VOLUME 22 • ISSUE 11 • DECEMBER 2019

Safeguarding 

Against 

Cyberattacks

Page 5

Honoring 

Our 

Veterans

Page 6

HEROICS 

Coins 

Awarded

Page 12

Virtual Reality 

Advances NASA 

Mission 

Page 2–3
AeroSpace Frontiers

is an official publication of Glenn Research 

Center, National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration. It is published the second 

Friday of each month by the Office of 

Communications & External Relations 

in the interest of the Glenn workforce, 

retirees, government officials, business 

leaders and the general public. 

Submit short articles and calendar items 

to the editor at doreen.b.zudell@nasa.gov. 

Editor: Doreen B. Zudell, ATS, 

 216–433–5317

Assistant Editor: S. Jenise Veris, ATS

Design: Rhys Sampson, ATS

Managing Editor: Kelly R. DiFrancesco

Circulation: Angela Williams, ATS, 

 216–433–8921

Personal Safety 

Awareness

Slips, trips and falls are the most 

reported mishaps at Glenn, especially 

during the winter months. They also 

pose our greatest number of workplace 

injuries. In Northeast Ohio, we are 

entering into wintery, icy and snowy 

conditions. In the 2019 winter season, 

we received 16 close calls related to 

slipping, tripping and falling in 

parking lots, sidewalks and entrances 

to buildings. A high number of our 

falls come from exiting vehicles onto 

icy parking lots. Please be reminded 

of these potentially hazardous 

conditions, slow down the pace and 

use proper footwear to mitigate 

personal injury. 

On the Cover: John Thompkins, GVIS Lab, left,

and Megan Sigetic, ATS/Imaging Technology 

Center, explore Urban Air Mobility communication 

scenarios in the CAVE.

GRC-2019-C-11122

Photo by Marvin Smith

Glenn’s Graphics and Visualization (GVIS) Lab staff hosted a 30th 

anniversary celebration at Lewis Field on Nov. 7. The event provided 

information on the past, present and future of dynamic facilities that offer 

advanced visualization technology and methodology.

GVIS team lead Herb Schilling welcomed guests and introduced keynote 

speaker Dr. Jay Horowitz, the developer and founder of the GVIS Lab. 

Horowitz served NASA from 1985 to 2012. 

“The GVIS Lab came about because we wanted to provide the center with 

the tools and expertise for using cutting-edge visualization technologies, 

at a cost not feasible for distribution across the lab,” he explained. “It also 

would provide an exciting way to promote NASA to the community.” 

Horowitz’ presentation included a timeline of milestone events and 

sources of influence that led to the GVIS and its significant advances. 

Some examples include: 

• The Research Analysis Center (RAC) building 1989 expansion led 

to space for the GVIS Lab and the Advanced Computational Concepts 

Laboratory that Horowitz also managed for a period of time.

• Acquisition of early digital video animation equipment enabled GVIS to 

create unique image processing tools for several microgravity fluid and 

combustion projects.

Glenn Celebrates

30 Years of 

GVIS Excellence
DECEMBER 2019

3

GVIS intern Myranda Uselton shows Kelly Sands features of the 

zSpace app, NASA Concept Vehicles, which allows users to 

manipulate the article in 3D.

GRC-2019-CN-00054 Photo by Doreen B. Zudell

• The Glenn Reconfigurable User Interface and Virtual 

Reality Exploration (GRUVE) Lab was created, with funding

by the High-Performance Computing and Communications 

Act (1991/1996) for research into advanced collaborative 

environments with NASA’s Ames and Langley Research 

Centers.

• Aeronautics researchers became key GVIS users and 

partners, whose feedback aided enhancements to 

several visualization products widely used by industry.

• Virtual reality technology was first applied to Office of 

Education’s Mobile Aerospace Education Lab (MAEL) 

workstations and WrightSim flight simulation software 

created for the 2003 Centennial of Flight.

• Unique interactive displays were developed for industry 

conferences, public events and congressional 

demonstrations. 

• Doodads, like animated 3D cards, were created to 

promote center programs to industry and the public.

• Student intern contributions enhanced lab capabilities.

