The Whole Science Team

Here you can cyber-meet members of the United States Microgravity Payload team. These are the people who dream it, build it, prepare it for space, control it while it's in space, learn new things from it, and finally - and most importantly - teach the rest of us what they learned.

curreri, stephanescu, glicksman, CHEX team, MEPHISTO team

They come from all over - some work for NASA and many work for other organizations, such as a university or a research center. They share a love of scientific research - so much so that many of them have spent years studying, designing, and flying these instruments on board USMP-4. However, their real work begins after the shuttle lands. It's the data recorded during the mission that are important to the research scientist - data that are used to refine ongoing research, develop new understanding of basic physical and chemical processes, and develop new materials and techniques for use on the ground. Here you can read about USMP-4 scientists and their primary responsibilities for the mission.

The Scientists | The Experiment Support Team
The Mission Management Team

The Scientists
(The people who dream it, build it, run it, and teach us all new things about it!)

Name/Title	Experiment	Facility	Responsibilities
Dr. Archibald Fripp, Jr. Principal Investigator NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA	AADSF (better semiconductors for Earth experiment) Compound Semiconductor Growth in a Low-G Environment	USMP-4 Payload Carrier	Proposes original research and sometimes the original design of the equipment to be used. AADSF is an interactive experiment, so the scientists will be at Marshall Space Flight Center during the mission to conduct this experiment from the payload operations control center (POCC) on the ground.
William J. Debnam Dr. William R. Rosch Co-Principal Investigators NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA	AADSF (better semiconductors for Earth experiment) Compound Semiconductor Growth in a Low-G Environment	USMP-4 Payload Carrier	Assists the Principal Investigator in all aspects of the research.
Prof. Ranga Narayanan Co-Principal Investigator University of Florida Gainesville, FL	AADSF (better semiconductors for Earth experiment) Compound Semiconductor Growth in a Low-G Environment	USMP-4 Payload Carrier	Assists the Principal Investigator in all aspects of the research.
Dr. Sandor Lehoczky Principal Investigator NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL	AADSF (better semiconductors for Earth experiment) Growth of Solid Solution Single Crystals	USMP-4 Payload Carrier	Proposes original research and sometimes the original design of the equipment to be used. AADSF is an interactive experiment, so the scientists will be at Marshall Space Flight Center during the mission to conduct this experiment from the payload operations control center on the ground.
Dr. Frank R. Szofran Dr. Dale A. Watring Dr. Donald C. Gillies Co-Principal Investigators NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL	AADSF (better semiconductors for Earth experiment) Growth of Solid Solution Single Crystals	USMP-4 Payload Carrier	Assists the Principal Investigator in all aspects of the research.
Dr. Martin E. Glicksman Principal Investigator Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY	IDGE (metallic snowflakes experiment) more IDGE personnel online at Rensselaer!	USMP-4 Payload Carrier	Proposed original research and the original design of IDGE. The operation of this experiment on USMP-4 will be controlled remotely from the Rensselaer Operations Control Center (the ROCC)!
Dr. Matthew Koss Lead Scientist Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY	IDGE (metallic snowflakes experiment) more IDGE personnel online at Rensselaer!	USMP-4 Payload Carrier	Assists the Principal Investigator in all aspects of the research, including data management and analysis, preparation and testing of flight growth chambers, development and use of telescience for flight experiments (check out the ROCC!), and calibration of temperature measurements.
Professor Reza Abbaschian Principal Investigator University of Florida Gainesville, FL	MEPHISTO (the study of how semiconductors solidify, or freeze) In Situ Monitoring of Crystal Growth Using MEPHISTO	USMP-4 Payload Carrier	Proposes original research and sometimes the original design of the equipment to be used. MEPHISTO will be controlled by the scientists on the ground the payload operations control center at Marshall Space Flight Center during the mission.
S. R. Coriell Co-Principal Investigator National Institute of Standards & Technology Gaithersburg, MD	MEPHISTO (the study of how semiconductors solidify, or freeze) In Situ Monitoring of Crystal Growth Using MEPHISTO	USMP-4 Payload Carrier	Assists the Principal Investigator in all aspects of the research.
Dr. Lea-Der Chen Principal Investigator University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	ELF (flames in space experiment)	Middeck Glovebox	Proposes original research and sometimes the original design of the equipment to be used. ELF is operated by the crew on board the shuttle, and is completely interactive, so the scientists will be at Marshall Space Flight Center during the mission to direct this experiment from the payload operations control center (POCC) on the ground.
Dennis Stocker Co-Principal Investigator NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH	ELF (flames in space experiment)	Middeck Glovebox	Assists the Principal Investigator in all aspects of the research.
Dr. Doru Stefanescu Principal Investigator University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL	PEP (how particles in a mixture are engulfed during freezing - has applications to high-tech industries)	Middeck Glovebox	Proposes original research and sometimes the original design of the equipment to be used. PEP is operated by the crew on board the shuttle, so the scientists will be at Marshall Space Flight Center during the mission to direct this experiment from the payload operations control center (POCC) on the ground.
Dr. Subhayu Sen Prof. Brij Dhindaw Co-Principal Investigators USRA NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL	PEP (how particles in a mixture are engulfed during freezing - has applications to high-tech industries)	Middeck Glovebox	Assists the Principal Investigator in all aspects of the research.
Dr. Barry Andrews Principal Investigator University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL	WCI (mixing of normally non-mixing liquids is studied - with applications for high-tech industries)	Middeck Glovebox	Proposes original research and sometimes the original design of the equipment to be used. WCI is operated by the crew on board the shuttle, so the scientists will be at Marshall Space Flight Center during the mission to direct this experiment from the payload operations control center (POCC) on the ground.
Dr. John Lipa Principal Investigator Stanford University Stanford, CA	CHeX (studying helium's behavior during two-dimensional transition to a superfluid. Application to high-tech industries)	USMP-4 Payload Carrier	Proposes original research and sometimes the original design of the equipment to be used. CHeX will carry out a number of runs on the payload carrier; transmitting information to the scientists on the ground at Marshall Space Flight Center.

