Minutes of Senior Staff and Center Directors’ Meeting 16 Jan 2001

The following documents the discussions addressed at the Senior Staff and
Center Directors’ Meeting on January 16, 2001. Mr. Goldin attended the
meeting. Action assignments have been placed in brackets [ ] for easy
identification.

1. AA Reports

B/Holz: Mr. Holz announced his retirement; today is his last day. He
thanked the other Associate Administrators and the Center Directors for
their support during the past 7 years.

AS/Olsen: Dr. Olsen reported on the following: 1) The Microgravity
Combustion PI’s on Popular Press January 2001 issue of Discover Magazine
talks about SOFBALL, the flight project of Professor P. Ronney from the
University of Southern California, in an article entitled “The Physics of
Fire: Infernal Combustion.” The article also gives several quotations
from Dr. H. Ross, Senior Scientist of the Microgravity Science Division at
GRC, on how flames behave in orbit. 2) Fluid physics co-investigator
Professor Dimos Poulikakos won the American Society of Mechanical
Engineering’s James Harry Potter Gold Medal for 2000. This award
recognizes eminent achievement or distinguished service in the science of
thermodynamics in mechanical engineering. Professor Poulikakos is a
co-investigator on “Molten-Metal Droplet Deposition on a Moving Substrate
in Microgravity.”

M/Rothenberg: Mr. Rothenberg reported that the launch of STS-98 has been
postponed to allow time to investigate a potential wiring problem. The
launch has been rescheduled tentatively for February 6, 2001.

F/Novak: Ms. Novak reported that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
has made no decision yet as to an early dismissal of Federal Government
employees in the Washington, DC area, on Thursday, January 18.

W/Gross: Ms. Gross reported on the following: 1) She congratulated Mr.
Holz on his retirement. 2) Special Devices, Inc. (SDI), a NASA and
Department of Defense contractor, entered into a civil settlement with the
California Attorney General’s Office for violations of the California
Health and Safety Code. SDI is primarily in the business of designing,
developing, manufacturing, and selling equipment and devices used in
aerospace and automotive applications. SDI knowingly burned hazardous
waste (e.g. zirconium potassium perchlorate), generated as a result of its
manufacturing processes on a weekly, and sometimes daily, basis without
obtaining proper permits from the California Department of Toxic Substances
Control (DTSC).

As a result of the civil settlement, SDI agreed to pay $500,000 to DTSC for
violation of California Health and Safety Code Section 25201, concerning
the unauthorized treatment of hazardous waste. SDI was also required to
reimburse DTSC for its investigative costs of $40,500. This investigation
was conducted by Special Agents of the NASA Office of Inspector General,
Office of Criminal Investigations, California Department of Toxic
Substances Control, Environmental Protection Agency, Defense Criminal
Investigative Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Air Force
Office of Special Investigations. California Deputy Attorney General Reed
Sato, Sacramento, California, handled the civil settlement.

L/Heffernan: Mr. Heffernan acknowledged the announcements of various
employee departures and offered his best wishes.

R/Anderson: Mr. Anderson reported on the following: 1) He announced that
Dr. Michael Reischman has joined the Office of Aerospace Technology through
the use of an IPA (Intergovernmental Personnel Act). Dr. Reischman is from
the University of South Carolina and will be reporting directly to Sam
Venneri. Dr. Reischman’s initial focus will be on the University Aerospace
Research Centers recently emphasized by the Administrator. Dr. Reischman
should be contacting each of the Enterprises, as well as the Centers,
within the next 2 weeks to help accelerate this activity.

Z/Garver: Ms. Garver congratulated Mr. Holz on his retirement and
announced the end of her own appointment. She thanked everyone for their
support over the years.

P/Wilhide: Ms. Wilhide reported on the following: 1) She announced the
end of her appointment. 2) Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS)
footage on the California fires aired on 40 television stations across the
country. NASA Government was ranked 24th on Media Matrix’s list of most
popular Web sites.

2. AI/Dr. Mulville

Dr. Mulville reported on the following: 1) The Senior Management Council
meeting schedule for 2001 will be distributed on e-mail today. The first
meeting is scheduled for Friday, February 9, at HQ. 2) As a follow up to
the Administrator’s January 10, 2001, memo on Safety, NASA’s #1 Core Value,
Dr. Mulville reminded everyone that they must review the NASA safety policy
with their employees and provide the Administrator a written report within
1 month, signifying that they have completed this assignment.

3. Center Reports

ARC/McDonald: Dr. McDonald congratulated and sent best wishes to the
departing appointees as they take on new endeavors.

GRC/Campbell: Mr. Campbell congratulated and sent best wishes to the
departing appointees.

GSFC/Diaz: Mr. Diaz congratulated the appointees and thanked them for all
their guidance.

JPL/Stone: Dr. Stone thanked the appointees for all their support.

JSC/Abbey: Mr. Abbey reported on the following: 1) The roll back of
STS-98 is scheduled for Friday in order to investigate the cables. 2)
Space Station is doing well.

KSC/Bridges: Mr. Bridges congratulated and sent best wishes to the
departing appointees.

LaRC/Creedon: Dr. Creedon congratulated and sent best wishes to the
departing appointees.

MSFC/Kennedy: Mr. Kennedy congratulated and sent best wishes to the
departing appointees.

SSC/Estess: Mr. Estess reported on the following: 1) SSC is experiencing
a very busy test schedule. 2) He also congratulated the appointees and
thanked them for their significant contribution to the Agency.

4. Mr. Goldin

Mr. Goldin thanked Mr. Keegan for leading the NASA Integrated Action Team
(NIAT) and also thanked Ms. Griner, Mr. Figueroa, and the rest of the team
for their contributions in preparing the NIAT Report. He noted that the
NIAT Report is an important starting point for the Agency to focus on
details to ensure the success of NASA programs and projects.

He also thanked Mr. Rothenberg, Mr. Abbey, and their staffs for having the
courage to postpone the launch of STS-98 until such time when the root
cause of the cable problem is identified and resolved. Their decision
reflects NASA’s core value that safety comes first.

Mr. Goldin ended by thanking Mr. Holz, Mr. Heffernan, Ms. Wilhide, and Ms.
Garver for their enthusiasm and dedication to NASA and the American people
during their tenure at the space Agency.

NOTE: ACTION ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE TRANSMITTED UNDER SEPARATE COVER AND
TRACKED BY THE HEADQUARTERS CORRESPONDENCE MANAGEMENT OFFICE. SPECIFIC
QUESTIONS MAY BE ADDRESSED TO VANESSA COATES @ (202) 358-0906.