VOLUME 25 | ISSUE 6 | JUNE 2023 National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration

NASA

Night at 

the Ballpark
NASA Honors

Photographers

and Videographers 

AeroSpace Frontiers

is an official publication of NASA’s Glenn 

Research Center. It is published the 

second Friday of each month by the Office 

of Communications 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

Design: Rhys Sampson, ATS

Managing Editor: Kelly R. DiFrancesco

A key element of a strong safety 

culture is good engagement at all 

levels. The monthly Glenn Safety 

Bulletin is a great resource with 

timely safety topics, and its content 

should be reviewed at staff meetings 

once a month. This is especially 

helpful during the summer when 

many student interns are on-site. 

Discussions around safety also 

help to enhance safety awareness 

and serve as reminders for all of us. 

Check out the latest safety bulletin 

at https://nasa.sharepoint.com/

sites/grc-smad/SitePages/SafetyBulletins.aspx.

Here’s to a safe and enjoyable 

summer.

DIRECTOR’S

SAFETY CORNER

Monthly

Safety Bulletin

Several of Glenn’s photographers and videographers earned NASA’s Imaging Experts 

Group Photographer and Videographer of the Year 2022 awards. The winning 

entries showcase our people, places, and projects, as captured by NASA’s talented 

photographers and videographers. 

Photographer of the Year

Jef Janis, first place for Places; Jordan Salkin, first place for People; and Bridget 

Caswell, third place for Documentary. To view the winning photographs, visit http://

go.nasa.gov/41x83HI. 

Videographer of the Year

Jordan Salkin, first and second place for Timelapse, https://images.nasa.gov/details/

GRC-2023-CM-0115.3 and https://images.nasa.gov/details/GRC-2023-CM-0116.2; 

and Dennis Brown, Jim Zunt, and Heather Brown, third place for Production, https://

images.nasa.gov/details/GRC-2023-CM-0117.

On the cover:

Left to right: Center Director Dr. Jimmy Kenyon, Guardians player Tyler Freeman, Slider, and 

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson pose before the ceremonial first pitch.

GRC-2023-C-03236 Photo by Jef Janis 

GRC-2022-C-01318 Photo by Jef Janis GRC-2022-C-04467 Photo by Bridget Caswell
Let’s

Play Ball 

JUNE 2023

GRC-2023-C-03264 Photos by Jef Janis

Glenn’s astronaut celebrates with the winner of the hot dog derby. 

GRC-2023-C-03220

NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana takes a selfie with 

Glenn employees and family members. 

GRC-2023-C-03232

Center Director Dr. Jimmy Kenyon shakes hands with the 

Guardians’ mascot, Slider.

GRC-2023-C-03225

NASA employees show their spirit!

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and other senior 

leaders joined Glenn employees in celebrating NASA 

Night at Progressive Field with the Cleveland Guardians 

on May 8. Employees, family members, and others 

cheered when Nelson represented the agency by 

throwing out the first pitch!

The NASA Glenn Exchange offered discounted tickets for 

employees and provided more than 100 free tickets to 

the game through an online drawing. Free ticket winners 

enjoyed a reception with senior agency leadership.

3
2019 ARMD AA award recipients with senior leadership.

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate 

(ARMD) Associate Administrator (AA) Robert 

Pearce and members of his senior leadership 

team visited Lewis Field on May 3 and 4. During 

an All Hands meeting, Pearce provided updates 

on ARMD activities. He focused on what he 

called the “bedrock of aviation,” which includes 

ultra-efficient transport, high-speed commercial 

flight, future airspace and safety, and advanced 

air mobility. Pearce thanked employees for their 

work to advance technologies, pointed to areas 

where Glenn’s research has made significant 

contributions, and addressed a variety of topics 

during a Q&A session. After the meeting, group 

photos were taken with the 2019, 2020, and 2021 

ARMD AA Award recipients who were unable to be 

recognized in-person during the pandemic. Early 

career employees then guided Pearce and his 

staff through a tour of the Power Systems Facility 

where work is underway on the X-57 aircraft. 

