I am employed by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) at Johnson Space Center. I work in the Safety, Reliability & Quality Assurance (SR&QA) organization. This organization was setup following the Challenger accident, and is specifically charged with ensuring that all NASA programs consider safety in the design, development and operation of every undertaking. Within SR&QA I am one of a team responsible for ensuring the safe operation of the International Space Station computer software. This means that the software will take actions necessary to ensure the safe operation of the Space Station and will not allow hazardous conditions to occur without warning.

I was born and raised in Amarillo, Texas and received my B.A. in Mathematics from Texas Technological College in Lubbock, Texas. I built my first model airplane at the age of six and continued building airplanes and rockets through high school. In the forth grade I read a series of articles in Collier's magazine that told how Mr. Werner von Braun planned to build a station in space and to send men to the moon. My older brother told me that it would never happen in my lifetime. In the seventh grade I read my first science fiction story (The Red Planet) about people living on Mars. By the ninth grade I had decided that I was going to work to send men into space (and hopefully go into space myself). I devoted my high school studies to math and science. After graduating from college I went to work for Boeing Launch Systems in Huntsville, Alabama and helped develop the software to control the testing of the Apollo/Saturn V. After the Apollo fire, I was Boeing sole software engineer responsible for certifying that the S-IC booster would operate safely on the launch pad. Once we landed men on the moon, I went to Seattle and helped build the first spacecraft to visit two planets (Venus & Mercury). In my career I have worked as a software development engineer, a software test engineer, a system test engineer, a software quality assurance engineer, a program manager, and as independent consultant on software, quality, test and program management issues. Now I am at Johnson helping to make sure that the astronauts who will work on the Space Station will have a safe environment.

I am a scuba diver and have dove in California, the Caribbean, the Philippines and Greece. I am also a private pilot. While in Seattle I enjoyed hiking, sailing and climbing. I play a so-so game of chess and enjoy classical music, opera and theatre. I have two grown daughters. The oldest is in California studying to become a Veterinarian, and my youngest is in Connecticut trying to become an opera star.

I look forward to working with you and helping you to understand some of the many problems which men face as they start their exploration of the stars.