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The Experiment Support Team
(Engineers and others who get the thing off the ground and make it work in space!)

Name	Experiment/Facility	Responsibilities
Project Manager Linda Jeter Project Scientist Dr. Marcus Vlasse NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville AL	AADSF/USMP-4 (better semiconductors for Earth experiment)	The project manager is involved from system concept all the way through flight. She is responsible for coordinating all aspects of flying the instrument, from building it to getting it manifested, and making sure operations proceed smoothly during the flight and assuring scientists receive data post-flight. The project scientist assists the PI during flight, and, in the case of multiple experiments using a single facility, optimizes use of the instrument by the scientists to make sure the best quality science is achieved during the flight.
Project Manager Diane C. Malarik Project Scientist Francis P. Chiaramonte NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH	IDGE/USMP-4 IDGE (metallic snowflakes experiment) more IDGE personnel online at Rensselaer!	The project manager is involved from system concept all the way through flight. She is responsible for coordinating all aspects of flying the instrument, from building it to getting it manifested, and making sure operations proceed smoothly during the flight and assuring scientists receive data post-flight. The project scientist assists the PI during flight, and, in the case of multiple experiments using a single facility, optimizes use of the instrument by the scientists to make sure the best quality science is achieved during the flight.
Project Manager (France) Dr. Gerald Cambon Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales Toulouse FRANCE	MEPHISTO/USMP-4 (the study of how semiconductors solidify, or freeze)	The project manager is involved from system concept all the way through flight. He is responsible for coordinating all aspects of flying the instrument, from building it to getting it manifested, and making sure operations proceed smoothly during the flight and assuring scientists receive data post-flight.
Project Manager (US) William M. Foster II Project Scientist Henry C. De Groh III NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH	MEPHISTO/USMP-4 (the study of how semiconductors solidify, or freeze)	The project manager is involved from system concept all the way through flight. He is responsible for coordinating all aspects of flying the instrument, from building it to getting it manifested, and making sure operations proceed smoothly during the flight and assuring scientists receive data post-flight. The project scientist assists the PI during flight, and, in the case of multiple experiments using a single facility, optimizes use of the instrument by the scientists to make sure the best quality science is achieved during the flight.
Project Manager Jeffrey A. Jones NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH	ELF/Glovebox (flames in space experiment)	The project manager is involved from system concept all the way through flight. He is responsible for coordinating all aspects of flying the instrument, from building it to getting it manifested, and making sure operations proceed smoothly during the flight and assuring scientists receive data post-flight.
Hardware Developer Scott Gilley Tec-Masters, Inc. Huntsville, AL	PEP/Glovebox (how particles in a mixture are engulfed during freezing - has applications to high-tech industries)	Builds the instrument using information from the scientists regarding required specifications; a combination of talents of an architect and a builder.
Hardware Developers Scott Gilley Dr. Cindi Schmidt Tec-Masters, Inc. Huntsville, AL	WCI/Glovebox (mixing of normally non-mixing liquids is studied - with applications for high-tech industries)	Builds the instrument using information from the scientists regarding required specifications; a combination of talents of an architect and a builder.
Project Manager Dr. Thomas Luchik Project Scientist Dr. Ulf Israelsson California Institute of Technology NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pasadena, CA	CHeX (studying helium's behavior during two-dimensional transition to a superfluid. Application to high-tech industries)	The project manager is involved from system concept all the way through flight. He is responsible for coordinating all aspects of flying the instrument, from building it to getting it manifested, and making sure operations proceed smoothly during the flight and assuring scientists receive data post-flight. The project scientist assists the PI during flight, and, in the case of multiple experiments using a single facility, optimizes use of the instrument by the scientists to make sure the best quality science is achieved during the flight.