Schilling shared his vision for future operations. “We 

want to be involved in the entire life-cycle of research 

projects—from the proposals, to high fidelity data 

visualizations, to contributing to generation of online 

papers with interactive visualizations, and more,” he 

explained. “Additionally, there is strong demand for 

creating highly interactive and immersive virtual tours of 

Glenn facilities to stay ahead of the technology curve with 

our outreach visualization.” 

After the presentations, guests traveled to the GRUVE 

Lab to see the CAVE (Computer-Automated Virtual 

Environment), predominantly used to analyze data 

obtained either from computer simulation or one of NASA 

Glenn’s research test facilities. Guests donned 3D glasses 

to gain a sense of how researchers can observe their 

test data for more efficient development and delivery of 

products and services for NASA missions.

Following the tour, guests returned to the auditorium to 

sample virtual reality software and talk with GVIS team 

members.

For a closer look at GVIS capabilities visit 

https://gvis.grc.nasa.gov.

By S. Jenise Veris
Take a virtual tour into the 8- by 16-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel. 

Members of Glenn’s Digital Communications Team and the 

Imaging Technology Center (ITC) collaborated on a NASA 

Glenn virtual tours product that merited an APEX Award of 

Excellence. They created 360-degree virtual tours for nine of 

Glenn’s world-class test facilities at https://www.nasa.gov/

glennvirtualtours. 

Glenn’s Digital Communications Team of Nikki Welch and 

Nancy Kilkenny (ATS) teamed with ITC/ATS members Jordan 

Salkin, Joey Haas and Rami Daud, with support from Dennis 

Brown, Bill Fletcher and Jim Zunt. 

The ITC/ATS members, along with Lisa Lapka, Test Facility 

Management Branch, also received an APEX Award for a 

new Facility Tours website at https://www.grc.nasa.gov/f/fx/

fxt/tour/ to more effectively handle increasing requests for 

tours. It defines a process for online tour requests, specifies 

authorized tour audiences and lists more than 25 of Glenn’s 

most popular facilities. 

Apex Awards recognize excellence in graphic design, editorial 

content and the ability to achieve overall communications 

excellence.

Employees Rewarded for Innovative 

Access to Center Tours

Photo by Joey Haas

4

Third Rocket University 

Class Graduates

During a ceremony on Oct. 23, NASA Glenn honored nine

employees who completed the Rocket University 3 (RU3)

program. The development program provides early and

midcareer engineers and scientists with technical 

knowledge and experience and employs a cross-functional

project team with hands-on applications through the entire

project life cycle. Content includes Academy of Program/

Project and Engineering Leadership courses, internally led

NASA workshops and the completion of a full life cycle 

team project. 

The team project, Venus Imager for Planetary Exploration 

Research (VIPER), required designing, integrating and 

testing a prototype camera system, and insulated pressure 

vessel for use on the surface of Venus.

GRC-2019-C-10214

Photo by Marvin Smith

Pictured, left to right, bottom row: Janice Romanin (senior technical mentor); Deboshri 

Sadhukhan; Carl Liebfried; Nicholas Lantz; Jennifer Jordan; Ian Haskin; and Bruce

Rosenthal (senior technical advisor). Left to right, top row: David Grantier (technical program manager); Thomas DeMichael; Yaritza De Jesus-Arce; Keith Martin; and Zhuohui He.
While October is commonly associated with Halloween, it also 

marks National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM).

This year, during a 3-hour training session, NASA employees were 

treated to best practices to protect their work and personal systems 

against cyberattacks—more chilling than any Halloween tricks. 

Glenn’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) hosted 

the live NCSAM training event, Oct. 9, in the MIC Auditorium. It 

broadcasted live to Plum Brook Station and NASA’s Johnson Space 

Center.

Associate Center Director Larry Sivic and Glenn’s Chief 

Information Officer (CIO) Sean Gallagher offered welcoming 

remarks. Each emphasized the importance of a shared 

responsibility to learn and implement the information technology 

(IT) community’s best cyber practices and policies to safeguard 

against threats and risk of attacks to NASA missions and services.

