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 An Opportunity to Reflect on What Makes NASM Great
On December 12, I will announce the winners of this year's Director's Award for Excellence and Peer Award for Outstanding Achievement at the Staff Awards Luncheon at the Udvar-Hazy Center. This is our annual opportunity to honor and acknowledge the shining examples of the dedication we all bring to our work at NASM.
The Director's Award for Excellence recognizes a NASM staff member who represents our ideals, professionalism, and an extraordinary commitment to our institution. The Peer Award for Outstanding Achievement is awarded to staff members who go above and beyond the call of duty for their colleagues. This year's winners, as in years past, demonstrate the exceptional enthusiasm, energy, and creativity that earn us our reputation as the world's most popular museum. We intend to expand the awards program in the year ahead, to enable more recognition of the outstanding work that goes on around NASM.
But before we recognize the winners of this year's awards, I'd like to take a moment to thank you for everything you have done to get us to this moment. We are well into the largest, most ambitious project NASM has undertaken since we built the Udvar-Hazy Center together nearly 20 years ago. Some of you were there, but everyone has seen the incredible result of that work. It is proof that on the other side of the years of planning, meeting, designing, and building awaits a prize worth the effort. And every job, no matter how simple or routine, is a critical part of that work.
Although we give the Director's and Peer awards each winter, I want to encourage you to keep their spirit with you throughout the year. Consider those in your office or around NASM who have gone out of their way to make your job easier, or your day a little brighter. Lots of hard work, and many small moments of comradery and goodwill, are going to see us through the years of Transformation and Revitalization. There is much to be done, but take this moment to reflect on the people around you, your NASM family. Some of our walls may be warping, but it is not the buildings on the Mall, in Chantilly, or in Suitland that have made us an institution beloved the world over. It is each and every one of you. My congratulations to the not-yet-named winners of this year's awards, and my warmest wishes for a happy holiday season to everyone.
J.R. "Jack" Dailey
John and Adrienne Mars Director |
New VR Hangar App Now Available
by Sarah Banks
 What do people want in a virtual reality experience from NASM? The Innovation Lab set out to answer this question earlier this year. A new VR Hangar app, which is now available for Apple and Android devices, is designed to answer this question by gathering data that will inform NASM's future efforts in virtual reality.
Creating the VR Hangar began by leveraging existing digital scans from the Smithsonian Digitization Program Office. Scans of the 1903 Wright Flyer, the Bell X-1, and the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia were used to place the objects in immersive vignettes designed to bring them to life.
Each vignette highlights a different aspect of the objects' stories:
1903 Wright Flyer:
- See the workshop where Wilbur and Orville built the Flyer.
- Watch their first unsuccessful attempt at Kitty Hawk.
- Witness the inauguration of the aerial age with the Wright's first flight.
Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis:
- See the experimental X-1 in development.
- Watch as the aircraft is loaded onto a B-29 for air-launch.
- Witness the breaking of the sound barrier.
Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia:
- See where the astronauts boarded
Columbia for their historic journey.
- Watch the spacecraft in orbit around the Moon.
- Witness the reentry of
Columbia as it returns the crew safely to Earth.
 To reach the broadest possible base of virtual reality users, this app requires a special piece of equipment called a Google Cardboard, seen in use by
Jon Hallenberg at right. Google Cardboard is a virtual reality device that is used with a smartphone. Compared to similar devices, the Google Cardboard is relatively inexpensive, easy to set up, and highly portable. If you don't have your own, we have plenty in the Lab (NMB room 3107) and would love to give you a demo!
The VR Hangar app is available by searching for "VR Hangar" in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. You can also download it directly using the following links: Apple: http://s.si.edu/applevrhangar; Android: http://s.si.edu/androidvrhangar |
A Timely Return
by Jennifer Levasseur
 The flight-worn chronograph of Apollo 7 astronaut Donn Eisele, stolen while on loan in Ecuador in 1989, made an unlikely but welcome return to the Museum last month. After a brief sighting at a watch collector's show in Miami earlier this year, Smithsonian OIG investigator Frank McCarthy and I attempted to track down the watch through colleagues within the space and watch collector communities. The trail went cold until late September when two collectors were contacted by a potential suspect about authenticating a historic watch. Those collectors in turn contacted me, setting in motion the eventual surrender of the watch in October. McCarthy reached out to FBI and law enforcement in McAllen, Texas, the location of the person of interest, who arranged for the person in possession of the chronograph to meet the FBI in Houston.
