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Narrator: Dr. Hans Mark is a leading expert in the
fields of aerospace design and
national defense policy.
From 1969 to 1977, he served as Director of the
NASA Ames Research Center.
During his tenure, Ames became the lead NASA
center for tilt-rotor aircraft development and
formed a continuing partnership with the U.S. Army
in helicopter research.
Ames led research in short haul aircraft and built
two key experimental aircraft, the C-8A and the
Quiet Short Haul Research Aircraft or QSRA.
With the arrival of the Illiac IV computer, Ames
established a heritage in supercomputing that
continues to this day.
Building on this resource, Ames established a
leadership role in computational fluid dynamics
with the Institute for Advanced Computation.
Ames initiated an airborne astronomy program with
the outfitting of a Lockheed C-141 as well as
other research aircraft.
Ames led the design and testing of the thermal
protection system for the Space Shuttle orbiter.
Ames managed the Pioneer 10 mission that became
the first spacecraft to fly past Jupiter and
leave our solar system.
Then later, the Pioneer 11 mission that became the
first spacecraft to encounter Saturn.
Prior to his service at NASA Ames, Dr. Mark was
associated with the nuclear weapons laboratory in
Livermore and was a professor of nuclear
engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.
Dr. Mark left Ames when named Under Secretary of
the Air Force and Director of the
National Reconnaissance Office.
Then as Secretary of the Air Force, he established
the U.S. Air Force Space Command.
As Deputy Administrator of NASA from 1981 to 1984,
he oversaw the first eleven Space Shuttle flights
and led efforts toward the American space station
program.
From 1998 to 2001, Dr. Mark served in the Pentagon
as Director of Defense Research and Engineering.
He served as Chancellor of the University of Texas
system and remains actively involved in research
and teaching at the University of Texas
Cockrell School of Engineering.
He returns to Ames often,
always full of good advice.
He has been a member of the National Academy of
Engineering since 1977.
Dr. Hans Mark's wealth of knowledge, experience
and insight make him a national treasure, and the
embodiment of what it means to be an Ames Fellow.
(Music)
(Electronic Sounds of Data) (Musical Tones)