Who I Am
Hi, my name is David Cox. I am Project Manager for science experiments that fly on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. In my free time I enjoy traveling, auto racing, water sports, other outdoor activities, and rooting for my college football team.

What I Do
Currently, I am a Project Manager in the Flight Experiments Project Management Office for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center. My overall responsibility is to ensure to NASA that the experiments to which I am assigned will be a success! The type of experiments that I manage primarily deal with life sciences with a few physical science experiments thrown in. For each experiment my journey begins once NASA selects a researcher (called a Principal Investigator) to perform specific research and is not complete until nearly one year after the experiment flies in space. I work very closely with the Principal Investigator and a team of engineers and scientists. Together we design, develop, build, test, and fly the experiment. One of the most important things that we do is make sure that the experiment never jeopardizes the health and safety of the Astronauts. Additionally, we must do everything possible to assure that the experiment will accomplish the research that NASA is expecting to achieve. Here at Kennedy Space Center, we are the premier center for plant and aquatic space research. Therefore, I am the project manager for almost all of the plant and aquatic experiments that NASA will fly in the next few years! It is a very exciting and rewarding job.

My Career History
My interests in math and science started in grade school. It was through participating in math competitions and taking Advanced Placement courses in high school that allowed me to excel in math and science. It was then that I realized that I wanted to become an Engineer and that I wanted to work for NASA. I went on to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Miami earning a Bachelors of Science degree. While at the U. of Miami, I started looking into what it would take to succeed as an Engineer for NASA. As a result, I tailored my curriculum slightly, became heavily involved in the Student Chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and found an engineering intern position with a marine exhaust factory.

Upon graduation, I interviewed with NASA at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and was soon offered a position in the Shuttle Engineering Directorate as an Environmental Control Systems Engineer responsible for providing air conditioning to the Space Shuttle. In this position, I was extensively involved in Shuttle landings as well as many launches. I would also follow the entire processing flow of preparing all of the Shuttles for their next mission providing conditioned air to the interior compartments of the Space Shuttle.

My next position with NASA was in the Payload Operations Directorate as a Payload Operations Engineer responsible for the launch site planning for all of the experiments flying on assigned Shuttle missions. This position was very exciting as I was able to work with Engineers and Scientists from around the world. Additionally, I frequently found myself on the launch pad installing life science experiments onboard the Shuttle hours before a Launch as well as being on the runway as the Shuttle was landing to immediately retrieve the experiments following the mission. As a result of my Shuttle landing experience, I was also the Payload Offsite Operations Manager responsible for experiment operations at contingency landing sites around the world.

Then, with the excitement building around the International Space Station, I accepted a position in the Space Station Hardware Integration Office as a Space Station Element Integration Engineer. In this position, I was temporarily relocated to the Boeing Canoga Park facility in the Los Angeles area. My responsibilities included assisting Boeing in their planning and execution of assembling and testing the first element of the Space Station Electrical Power System. The work was very rewarding but involved extensive amounts of travel. Then, after nearly one year on the road, I returned home and accepted a position, also in the Space Station Hardware Integration Office, as a Lead Schedule Integration Engineer. In this position I was responsible for ensuring that the Space Station Program planning and schedules were realistic through providing independent assessments of the near term Space Station assembly flights. This involved close tracking of the progress of the Space Station hardware being built at various factories around the country as well as when the hardware arrived at the launch site here at Kennedy Space Center. Recently, I was offered my current position of Project Manager in the Flight Experiments Project Management Office. This position offers the exact type of work that I want to do for many years to come.

What I Like About my Career
As an Engineer for NASA, I am able to make my contribution to our country and the world through advancing knowledge and technology to improve the quality of life here on this planet. Also, I am able to be on the frontier of human exploration and development of space just as the early pioneers of this country. To me, there cannot be a more challenging or exciting career.

Influences
The people that have influenced me most in my life and career are my Mother and Father, as well as a close life long friend named Neil. Also, there have been a number of teachers that provided me with enthusiasm and skills to exceed in math and science. They include my 5th Grade Teacher (Ms. Thompson), my High School Calculus Teacher (Ms. Helen Dostal), and my High School Physics Teacher (Mr. Sturge').

My Future Plans and Goals
I have great pride and satisfaction in my work for NASA. I hope to continue my career with NASA through to retirement. I also hope to someday fly in space as a U.S. Astronaut.

• January 31, 2001
• Webcast January 17, 2001
• March 2, 1999