“Hardware, software, industrial controls systems within our test 

facilities, desktops, laptops, smart phones, NASA’s Office 365 and 

household appliances—technologies integral to our daily work 

and life—all have made the world more interconnected than ever 

before with increased risk to cybersecurity,” Sivic noted. 

Keynote speaker Kim Komando, national radio and TV host and 

columnist for USA Today, helped raise awareness and inspire a 

proactive behavior in cybersecurity best practices. Komando, who 

writes about consumer technology and the lifestyle of a digital age, 

provided a comprehensive presentation on the evolution of digital 

technology. She emphasized that while technology has made our 

lives easier, they have also reduced our privacy and made us more 

vulnerable to cyberattack.

Komando captivated a capacity crowd with her 

knowledge of digital technologies.

The event also featured a NASA leadership panel, that 

offered different perspectives on four cybersecurity 

topics: the role of individual employees; managing risks 

to NASA missions; NASA supply chain; and foreign 

travel. CIO Gallagher joined panelists Mike Witt, NASA’s 

Associate CIO for Cybersecurity and Privacy and the 

Senior Agency Information Security Officer; and Bryan 

Smith, Glenn’s director of Space Flight Systems. Nola 

Bland moderated the discussion and a question and 

answer session.

Dr. Brenda Ellis, NASA’s IT Security Awareness and Training 

Center (ITSATC) program manager, provided additional 

remarks on the role of ITSATC and resources. Participants 

earned credit for fiscal year 2020 Cyber Security & 

Sensitive Unclassified Information Awareness annual 

training by attending the event and acknowledging the 

Cybersecurity Rules of Behavior.

Panelists, seated left to right: Smith, Witt and Gallagher discuss and field By S. Jenise Veris

questions on a variety of cybersecurity topics. Bland, left, moderated.

GRC-2019-C-10006 Photos by Jef Janis

GRC-2019-C-10006

DECEMBER 2019

Cybersecurity Awareness Month:

Learning How to Daily Safeguard

Against Cyberattacks

5
No Veteran Walks Alone

Supporting our Veterans

Glenn’s Veterans Awareness Committee (VAC) and 

the Berea Veterans Outreach Office joined forces to 

honor Glenn military veterans during a Veterans Day 

Observance ceremony on Nov. 6. Members of the Sons 

and Daughters of the American Revolution presented 

colors and Acting Center Director Dr. Marla Pérez-Davis 

welcomed and thanked veterans for their service and 

sacrifice.

VAC members David Stringer, Plum Brook Station 

director, and Samantha Yousef, Test Facility 

Management Branch, oversaw the event with Berea 

Chaplain Willie Springer as the keynote speaker. In his 

address, Springer stressed that no veteran walks alone 

and the importance of reaching out to veterans and 

their families with the support they need. Berea Mayor 

Cyril Kleem also attended to lend his support, and give 

thanks to our veterans.

The event concluded with a presentation of pins and 

personalized certificates to active and retired Glenn 

veterans in attendance. Nearly 40 Glenn veterans from 

all armed forces and members of the U.S National 

Guard came forward to be recognized.

By Doreen B. Zudell

Members of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution 

prepare to present colors during the observance. 

GRC-2019-11128

Left to right, Dr. Pérez-Davis, Kleem, Springer and Stringer at the event. 

GRC-2019-C-09297 

Veterans and members of the Mission Support Office, left to right, Robert 

Lacios, Dominic Gioradano, Anthony Williams and Vishal Butala, gather 

with their certificates. 

GRC-2019-C-11187

Photos by Jef Janis

6
DECEMBER 2019

During the Building 14 Fall Open House, residents from the Center 

Operations Directorate put out the welcome mat to a steady stream of 

center employees on Oct. 30. Employees met residents, engaged with 

subject matter experts and enjoyed refreshments during a self-guided 

tour through various areas housed in the Center Operations Building. 

“This Open House highlighted some of the many services Center Ops 

provides on a daily basis to Lewis Field and Plum Brook Station 

customers,” said event coordinator Betsy Lavelle.