I flew to McAllen in early November to courier the artifact back to safety. Cooperation between the FBI, OIG, local Texas police, and honest collectors made the recovery possible. This instance hopefully signals potential recoveries of the five other chronographs stolen while on loan to museums in the United States in the 1990s. NASM registrars and curators will explore registering these artifacts with the FBI's stolen art (and artifact) crime team database, and continue to build solid relationships to collector communities to encourage sharing knowledge of such items illegally held. |
 General Dailey To Be Enshrined in National Aviation Hall of Fame
The National Aeronautic Association has announced the four individuals who have been elected for 2018 Enshrinement in the National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) and General Dailey is one of the honorees. The names were revealed before an audience of nearly 300 attendees at the fall awards dinner in Washington, DC, on November 29.
Each year, the NAHF Board of Nominations, a voting body comprised of over 120 aviation professionals nationwide, selects a handful of air and space pioneers to be recognized for their achievements with induction into the NAHF. Since its founding in 1962, 237 men and women have been so honored. The three other 2018 honorees are Apollo 7 lunar module pilot Walter Cunningham, test pilot and NASA veteran Bill Dana, and distinguished USAF pilot and former USAF Chief of Staff Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman.
Congratulations General Dailey! |
Great Coverage of the UHC on WUSA
The UHC received some great publicity when reporter Andi Hauser of WUSA Channel 9 filmed four live segments at the UHC for the morning show "Great Day Washington." Andi was very enthusiastic about the UHC and the excellent contributions from the three employees she interviewed -- Jennifer Levasseur, Larry Burke, and Jeremy Kinney -- made the Center and its artifacts all the more fascinating. Here are the videos for your viewing pleasure: "The Best View of the Discovery Space Shuttle" (2:38) and "Prepping for an Air and Space Museum Overhaul" (1:24) featuring Jennifer, "This Plane Survived Pearl Harbor" (Sikorsky JRS-1) featuring Larry (2:03), and "Exclusive Look at WWII Plane" (Flak Bait) featuring Jeremy (3:45).
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 Connor Featured on NPR Podcast
Roger Connor was among the experts interviewed for an October 30 episode of the highly rated NPR podcast, "The Hidden Brain," described as a show that "helps curious people understand the world -- and themselves." The show explored the power of the checklist to help people stay on track and focus on what's important, particularly when pressure is intense and the stakes are high. Roger's segment is about cockpit checklists. Listen. Read the transcript. |
  Baldwin and Hulslander on Review Board
Doug Baldwin and Mike Hulslander are participating on the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) review board to help choose the next round of student experiments to fly onboard the ISS. This program is a model U.S. national STEM education initiative for grades 5 through college to inspire the next generation of America's scientists and engineers. Participating students will design microgravity experiments for Mission 12 scheduled to launch in spring 2018. More information.
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 New Installation at the UHC
A superb model of the U.S. Navy's first aircraft carrier, the USS Langley, has been installed near the Thomas Morse Scout in the "Early Flight" area at the UHC. Donor and builder Bill Emerson said that the model depicts the ship, converted from the coal collier USS Jupiter, on its way to sea for flight operations. The model is built primarily of wood with a few plastic details, and was delivered with the assistance of Chuck Baylis of the Military History Society of Rochester. Interesting features of the ship include: h
ydraulically retractable masts, e
levator in the center of the flight deck, s
mokestacks that rotate out of the way, pa
lisades that drop down, and r
emovable flagpoles.
Emerson, Baylis, Jennifer Stringfellow, Chris Moore, and Glenn Rankin are shown with the model in the photo.
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 Grove Gives Keynote on 'Making History Relevant'
On November 21 Tim Grove gave the keynote at Canada's History Forum titled "Making History Relevant" at the Canadian Museum of History across the river from Parliament Hill in Ottawa. He was invited to talk about his work on History Relevance, a national effort aimed at raising the profile of history. He also attended the Governor General's History Awards ceremony at Rideau Hall, honoring top history makers across Canada. Sadly, Tim notes, he did not get to meet the governor general, former astronaut Julie Payette.