Project Manager William Wagar Project Scientist Melissa J. B. Rogers National Center for Microgravity Research NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH	OARE (measures orbital accelerations during the flight - data are used extensively by other experimenters to better control and understand motions during the mission; managed from NASA/Lewis Research Center)	The project manager is involved from system concept all the way through flight. He is responsible for coordinating all aspects of flying the instrument, from building it to getting it manifested, and making sure operations proceed smoothly during the flight and assuring scientists receive data post-flight. The project scientist for the accelerometers is responsible for optimizing use of the instrument to make sure the best quality data are obtained during the flight.
PIMS Project Manager Duc Truong NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH	science analysis team for OARE and SAMS	The Principal Investigator Microgravity Services (PIMS) project at Lewis Research Center provides OARE and SAMS microgravity measurement analyses to other experimenters during the mission - to assist in controlling conditions for the purest results - and after the mission - to correctly analyze data received from the mission.
Project Manager Ronald Sicker Project Scientist Melissa J. B. Rogers National Center for Microgravity Research NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH	SAMS (measures vibrations caused by crew activities during the mission - same applications as OARE; managed from NASA/Lewis Research Center).	The project manager is involved from system concept all the way through flight. He is responsible for coordinating all aspects of flying the instrument, from building it to getting it manifested, and making sure operations proceed smoothly during the flight and assuring scientists receive data post-flight. The project scientist for the accelerometers is responsible for optimizing use of the instrument to make sure the best quality data are obtained during the flight.
Project Manager David Jex Project Scientist Dr. Donald A. Reiss NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL	Middeck Glovebox (one of the standard facilities for scientific experiments on the shuttle since 1992!)	The project manager is involved from system concept all the way through flight. He is responsible for coordinating all aspects of flying the instrument, from building it to getting it manifested, and making sure operations proceed smoothly during the flight and assuring scientists receive data post-flight. The project scientist of the Glovebox, which will support PEP, WCI, and ELF on the USMP-4 mission, optimizes use of the glovebox by the scientists to make sure the best quality science is achieved during the flight.

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Science Mission Management
(Coordinates the details of the entire mission and directs the science during the flight. These people comprise the "head of the company" - like a Chairman of the Board, CEO, and top-level managers who work together to make sure the company - in this case a space science mission - run smoothly and efficiently.)

Title	Name and Address	Responsibilities
*Program Manager*	James McGuire Office of Life & Microgravity Sciences & Applications NASA Headquarters	Management oversight of entire USMP-4 science mission
*Program Scientist*	Dr. Michael Wargo Office of Life & Microgravity Sciences & Applications NASA Headquarters	Scientific oversight of entire USMP-4 science mission
*Mission Manager*	Sherwood Anderson Payload Projects Office NASA Marshall Space Flight Center	Direct daily responsibility for coordinating between the scientists and the engineers. The mission manager is like the conductor of a large orchestra.
*Assistant Mission Manager*	Jimmie Johnson Payload Projects Office NASA Marshall Space Flight Center	Mr. Johnson shares the same responsibilities as the mission manager - since no one can work 24 hours a day!
*Mission Scientist*	Dr. Peter Curreri Space Science Lab NASA Marshall Space Flight Center	Dr. Curreri balances the needs of the various scientists and the instruments with the resources available (crew, power, opportunity) on board and on the ground.
*Assistant Mission Scientist*	Dr. Edwin Ethridge Space Science Lab NASA Marshall Space Flight Center	Dr. Ethridge shares Dr. Curreri's mission scientist responsibilities during the 24 hour days of science on shuttle missions!

Go to the USMP-4 Science Home Page

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updated 10/27/97

Curator: Linda Porter
NASA Official: Greg Wilson