Participating areas from the Logistics and Technical Information Division 

(LTID) included Metrology Services, Media Services, Janitorial Services, 

Municipal Waste and Recycling, Administrative and Clerical Services, 

Organizational Safety, Logistics Services, Event Services and Business 

Services. 

Visitors strolled through displays and demonstrations staffed by LTID 

personnel as well as stops hosted by the Office of Protective Services, 

Emergency Management Office, Lean Six Sigma, and Exhibits Team, 

who partner to support Center Operations excellence.

By S. Jenise Veris

Employees observe a light box setup to demonstrate how the 

reflection from a monochromatic light source helps to accurately 

calibrate measurement devices for Metrology Services customers.

Employees receive an overview of the latest products and upgrades to Records Management, History, Library and Budget Services. 

The Exhibits team highlighted artifacts and technology 

created to promote center programs.

Employees Explore Support Services at Open House 

GRC-2019-C-11421

 GRC-2019-C-11429

GRC-2019-C-11472

Photo by Bridget Caswell

Photo by Bridget Caswell

Photo by Jef Janis 7
8

NEWS AND EVENTS

Employees Celebrate LaGrange Point Café Opening

Space Enthusiasts Build 

Innovative Solutions

Astronaut Doug Wheelock energized participants with 

possibilities during his keynote address at NASA’s 2019 

International Space Apps Challenge at Lewis Field, Oct. 18 

to 20. The event engages thousands of citizens at different 

locations across the globe to use NASA’s open data to build 

innovative solutions to challenges we face on Earth and in 

space. More than 130 participants, comprising 14 teams, 

gathered in the MIC auditorium to participate locally in the 

challenges. NASA employees and community partners 

organized and led the activities. Acting Center Director Dr. 

GRC-2019-C-10058 Marla Pérez-Davis opened the event. Photo by Jef Janis

The Right Talent, Right Now

Richie Parker, right, chief engineer of Government Projects at Hendrick Motorsports, 

poses with Larry Sivic, left, associate center director, after Glenn’s Disability Employment 

Awareness Month observance on Oct. 24. Parker shared his inspirational story about 

living with a disability and overcoming obstacles. He told how his determination to 

succeed helped him land his job with Hendrick Motorsports. Parker reminded the 

audience that our biggest obstacle is ourselves, and that the human body is capable of 

amazing things. The Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, in partnership with the 

Disability Awareness Advisory Group, hosted the event.

GRC-2019-10283

Photo by Jef Janis

Glenn and Amerikraine Food Services held 

the grand opening for the LaGrange Point 

Café in the MIC lobby on Oct. 16. During the 

celebration, Glenn Associate Director Larry 

Sivic, left, participated in a ribbon cutting and 

announced the winners of a raffle drawing for a 

free food or drink item. Jeff Boyer, AmeriKraine 

Food Corporation, center, and Exchange 

Operations Manager Krasynthia Murphy, right, 

look on. Menus, pricing and hours of operations 

can be viewed on the Exchange and Café 

GRC-2019-C-10092 Services website on WING. Photo by Quentin Schwinn
9

DECEMBER 2019

Local Entrepreneur 

Speaks at Hispanic 

Heritage Observance

Glenn’s Hispanic Advisory Group (HAG), in 

collaboration with the Office of Diversity and Equal 

Opportunity, welcomed Cleveland’s own Bernie 

Moreno to the 2019 Hispanic Heritage Month 

Observance. HAG member Daniel Rodriguez, left, 

led a dialogue with Moreno on his success as an 

entrepreneur and community leader. They discussed 

Moreno’s role in transforming Cleveland into an 

epicenter of Blockchain technology—a growing 

list of records, called blocks, that are linked using 

cryptography. Moreno reflected on immigrating to 

the United States as a child, becoming a U.S. citizen 

at the age of 15 and his belief that others would not 

define him. 

GRC-2019-C-09552

Photo by Quentin Schwinn

Dr. Michael J. Barrett has been

selected to the Senior Executive Service 

position of chief, Power and Propulsion 

Project Office, Space Flight Systems 

Directorate, effective Oct. 13. He has 

over 30 years of government, academic 

and industry experience, including 

18 years of engineering and project 

management experience at Glenn across 

numerous space flight development 

programs and projects.