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 Ingenuity Abounds at the NMB
A hydrogen fuel cell car; autonomous drones; two live webcasts (including one with Kepler project scientist Natalie Batalha, in red, left); more than 17 demos, talks, and activities; and an evening of planet-hunting topped off an extraordinary festival celebrating ingenuity at the NMB on November 30. The event was part of the first SI-wide Ingenuity Festival, a month-long series of free events featuring American Ingenuity Awards honorees and other luminaries. These awards have been given in each of the last six years by Smithsonian magazine, and their success led to the creation of the festival. Education and Public Engagement, led by new family day coordinator Nicholas (Nick) Murray, organized and executed the event. "I was so excited to see school kids and adults who were completely engaged in the activities and presentations we had throughout the day," Nick said. "It has really opened my eyes to the amazing resources we have at the National Air and Space Museum and the potential we have to inspire the next generation of innovators." Read more about the SI Ingenuity Festival.
In the photo from left to right are Marty Kelsey; Natalie Batalha, project scientist for NASA's Kepler Mission and American Ingenuity Award recipient; Michael Caruso, Smithsonian magazine editor-in-chief; Beth Wilson, and Roger Connor.
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 Spencer to Join Panel in Sydney
Peter Hobbins of the University of Sydney invited Alex Spencer to join a panel in Sydney, Australia, at the Aviation Cultures IV Conference scheduled for November-December 2018. The panel will discuss the proposal to form a National Aviation Museum of Australia. Churchill Fellow Lainie Anderson interviewed Alex and quoted his recommendation in her fellowship paper and nationally syndicated newspaper column about the need to place one of only two existing World War I Vickers Vimy bombers into a national collection. The Australian Vimy located at Adelaide airport made the first flight from England to Australia in 1919. With Alex's help, the idea to found a national museum centered on this historic aircraft is gaining traction.
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  Levasseur and DeStefano Pass the Baton to Pima
Jennifer Levasseur and Jean DeStefano visited the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona, where they scouted facilities and passed the organizing baton to them as host of the next Mutual Concerns Conference in 2018. Other museums will be recruited to host future conferences while NASM undergoes Transformation.
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 New on the SI Channel
Survival in the Skies. High above Earth and deep into space, aviators bet their lives on the most sophisticated aerial survival devices in the world. This series tells the stories behind the machines and devices that help us survive in the skies -- space suits, parachutes, ejection seats, and jet engines -- and how they evolved from humble beginnings to incredible instruments that have changed the world and lifted us to new heights. Featuring
Cathy Lewis, Lisa Young, Bob van der Linden, and
Jeremy Kinney.
Complete episode guide and schedule.
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  Weitekamp and Shindell Participate in History of Science Society Meeting
Margaret Weitekamp and
Matt Shindell were participants at the annual meeting of the History of Science Society in Toronto November 9-11.
Margaret participated in a roundtable presentation on "Museums, Collections, and the Future of HSTM (History of Science, Technology, and Medicine)" along with representatives from the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, the Chemical Heritage Foundation, Harvard University, the National Museum of American History, and the Adler Planetarium. In addition, she participated in the HSS's mentoring program as well as the HSS Women's Caucus.
Matt participated in two committees, one as a member of the HSS Advocacy Committee, which is charged with promoting the value of history of science in the government and in society at large, and the other as co-chair of the HSS@Work interest group, which promotes and supports the work of historians of science working outside of universities.
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 Kinney Presents Paper on Women Sports Car Racers
Jeremy Kinney presented his paper, "Speeding through a Man's World: Women Sports Car Racers in the 1950s and 1960s," and was a panelist in a general session about women and racing at the 2017 Michael R. Argetsinger Symposium on International Motor Racing History at the International Motor Racing Research Center, Watkins Glen, New York, November 10-11.
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Staff Photo Contest Winners
Out of 251 entries, two NASM employees and one volunteer were winners in the 2017 SI Staff Photo Contest, "A Unique Lens: Photographs from the Smithsonian Family."
 Emily Martin and Jenny Whitten took third place in the category of "SI Places" for a photo of Jenny surrounded by beautiful columns of volcanic rock near their field study sites at Dettifoss in northern Iceland. Northern Iceland is one of the few places on Earth that serves as a good analog for features called pit chains on Saturn's moon Enceladus. Emily has been studying pit chains on Enceladus for many years and has wanted to visit them in Iceland because "we believe that they form in the same way, and by studying these pit chains up close we can learn more about how they are forming on Enceladus," she explains.
 Volunteer photographer Bill Cooper won for two photos. The first, "SR-71 Engine Detail, Virginia Aviation Museum," took first place in the "Non-SI Object" category. "I happened to be visiting the VA Aviation Museum when they were preparing to move the SR-71 to  the VA Science Center," he said on his entry form. "The engines had been removed and one was on display inside the museum. I had a unique opportunity to photograph a part of this historic aircraft that is not often on display."
