G.R.A.A.
Goddard Retirees and Alumni Association
P.O. Box 163, Lanham, MD 20703-0163

IMPORTANT DATES

COMMENTS FROM RON BROWNING, GRAA PRESIDENT: Dr. Peter Hildebrand, Goddard’s Earth Science Division Chief, presented an outstanding overview of the worldwide availability of food and energy at our June luncheon. He exhibited charts of population, food production, and energy utilization around the world, noting some things that could be done to help sustain the world’s growing population in the future. Among these are: 1) stabilizing the population by education (e.g., studies have shown that when women attend secondary school, they tend to have only two children); 2) bringing evolutionary change to food production by changing genetic plant structure to produce higher yield with less energy and discard (e.g., stems, stalks); 3) reorienting societal thinking to make better use of available resources; and 4) avoiding use of inefficient energy means for transportation (e.g., coal is a major source of electrical energy for electric cars and recycling methods). Dr. Hildebrand described some of the impacts of a warmer Earth. For instance, a global temperature of one degree is already affecting food growth by causing crop migration northward and earlier blooming. Another effect is that more water from rain rather than snow melt is making it difficult in places using irrigation to harvest two crops per year, as water is not available when needed. He discussed energy utilization worldwide and the impact of using corn to make ethanol as well as the inefficiency of using grain for animal food to produce meat.

The 2012 edition of the GRAA Membership Directory was distributed along with June’s Newsletter. I certainly hope all members received their copy based on information we have in our membership database. I offer my most sincere gratitude to the following members who expended considerable time and effort in distributing the new directory and accompanying newsletter to just over 2,500 members: Jackie Gasch, Marge Gustafson, Barbara Hamilton, Strat Laios, Rose McChesney, Dave Moulton, Ewald Schmidt, Bill Shields, Agnes Smith, Pam Starling, and Bob and Mary Alice Wigand. I was also involved with the process and confess that we did not endure an easy task, especially with all the stuffing, labeling, sorting, bundling, bagging, and delivering all the 50-pound mail sacks to the Bulk Mail Facility off the Beltway in Capitol Heights, MD. I can attest to the fact that nowadays 50 pounds is much heavier than it used to be in my younger days!

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES - IT HAPPENED IN JULY: Instead of showcasing a satellite launch this month, it is noteworthy that in July 1965 Goddard announced its first major reorganization since being established in 1959. New Directorates were identified as the following: Administration and Management, Systems Reliability, Projects, Tracking and Data Systems, Space Sciences, and Technology.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Bob Wigand reports tax-deductible contributions were received from the following: Donald Baker, David Bertsch, Ila Burnell, William Carpenter, Morton Foxe, John Fuchs, Thomas Gunshinan, Joseph Hennessy, Mrs. William Hoggard, Robert Hutchison, Ludie Kidd, Strat Laios, Donald Lewis, Thomas Lynch, Robert and Patricia Mackey, Herbert Meyerson, Reginald Mitchell, Henry Plotkin, John Purcell, John Quill, Colleen Quinn-House, Bernard Schuler, Chester Shaddeau, Barbara Shavatt, William Struthers, Robert Wales, and Edward Werner.

RECENT RETIREES: Dale L. Clark, Charles C. Coltharp, John H. Day, and Barry E. Jacobs.

MESSAGES FROM THE PAST: A black-and-white 16mm NASA film, lost for decades, was recently unearthed in Western Australia. Entitled “Carnarvon Welcome,” it was produced in June 1964 to welcome the opening of the Carnarvon Tracking Station in Australia to NASA’s network of worldwide tracking stations for coverage of the Gemini and Apollo missions. The film includes speakers James E. Webb (NASA Administrator), Edmund C. Buckley (NASA Director of Tracking and Data Acquisition), Harry J. Goett (Goddard’s first Center Director), and individuals from tracking stations around the globe. To watch and listen to these interesting messages from the past, check the film out on the YouTube web site (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0aGuHcNVdk) or simply go to the web site (http://www.youtube.com) and search on NASA - Carnarvon Welcome.

REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:

•  Samuel Q. (Quentin) Dishmon, of Madill, OK, passed away at age 90 on November 13, 2011. He was an Engineering Technician at Goddard and helped set up and take down control centers around the world. Among varied assignments, he worked in the Manned Flight Engineering Division and later in the Network Facilities and Services Division. He flew bomber and fighter planes during World War II (WWII) and the Korean War.

•  Toni R. Durantine, of Greenbelt, MD, passed away at age 92 on June 4^th. At Goddard, he was a Logistics Administrator in the Logistics Management Division handling storage requests and other duties. He served in WWII as a navigator on bombers and also served in Alaska during the Korean War.

•  Per Gloersen, of Severna Park, MD, passed away on July 29, 2011. He was a Senior Scientist in the Oceans and Ice Branch of the Laboratory for Hydrospheric Sciences.

•  George E. MacVeigh, of Adamstown, MD, passed away on December 20, 2011. He served as a Mechanical Engineer at the Naval Research Laboratory for 12 years (for two years with Project Vanguard) and then transferred to Goddard, where he headed the Engineering Branch of the Sounding Rocket Division for over 20 years.

•  Richard G. McGowan, Sr., of Boonsboro, MD, passed away at age 90 on April 12^th. He served in the U.S. Merchant Marines from 1944 to 1947 and later as an aircraft mechanic at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, DC. While at Goddard, he was an Electronics Technician until retiring in 1979.

•  Dennis F. Melvin, of Salisbury, MD, passed away on June 3^rd. He was a Mathematician at the Wallops Flight Facility from 1968 to 2000 and then continued as a contractor with both Northup Grumman Information Technologies and Orbital Sciences Corporation as a Flight Performance Engineer until March of this year.

•  Lawson E. Richtmyer, of Adamstown, MD, passed away at age 94 on May 28^th. He was an Engineer and worked with Technology Utilization at both Goddard and NASA Headquarters. He also had prior employment at the Diamond Ordnance Fuze Laboratories in Washington, DC.

•  William B. (Bill) Tereniak, of Annapolis, MD, passed away on May 20^th. He was an Electrical Engineer at Goddard and conducted field measurements for the Test and Evaluation Division.

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH: It’s no doubt time to do some stuff around the house. Perhaps we should sit around it, walk around it, and lie around it!