2003 Norm Augustine Award Recipient
DR. N. JAN DAVIS
Director, Flights Projects Directorate
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA
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AAES presents the Norm Augustin Award for Outstanding Achievenent in Engineering Communications to Dr. N. Jan Davis for her passionate communica-tion of the excitement and wonders of space exploration and engineering.
Dr. N. Jan Davis is director of the Flight Projects Directorate at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The directorate is responsible for overseeing development of the International Space Station connecting Nodes 2 and 3, the Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules, commercial EXPRESS racks, the environmental and life support systems and the Payload Operations Integration Center.
A native of Huntsville, Davis began her career at Marshall in 1979 as an aero-space engineer. She subsequently sup-ported major NASA programs and projects, including the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission. In 1986, she became a team lead and lead engineer for the redesign of the Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster External Tank attach ring.
Davis was selected to join the astronaut corps in 1987. She spent more than 670 hours in space over the course of her three flights: STS-47, STS-60 and STS-85. While in the astronaut corps, she also served as the Mission Development Branch chief in pay-loads, robotics and extravehicular activity for the Space Shuttle. In 1998, Davis became the Director of the Human Exploration and Development of Space Independent Assurance Office for NASA Headquarters.
She returned to Marshall in 1999 as Deputy Director of the Flight Projects Directorate and was named Director of the Flight Projects Directorate in January 2001.
Dr. Davis did her graduate research work at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and is a 1971 graduate of Huntsville High School. She also has degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and Auburn University in Auburn, Ala. She was recently named to the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame and the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.