Experience

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  Stein-hall/celanese

  Jun 1974 - Aug 1974

  Quality control laboratory technician

  This was a summer job in the quality control lab of an adhesives manufacturing facility. As an undergraduate chemistry major at the time, this was a great opportunity. I performed a range of standardized chemical and physical tests on the products and approved them for release and shipment (or not.) Occasional manufacturing excursions required our input on how to recover off-spec batches.

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  Amoco chemical corporation

  Jan 1975 - Jan 1977

  Summer research chemist

  I was lucky enough to have an internship at the Amoco Research Center (now owned by British Petroleum) for 3 summers during my college years. Most of my time was spent doing chemical process research and development aligned with their major polymer products.

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  Dupont experimental station

  Oct 1981 - Jan 1985

  Research chemist

  Process development research in the agricultural chemicals department. Most work was in small equipment in the lab, but some pilot plant runs were in the range of a few tens of liters, requiring practical chemical engineering and process safety expertise in addition to the chemistry.

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  E. i. dupont - laporte plant

  Jan 1985 - Jul 1989

  Senior process chemist

  Process development with scale-up to commercial quantities of chemical intermediates and herbicides. Most work was in large lab equipment modeling the production process as closely as possible. I had regular, significant interaction with the engineering and manufacturing teams, leading to start-ups in commercial-scale equipment in the plant. I interacted daily with engineers, researchers, lab personnel, and production managers. I reviewed P&I drawings, control strategies, and process flow sheets, participated in hazop reviews and operator training, and provided other necessary products leading up to new product start-ups. I also worked the actual start-ups for several weeks, monitoring intermediates and product quality, any process upsets, etc, Show less

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  Nasa johnson space center

  Jul 1989 - Dec 2017

  Senior scientist, nasa, johnson space center

  Responsibilities include working with the Exploration Systems Division and Human Health & Performance Directorate to ensure crew health and safety is considered during exploration planning. I have also helped develop new collaboration initiatives, strategic development opportunities and plans, and partnership opportunities for our technologies and capabilities. We seek to forge relationships between our team and outside researchers and developers in both industry and academia. While I still fancy myself a scientist with broad, real-life engineering experience, my focus has transitioned to that of an integrator within a project or over a program lifecycle rather than expert. That 'breadth' is a discipline expertise of its own. It takes someone who has been there to see where technologies, opportunities, and needs intersect. Show less

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  Nasa - johnson space center

  Jul 1989 - Aug 2013

  Prior positions at nasa

  I started at NASA with a focus on In-Situ Resource Utilization, processing material available on the moon & Mars to produce items we'll need there. I learned how space systems must work together to complete a mission. Later I managed the US science done on the Russian Mir Space Station and its interface with the Space Shuttle. We learned how to operate an orbital space station research effort. Once that program ended I took my experience to the ISS Program as its first Increment Scientist within the Space Life Sciences Directorate, and then back to space exploration studies, interfacing with the engineering directorate.Since 2005 I have been in the Human Systems Engineering and Development Division. I started there as the Manager for its activities supporting the Constellation Program, managing the Division's R&D for future manned spacecraft. I was then asked to support the Human Research Program as the Element Scientist for Space Human Factors & Habitability, including Advanced Environmental Health (largely microbiology, toxicology, and analytical method development), Advanced Food Technology, and Space Human Factors Engineering. Show less

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  Self-employed

  Jan 2018 - now

  Retired, author, consultant

  After over 40 years in the scientific and technical worlds of the Chemical Industry and Space Exploration I am having fun developing new skills as an author of fiction. We'll see how the transition goes. At the same time, those science and engineering neurons are still firing and learning. I am open to an occasional consulting gig. The combination of chemical manufacturing and spaceflight experience is rare, and may be necessary for the future of space ventures.