Pearce Highlights Aeronautics Activities

GRC-2023-C-02910 Photos by Jef Janis

2020 ARMD AA award recipients with senior leadership.

GRC-2023-02911

2021 ARMD AA award recipients with senior leadership.

GRC-2023-C-02912

4
Congratulations to Evalina, Mary Rose, and Clara—winners 

of the “Girl Scouts to the Moon and Back” national essay 

contest! Glenn’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) hosted 

a recognition event for three local Girl Scouts who are among 

the 75 national winners of the essay contest. They received 

a Space Science badge that flew on Artemis I. The scouts, 

their families, and troop members then toured research 

facilities, talked with women working in STEM at NASA, and 

participated in a hands-on engineering design activity. 

Girl Scouts Receive 

Badges Flown on Artemis

Left to right: Cathy Graves, OSTEM; Evalina; Deputy Center 

Director Dawn Schaible; Mary Rose; Clara; Girl Scouts of 

North East Ohio Chief Executive Officer Jane Christyson; 

and Office of STEM Engagement Director Darlene Walker.

Photo by Quentin Schwinn

NASA Glenn joins the Office of STEM Engagement 

in welcoming summer interns to Lewis Field and 

Armstrong Test Facility. Students will be on-site 

from June 5 through Aug. 11. 

Welcome Summer Interns!

NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation 

office partnered with Hyland Software to 

celebrate Girls in Information and Communications 

Technology (ICT) Day, an initiative founded to 

encourage young women’s interest in STEM. 

Students in middle and high school from the 

Cleveland community traveled to Hyland Software 

in Westlake, Ohio, to attend coding workshops 

and hear from an expert panel of women working 

in ICT on April 27. Hyland Software’s Alexandra 

White, front, and Glenn’s Tim Gallagher, back, 

assist students with HTML coding during the Build 

Your Own Website workshop.

Encouraging Careers in ICT

GRC-2023-C-02832 Photo by Jef Janis

GRC-2023-C-03124

JUNE 2023

5
Wadel Leads Technology Incubation and Innovation

Mary Wadel has been named director of Technology Integration and Partnerships. She leads NASA 

Glenn’s Office of Technology Incubation and Innovation and is responsible for Glenn’s discretionary 

investments in technology and innovation, technology transfer and commercialization, and building 

and maintaining partnerships with external organizations and stakeholders. Wadel has 35 years of 

space and aeronautics research, project management, and technology investment experience at 

NASA. To view her biography, visit https://go.nasa.gov/3O6WxiV. 

More Than a Memory

Hansen

Nieberding

Irving G. Hansen, 90, a 1995 retiree with 32 years of NASA service, died April 3. Hansen joined 

NASA in 1963 at Plum Brook Station (Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility). In 1972 he transferred to 

Lewis Field. Hansen provided critical technical guidance in the area of advanced electrical power 

systems. He invented a pulse population method of motor control. This technology followed his 

earlier invention of high-frequency, alternating current technology, the first new conceptual advance 

in electrical power distribution in 50 years. Hansen was internationally renowned for his technical 

contributions, and he mentored many engineers and scientists. To view his online obituary, visit https://

tinyurl.com/592k5e4p. 

John “Joe” Nieberding, 78, a 1999 retiree with 33 years of NASA service, died April 12. He was 

a widely recognized expert in expendable launch vehicles and had essential roles launching over 

65 NASA space missions on Titan/Centaur and Atlas/Centaur vehicles, including the world’s first 

spacecraft to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Before retiring, he led the Advanced Space 

Analysis Office, responsible for all exploration advanced concept studies for Glenn. After retirement, he 

co-authored and presented a highly acclaimed two-day class titled “Mission Success First: Lessons 

Learned,” taught over 130 times worldwide. For his online obituary, visit https://tinyurl.com/57fes39t.

Wadel

Retirements

Arida Catalano DePauw Handler

Wade T. Arida, Aviation Environments Test Engineering 

Branch, retired Dec. 22, 2022, with 34 years of NASA service. 

Daniel Catalano, Power and Propulsion Project Office, retired 

April 30, 2023, with 19 years of NASA service.

Michael J. DePauw, deputy chief, Space Environments Test 

Branch, retired Dec. 31, 2022, with 35 years of NASA service.

Louis Handler, System Architectures and Analytical Studies 

Branch, retired Dec. 31, 2022, with 31 years of NASA service.