Dr. Barrett

Two Named to Senior

Executive Service

Harmony Myers has been selected 

as director of the NASA Safety Center 

(NSC), effective Oct. 13. Myers began 

her career with NASA in 2000 at the 

Kennedy Space Center, and in 2012 she 

accepted a development detail at NASA 

Headquarters as executive director of 

the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel. 

Since 2018, she has served as the 

director of the Technical Excellence 

Office at the NSC. Myers

Staff in Glenn’s International Space Station (ISS) Payload 

Operations Center are now remotely commanding the Structure 

and Response of Spherical Diffusion Flames (s-Flame) 

experiment located in the ISS’s Combustion Integrated Rack. The 

s-Flame investigation is the fifth experiment to be conducted in 

the Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments (ACME) 

project, which uses a modular set of hardware to study flames 

in gaseous fuels. The s-Flame goals are to identify radiative 

and convective extinction limits and investigate the possible 

existence of theoretically predicted pulsating instabilities. For 

more information, visit https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/go/acme.

Fifth ACME 

Experiment Fired Up
Hernández-Lugo Honored by Crains and HENAAC

Reid is Women of Color STEM Honoree 

Dr. Dionne Hernández-Lugo

Reid performs critical work for the Artemis program.

Crain’s Cleveland Business featured Dr. Dionne Hernández-Lugo in its Nov. 18 issue 

and honored her at a Nov. 25 ceremony as a “Forty Under 40” honoree. The annual issue 

highlights professionals under 40 who are helping to shape Northeast Ohio’s future. Dr. 

Hernández-Lugo, who is deputy manager for the Kilopower Project in Glenn’s Space 

Technology Project Office, also received a Luminary Award at the Great Minds in STEM/31st 

Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference (HENAAC) held in September. 

Luminary honorees represent professionals in STEM fields who initiate, collaborate, and 

lead key programs and research, while also making significant contributions to the Hispanic 

technical community as leaders and role models.

Concha Reid received a Technology 

Rising Star Award presented at 

the Women of Color (WOC) STEM 

Conference, held Oct. 3–5, in 

Detroit. Reid, an electrical engineer 

in Glenn’s European Service Module 

Integration Office, manages the 

exchange of hardware, software 

and data between NASA and 

the European Space Agency for 

the Orion spacecraft. For more 

information, visit 

@NASASTEM and @WomenNASA.

GRC-2019-C-09905 Photo by Bridget Caswell

FEB Recognizes Glenn Diversity Leaders

Pictured, left to right: Wong, Associate Center 

Director Larry Sivic, Clark, Dr. Choi and Dr. Connolly.

The Federal Executive Board (FEB) presented 

a Diversity and Inclusion Award to four NASA 

Glenn employees at the 2nd Annual Special 

Emphasis Program Awards Gala in September. 

The event honors the exceptional achievement 

and leadership of special emphasis group 

members who continue to make a difference 

by taking affirmative steps to ensure equal 

opportunity for minorities, women and people 

with disabilities. The Glenn honorees and their 

group affiliation, include Kathy Clark, Disability 

Awareness Group; Dr. Benjamin Choi and Wayne 

Wong, Asian American/Pacific Islander Advisory 

Group; and Dr. Joseph Connolly, Advisory Group 

for Native Americans.

GRC-2019-CN-00051 Photo by Lisa Wong

10
DECEMBER 2019

11

The Glenn Science and Engineering 

Library (GSEL) Mobile Librarian will 

be visiting building 341 (Fitness 

Center) from Jan. 6 to 17, from 11 

a.m. to 1 p.m. and building 49 from 

Jan. 27 to Feb. 7, from 1 to 3 p.m. A 

Glenn reference librarian will be ready 

to assist employees with subject 

searches, finding specific books and 

articles and other information needs on 

the spot. 

POC: Robin Pertz, 3–5776

GSEL MOBILE LIBRARIAN

LESA will hold its next membership 

meeting, Wednesday, Jan. 8, noon, in 

the Glenn Employee Center’s Small 

Dining Room. 

