, achieving timely success.

Robert Draper, of Westlake, earned the Supervisor Award for his dedication and outstanding support to the Logistics and Technical Information Division.

Judy Gill, of Strongsville, earned the Support Assistant/Clerical Award for her dedication and outstanding support to the Logistics and Technical Information Division.

Diane Benton earned the Support Assistant/Clerical Award in memoriam for her outstanding dedicated service and a legacy of excellence as a management support assistant of the Communications and Intelligent Systems Division.

Small Business Industry Awards

Science Engineering Associates earned Glenn’s Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year Award for demonstrating unprecedented dedication and responsiveness to NASA’s requirements for high ice water content flight research.

MSM Group, Inc. earned Glenn’s Small Business Subcontractor of the Year Award for providing software development and professional services offerings to subject-matter experts in accounting and program operations.

Small Business Advocate Awards

Teresa Monaco earned Glenn’s Small Business Specialist of the Year Award for implementing new methods of providing the contracting staff with ready access to guidance, policy and metrics for the small business program.

Afroz Zaman earned Glenn’s Small Business Technical Person of the Year Award. As the lead for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Technology Coordination and Integration Task of the Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) Program under the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, her work allows high Technology Readiness Level SBIR product infusion into SCaN projects, and empowers U.S. small businesses to make significant contributions to the future of space exploration.

Scott Haumesser, of Strongsville, earned Glenn’s Small Business Person of the Year Award for his innovation in awarding the Glenn Multiple Award Construction Contract and its contribution to achieving center socioeconomic small business goals.

Program/Project Management Awards

Susan Johnson, of Avon Lake, earned the Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers for satisfaction of NASA/Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) requirements for the Senior-Expert Level. It grants membership into NASA’S Professional Acquisition Community and is recognized throughout the federal government.

Margaret Nazario, of Strongsville, earned the Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers for satisfaction of NASA/FAI requirements for the Senior-Expert Level. It grants membership into NASA’S Professional Acquisition Community and is recognized throughout the federal government.

John Koudelka, of Aurora, earned the Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers for satisfaction of NASA/FAI requirements for the Senior-Expert Level. It grants membership into NASA’S Professional Acquisition Community and is recognized throughout the federal government.

James Heidmann, of North Olmsted, earned the Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers for satisfaction of NASA/FAI requirements for the Senior-Expert Level. It grants membership into NASA’S Professional Acquisition Community and is recognized throughout the federal government.

June Zakrajsek, of Valley City, earned the Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers for satisfaction of NASA/FAI requirements for the Senior-Expert Level. It grants membership into NASA’S Professional Acquisition Community and is recognized throughout the federal government.

For more information about NASA Glenn Research Center, visit

www.nasa.gov/glenn