6
7

Get Your e-Bikes 

Looking for a convenient and eco-friendly way to 

get around the center? Electric bicycles (e-bikes) are 

now available for purchase through the Logistics 

and Technical Information Division! Contact Andrew.

deenanauth@nasa.gov and check Inside Glenn for details.

Deadline for small items in the July issue is Wednesday, June 21, noon.

News and feature stories require additional time.

New Environmental

Review Form

Wednesday, Aug. 9

11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Along Taylor Road at Lewis Field

Know any NASA retirees who would like to attend? 

Have them contact Kathy Clark, 216–433–8354.

POC: betsy.e.lavelle@nasa.gov

Rain date: Thursday, Aug. 10

The Environmental Management Office (EMO) 

is now using the NASA Environmental Review 

Form (NERF) online, which replaced the GRC-150 

environmental evaluation form. EMO reviews 

all federally funded facility and infrastructure 

projects and research and development projects 

to ensure project compliance with multiple 

environmental and cultural preservation 

regulations. See Inside Glenn for details.

SUMMER Fest

GLENN

2·0·2·3

On Aug. 16 and 17, Glenn’s Aeronautics Directorate 

will host “Aero Dayz,” a two-day event to showcase 

NASA Glenn’s past, current, and future contributions 

to aeronautics research. Town hall meetings with 

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) 

leadership and program directors, networking with 

ARMD leadership, and exhibits, models, and tours of 

Glenn aeronautics facilities will be included. Please 

plan to join the Aeronautics Directorate in networking 

with colleagues and senior leaders at this exciting 

event. See Inside Glenn for updates.

Save the Date!

JUNE 2023

7
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

John H. Glenn Research Center 

Lewis Field

21000 Brookpark Road

Cleveland, Ohio 44135

Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility 

3597 E. Scheid Road 

Sandusky, Ohio 44870

www.nasa.gov

Read AeroSpace Frontiers online at https://www.nasa.gov/glenn/aerospacefrontiers.

Emergency and Inclement Weather Lines 

Lewis Field: 216–433–9328 (WEAT) 

Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility: 419–621–3333

Connect With Glenn

An emerging aviation industry called Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) seeks to integrate air taxis, cargo delivery aircraft, and other new vehicle 

concepts into the National Airspace System by using electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. As this industry matures, eVTOL 

aircraft must be able to operate in inclement conditions, including cold, icy weather. 

“AAM introduces many novel aircraft designs for which weather tolerance, including icing, is a challenge,” said Paul Von Hardenberg, 

an icing research engineer at Glenn. Von Hardenberg recently led the first icing research test of a spinning rotor for AAM aircraft at 

NASA. The system was designed, built, and tested completely in-house at NASA using an open geometry to allow dissemination of 

data to a broad audience.

“Several areas outside of the Icing Branch at Glenn, along with NASA’s Langley Research Center, supplied the synergy needed to enable this 

first-of-its-kind testing,” said Von Hardenberg.

The AAM Rotor Icing Evaluation Study, or ARIES I, focused on developing a competency in testing rotating test articles in the 

Icing Research Tunnel (IRT), obtaining 3D ice shapes for computational tool validation such as GlennICE and investigating 

propeller performance degradation and shedding in icing conditions. 

The team used three different propeller 

sizes (24-, 28-, and 36-inch diameter) 

to investigate scaling effects of icing. 

Propeller torque was measured to quantify 

performance degradation due to icing. 

Additional data gathered included laserscanned ice shapes as well as ice shedding 

events captured using a high-speed camera.

“The data from the test will be used by 

researchers to better understand the 

risks of icing on eVTOL vehicles and to 

validate ice prediction tools,” said Von 

Hardenberg. “Data will assist eVTOL 

aircraft manufacturers with the design and 

certification of new aircraft for flight into 

icing conditions, expediting the growth of 

the AAM industry.”

Follow-up testing is planned for December. 

This research is supported by the 

Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology program.

By Doreen B. Zudell GRC-2023-02506 Photo by Jordan Salkin

Curtis Flack, left, and Von Hardenberg inspect the ice formation on the spinner of 

an AAM propeller model tested in the IRT.

Glenn Conducts First In-House Icing 

Research Test of a Spinning Rotor