IFPTE LOCAL 28, LESA MEETING

The Emergency Management Office 

staff will conduct a mass notification 

“voice” test at building 3 at Lewis Field 

on Wednesday, Jan. 1. An audible siren 

test will be conducted on the “tornado” 

tone on Saturday, Jan. 4.

POC: Allen Turner, 3–6826 

OUTDOOR SIREN TESTING

NASA Glenn Employees: For more calendar information, 

visit https://wing.grc.nasa.gov/event-calendar/.

Deadline for next calendar section 

is Dec. 16, noon. News and feature 

stories require additional time.

Upcoming Center Events

2019 Combined Federal 

Campaign

ends on Jan. 12, 2020

Help desk tables are available in the following buildings 

to assist employees with donations until Jan. 9, 2020:

MIC (bldg. 162) lobby on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. 

Cafeteria (bldg. 15) on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

To donate, visit 

ohiocfc.org.

Wishing You Safe and

Happy Holidays

From the AeroSpace Frontiers Team

Now through Dec. 23, save 20% on 

sweatshirts, t-shirts, polos and more. 

Save 10% on favorites like Hello Kitty 

Astronaut and freeze-dried ice cream 

and strawberries. New arrivals on sale: 

NASA logo shower curtain, slippers, 

coffee mugs and more. 

POC: Connie Carroll, 3–5535

EXCHANGE HOLIDAY SALE
Coins Awarded for Glenn HEROICS

Congratulations to these individuals for demonstrating Glenn’s 7 Expected Behaviors and being a role model to us all!

Dennis Andrucyk, deputy associate administrator, Science 

Mission Directorate, for making changes to his schedule the day 

of the NASA Honor and Glenn Center Awards event, and flying 

to Cleveland to be guest speaker when the event speaker was 

unable to attend due to Hurricane Dorian.

Stephen J. Barsi, Chemical and Thermal Propulsion Systems 

Branch, for leadership and dedication to resolve the Orion 

European Service Module propulsion subsystem anomalies and 

make progress towards the Artemis 1 flight.

James R. Griffin, Institutional Services Branch, for developing 

and implementing an efficient and effective process for 

the review of contracts payment claims resulting from the 

government shutdown.

Glen M. Horvat, Chief Engineer Office, for contributing to a 

systems approach in support of our programmatic priorities to the 

fiscal year 20 Staffing Call and Hiring Guidelines documentation.

Linda J. Moore, Avionics Branch, for engineering efforts 

to develop, validate and test the flight software algorithms 

designed to overcome the helium gas valve anomalies on the 

Orion European Service Module. 

Ronald A. Mullenax, Strategic Solutions Division, for the 

development, implementation and continuous improvement of 

the Glenn Workforce Tools.

Frank D. Quinn, Fluid and Cryogenic Systems Branch, for 

outstanding technical contributions to help resolve the helium 

gas valve anomalies on the Orion European Service Module.

By Doreen B. Zudell

In 2016, under the leadership of former Center 

Director Dr. Janet Kavandi, the Glenn Senior 

Management Team developed a set of Glenn 

core values. These became known as Glenn’s 7 

Expected Behaviors or HEROICS: (1) Helping All To 

Succeed, (2) Excellence, (3) Respect, (4) Openness, 

(5) Integrity, (6) Cooperation, and (7) Safety. 

In 2019, senior leadership commissioned a 

HEROICS Coin to recognize employees who 

embody the spirit of the seven HEROICS tenets. 

To date, Kavandi and Acting Center Director Dr. 

Marla Pérez-Davis have presented coins to the 

following seven employees for adopting these 

admirable behaviors:

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration

John H. Glenn Research Center 

Lewis Field

21000 Brookpark Road 

Cleveland, Ohio 44135

Plum Brook Station

3597 E. Scheid Road

Sandusky, Ohio 44870

www.nasa.gov

Read AeroSpace Frontiers online at http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/news/AF/index.html.

Emergency and Inclement Weather Lines 

Lewis Field: 216–433–9328 (WEAT) 

Plum Brook Station: 419–621–3333

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