He also took third place in the "Selfie" category with a photo of himself and some of the aircraft on display reflected in a unique way in the UHC mirrored glass during the Innovations of Flight Family Day in 2016.
The winning photos will go on exhibit February 14 at 8:30 am in the International Gallery, S. Dillon Ripley Center Concourse. Read the SI-Wide Announcement on PRISM.
Congratulations to all!
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 McKinney's Favorite Things
In case you missed it, Robert McKinney was featured in the November 21 E-Torch's "A Few of My Favorite Things" column. Not surprising to any of us here at NASM, all three of his favorite things are from this museum: the Enola Gay; the Apollo 11 Command Module, Columbia; and Lope's Hope! Read the story. |
ASK I.T.
Beware of These Holiday Scams
Keep the following in mind this holiday season and avoid being the victim of a cyber criminal.
-- Never click on links in e-mails or pop-ups with offers that seem too good to be true.
-- Don't be fooled by bogus shipping notices from UPS and/or FedEx. Do not click on the link or open the attachment in these e-mails, but contact UPS or FedEx independently if there's a chance it might be legitimate.
-- If you get an e-mail from a retail chain or e-commerce company claiming there's a wrong transaction, do not click the link and give your personal information. It will be sold to a cyber criminal.
-- Beware of the recent phishing attack trying to trick you into thinking you could win tickets to Star Wars: The Force Awakens
or other popular movies.
-- Never open an e-card from a stranger.
-- Don't fall for offers from retailers or social media posts offering phony vouchers or gift cards paired with special promotions or contests.
Critically assessing every e-mail you receive will ensure this holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year for YOU and not the cyber criminals who have targeted you.
For any questions or additional information, please contact the NASM Solution Center ([email protected] or 202-633-2300). We are available and here to help.
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| Advancement News
Steven and Caroline VanRoekel made a gift to support Transformation;
Richard H. Robb and Rebecca E. Crown made a contribution to the Richard H. Robb and Rebecca E. Crown Endowment and to support Transformation.
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 Pat on the Back
Each month we will share comments received from visitors to remind employees that their work is appreciated and contributes to making NASM the great museum that it is.
This comment was received on the Museum's Facebook page:
"To the women and men that safeguard our nation's history with flight and space exploration as well as the world's history with both. Thank you. I mean it because I have seen the masses that crowd thru to spend a few minutes to a few hours. Yet, day in and day out you are there. To the gentlemen and ladies screening people, thank you for your kindness and patience. To everyone I say, Job well done. Myself and my family will be coming back to enjoy such a unique and refreshing experience." |
Comings and Goings
Correction: Rich Kowalzcyk is the Assistant Director for Logistics. Jim Carey has been named the lead of the medium artifact move team.
Lindsay Laws left NASM as of November 26. Layne Karafantis's last day in the office was November 17. She has accepted a position as historian at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. |
 Docents Visit TESS
On November 10, 12 NASM docents were invited to attend a briefing and tour to view NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). They donned clean room gear -- bonnets, lab coats, and booties -- to take an up-close look at the satellite being built at the Orbital ATK facility in Virginia. TESS will scan over 200,000 stars looking for drops in light levels that indicate a transiting planet. It's scheduled to launch in the spring of 2018 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. In the photo are: back row, left to right, Scott Leitch, Ed Tang, Steve Goralczyk, Fred Sherman, Paul Schmitz, Les Taylor, Tom Ciarula, Jim Carboni, Bob Roubik, and Bob Fish. Front row: Denise Keller and Bill Rowe.
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 Anderson Accepts Award
As previously reported, John Anderson was named the recipient of the 2017 National Aeronautics Association's Frank G. Brewer Trophy. John accepted the trophy at the awards ceremony on November 29 and at left is a photo of him and the presenter just after receiving the award. Congratulations John!
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 Moore and Holman at WWI Family Day
Chris Moore and former Garber employee John Holman are shown here at the recent World War I Family Day. They staffed the table featuring WWI uniforms and equipment, and John provided a bit of living history by wearing his WWI "horizon blue" Poilu (French soldier) uniform.
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 As we struggle with shopping lists and invitations, compounded by December's bad weather, it is good to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, and people to whom we are worth the same.
~
Donald E. Westlake
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