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From the Director: Change and Continuity

By Ed Hoffman The Wikipedia (a comprehensive, free, online, editable encyclopedia that would have been unthinkable even a few years ago but for me demonstrates the power of change) defines change as the quality of impermanence and flux.

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Enhancing NASA’s Performance as a Learning Organization

By Richard Day and Ed Rogers “The Board concludes that NASA’s current organization does not provide effective checks and balances, does not have an independent safety program, and has not demonstrated the characteristics of a learning organization.” — Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report (2003)1

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Profile of a Leader: Orlando Figueroa

Kerry Ellis Orlando Figueroa began his NASA career twenty-seven years ago at Goddard Space Flight Center, not knowing he would eventually become the Center’s Director of Applied Engineering and Technology — and Federal Employee of the Year.

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Deep Smarts Illustration
Preserving Deep Smarts at NASA

Dorothy Leonard and Walter Swap By 2006, almost half of NASA’s workers will be eligible for retirement, many of them in science and engineering.

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Interview with Chris Scolese

By Don Cohen Shortly after he took on the job of Chief Engineer, Chris Scolese talked with Don Cohen about leadership, learning, and NASA’s new mission.

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The ICB: Recognizing and Rewarding Innovation

Roger Forsgren When Congress established NASA under the Space Act of 1958, it realized that the new Agency created to answer the Cold War challenge of Sputnik needed to be a fertile ground for scientific and engineering ingenuity.

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Learning to Soar

Michael Allen On a spring day at Edwards Air Force Base, someone pointed overhead to a flock of migrating white pelicans soaring gracefully in formation.

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What Do We Mean When We Say “Knowledge”?

By Laurence Prusak We are clearly living in a “Knowledge Age.” Wherever you look, you find books, articles, programs, courses, advertisements, and degree programs using the word “knowledge” in some way to distinguish itself or its contents.

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Steinetz and Dunlap are pictured with their thermal barrier and patent. Credit: NASA
2004 Invention of the Year

Laurie Stauber A phone call from a concerned Thiokol engineer in 1997 led Dr. Bruce Steinetz and Mr. Patrick Dunlap of the Glenn Research Center to work on developing a flexible barrier that could withstand the extreme temperatures generated by solid rocket motors.

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