Art Stephenson, director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala., has received the Engineering Manager of the Year
Award
from the American Society of Engineering Management (ASEM).

The award was presented earlier this month during the organization’s
22nd
national conference, held in Huntsville.
20
ASEM members nominate candidates for the Engineering Manager of the
Year
Award, and the national board of directors selects the recipient.

“Art Stephenson was selected for the award because of his
demonstrated
leadership,” said Dr. Jerry Westbrook, conference chairman. “Mr.
Stephenson
has inspired employees to emphasize Marshall values – people,
customers,
excellence, teamwork and innovation. He has secured the leading role
for
Marshall in the Space Launch Initiative (SLI), a new NASA program. He
stresses excellence in performance and leadership while fostering a
people-oriented culture. His words and actions qualify him for this
prestigious award.”

“It is people that make technology and projects successful,” said
Stephenson.

Hosting this year’s award was ASEM’s Tennessee Valley Section and
the
Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Engineering
Management
at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Conference participants came to Huntsville from around the world to
meet
with their peers in engineering management, to network and update
themselves
on new ideas in the field. The conference enables managers to exchange
ideas
with industry, government and academic leaders interested in the
practice of
leadership in engineering, scientific and technical organizations.

Founded in 1979, ASEM’s purpose is to assist its members in
developing and
improving their skills, maintain high professional standards and to
promote
the engineering management profession. ASEM has its headquarters at the
University of Missouri in Rolla.

Stephenson leads the Marshall Center — NASA’s premier organization

for
development of space transportation and propulsion systems and NASA’s
leader
in microgravity research and advanced large optics manufacturing
technology.
He administers a broad range of research and development activities,
along
with more than 6,500 civil service and contract employees and an annual
budget of $2.3 billion.

Since joining Marshall in 1998, he has overseen the Center’s work on
critical NASA initiatives such as development of new reusable launch
vehicles, Space Shuttle propulsion, advanced space transportation
systems,
research in microgravity, and science payload operations aboard the
International Space Station, and the launch and continuing successful
operation of the Chandra X-ray Observatory – the world’s most
powerful X-ray
telescope.

He began his career in 1964 with TRW in Redondo Beach, Calif. In his
first
assignment, he designed a computer test set to verify performance of
the
Apollo Lunar Excursion Abort Guidance System. He later led development
of
the Pioneer Jupiter Spacecraft receiver, the first spacecraft to leave
our
solar system, and development of the Space Shuttle S-band communication
network transponder, still in use today.

>From 1988 to 1992, Stephenson was director of space transportation and
advanced programs, heading TRW’s study teams for NASA’s Assured
Crew Return
Vehicle De-Orbit Module as well as projects for U.S. military and
international space programs.

In 1992, he joined Oceaneering International Inc., and served as vice
president and general manager of Oceaneering Space Systems in Houston.
Under
his leadership, the organization grew from 30 to 220 employees in five
years, serving Marshall, Johnson Space Center in Houston, the
Departments of
Defense and Energy, and many prime contractors.

Stephenson was promoted to president of Oceaneering Advanced
Technologies in
1997. This position combined Oceaneering Space Systems with
responsibilities
for Oceaneering’s U.S. Navy, Department of Energy and entertainment
businesses, including submarine rescue system design, robotics for
hazardous
waste cleanup at nuclear waste sites in the United States, and
attractions
for theme parks in Florida, California and Japan.

Stephenson is an Associate Fellow member of the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the National Space Society
and
American Astronautical Society. He was awarded NASA’s Exceptional
Service
Medal earlier this year at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

A graduate in electrical engineering from the University of Redlands,
Calif., he also completed the executive program in management at the
John E.
Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California
at
Los Angeles.

Stephenson is a native of New London, Conn.