| Date: | 2002-08-08 08:53:00 | |
| Sender: | John Degnan <EDC slrmail account <slrmail@dgfi.badw.de>> | |
| Subject: | [SLR-Mail] No. 966: My Upcoming Retirement | |
| Author: | John Degnan | |
| Content: | ******************************************************************************** SLR Electronic Mail 2002-08-08 08:53:00 UTC Message No. 966 ******************************************************************************** Author: John Degnan Subject: My Upcoming Retirement Dear ILRS Friends and Colleagues: For those who may not have heard the news already, I recently announced to my management that I plan to retire from NASA in the November 2002 to January 2003 time frame. In anticipation of my retirement, I have asked Ms. Jan McGarry to take my place as one of the two NASA Network appointees to the ILRS Governing Board. Mr. David Carter, our NASA SLR Manager, will continue his participation on the Board. Most of you already know Jan from her active participation in past SLR Workshops and her many years of leadership in developing innovative software for advanced laser ranging and altimetry instrumentation, starting with the original NASA MOBLAS systems in the 1970´s and most recently SLR2000, the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), the Messenger Laser Altimeter (MLA), and our own airborne microlaser altimeter. Jan´s appointment will become effective with the installation of the third ILRS Governing Board at the 13th International Workshop in Washington, DC during the week of October 7-11, 2002. Until that time, I will continue to serve as your Chairman. I expect to continue working in science and technology following my retirement from NASA but as an academic or contractor rather than government employee. I am presently exploring various employment options in the Baltimore-Washington DC metropolitan area, including a few that might allow me to continue working with my colleagues within NASA and/or the SLR and space geodetic communities. My decision to leave government service at this time was not driven by any single factor but by several. Since becoming eligible for retirement almost two years ago in December 2000, it seems like the sensible thing to do from a personal financial standpoint. It also allows me to continue pursuing my scientific, technical, and personal interests while perhaps shedding some of the management, supervisory, and extracurricular duties that have built up over the years. By October 2002, I will have completed 38 years of service to NASA as well as my second two-year term as ILRS Governing Board Chairman. My two principal technical projects, SLR2000 and the Airborne Microaltimeter, are also transitioning to new phases of their development during this period, and it seems like an ideal time to ”pass the baton” on to some of the highly talented and younger NASA scientists and engineers (Dave Carter, Jan McGarry, Tom Zagwodzki, and Phil Dabney) who have supported me so long and so well in these programs. The timing just seems right. I wish to take this opportunity to tell all of you what an absolute pleasure it has been to work with you and to know you. The international SLR community has accomplished a great deal, both scientifically and technically since the first laser echoes were successfully returned from a satellite laser retroreflector array on October 31, 1964. The Crustal Dynamics Project (CDP), WEGENER, and APSG Projects - and now the ILRS - have brought us together as a truly international community of collaborators, colleagues, and friends. We can all take enormous pride in our shared accomplishments. Since joining the CDP thirteen years ago, I have had the incredible fortune to be able to visit many of you and your facilities and to get to know you on a highly personal level. My fond memories of you, your institutions, your incredible hospitality, and your beautiful and diverse countries will certainly remain with me all of my life. I cannot tell you how pleased I am with the revitalization of our SLR community that has taken place since the creation of the ILRS in 1998. It has been truly an honor for me to have served as your Governing Board Chairperson since inception. In that capacity, I wish to extend my thanks and congratulations to the personnel at the Stations, Operations Centers, Data Centers, Analysis Centers, etc. who have continually met the ever-changing demands for improved ranging data, scientific products, increased tracking, and timeliness of delivery over the years. Special thanks go to all of the fine people who, in addition to their normal duties, have volunteered their time and considerable talents to serve on the Governing Board, the Central Bureau, and the Working Groups and have continually strived to push SLR to new levels of performance and scientific relevance. You are truly the key to future of the ILRS and the accomplishments yet to come. Finally, very special thanks go to my long time colleague and friend, Dr. Michael Pearlman, who not only has been a constant source of counsel and advice (and motivation) to me but also the ”glue” that has helped keep the international community in touch and the catalyst for many of our programmatic activities and accomplishments I look forward to seeing most of you at the upcoming Workshop in Washington, DC. I sincerely hope that whatever future position I take will allow me to somehow continue my long association with you. In any event, I will certainly take advantage of any future travel opportunities to reconnect with you, and I invite you to do the same during future trips to the Washington DC area. Sincerely, John Dr. John J. Degnan Chairman, ILRS Governing Board Mail Code 920.3 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD 20771 USA Phone: 01-301-614-5860 FAX: 01-301-614-5970 E-mail: jjd@ltpmail.gsfc.nasa.gov From: EDC slrmail account ******************************************************************************** |