HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Arthur E. “Gene” Goldman, a native of Russell, Miss., recently was appointed acting director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Named to the position in March 2012, he heads one of NASA’s largest field installations, with 5,000 on- and near-site civil service and contractor employees and an annual budget of $2.5 billion. Goldman manages a broad range of propulsion, scientific and space transportation activities contributing to the nation’s space program. He served as deputy director of the center from March 2010 until his appointment as acting director.
From 2008 until 2010, Goldman was the director of NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss. His responsibilities included managing center activities, implementing NASA’s mission in the area of rocket propulsion testing and developing and maintaining world-class rocket propulsion test facilities.
Goldman was deputy director at Stennis from 2006 to 2008, responsible for shared leadership of the center and positioning Stennis as the systems engineering center for applied science activities assigned by the agency.
Prior to that position, he served as manager of the Space Shuttle Main Engine Project at the Marshall Center from 2004 to 2006. His responsibilities included managing the design, development, manufacturing, assembly and testing of the space shuttle main engines. From 1999 to 2004, Goldman was deputy manager of the Space Shuttle Main Engine Project.
Goldman began his NASA career in 1990 as a project engineer in the Marshall Shuttle Project Integration Office, responsible for integration of shuttle elements and systems integration.
He was awarded a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1977 from Mississippi State University in Starkville. In 1983, he earned the Registered Professional Engineer-Civil certification. He completed the Senior Executive Fellows Program at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., in 2002 and the Congressional Operations Program at George Washington University in Washington in 2003. In 2010, he was inducted into the Meridian Community College Hall of Fame in Mississippi for career achievement.
Goldman is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Presidential Rank Award in 2010. One of the highest honors given for government service work, the award is presented annually to a select group of senior federal executives who have provided exceptional service and leadership in some of the most critical positions in federal government. He received the prestigious NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 2007 in support of the Shuttle Program as the main engine project manager. He received the Exceptional Achievement Medal in 2002 for advocacy support of small businesses. He was awarded a NASA Certificate of Appreciation in 1997 for environmental work related to the elimination of ozone-depleting chemicals. In 1992, he received a Marshall Space Flight Center Director’s Commendation.
