Mary introduced speaker (and former Rotary District Governor) Joe Ramos. Joe holds a bachelor of science degree in physics and a master of science degree in management. He joined the Rotary Club of Lake Arrowhead, Calif., in 2004 following his 2001 retirement as Associate Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Center. (In 2014 it was renamed Armstrong Flight Research Center, in honor of first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong,) and is at Edwards Air Force Base in California. (Armstrong was a flight test engineer and test pilot at Dryden before he became an astronaut.) During his 34 years of service Joe also held senior positions at the Pentagon and Air Force Flight Test Center and was adjunct professor for 10 years at three universities, teaching graduate and undergraduate engineering and management.

 

Joe served as a Rotary club president in 2007-2008 and became District 5330 District Governor in 2013-2014, and continues to be very active in Zone 25/26. In 2018, as chair of the Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee, he was responsible for turning a financially challenged project around from debt into surplus, while (simultaneously) winning the Rose Parade’s Princess Trophy for the most beautiful float under 35 feet in size. He has been married for 52 years to his wife, Joanne, and they have two children and six grandchildren. They are major donors, multiple Paul Harris Fellows, members of the Paul Harris Society and Benefactors.

 

Joe discussed his work with NASA, beginning with a little about NASA and its role in developing new science. He said the first “A” in NASA, refers to aeronautics. But in 1915, it was called NACA --  National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. His talk centered on human exploration of space, and how it improved and enhanced human life on Earth.

 

Enhancing his talk with photographs, many taken in space, Joe gave an overview of NASA’s four missions: the first being aerospace technology, in which he worked at Edwards Air Force Base. There, the X planes were tested including the X1 which broke the sound barrier with Chuck Yeager on Oct. 14, 1947. Also a focus there was airborne science which looked at the earth’s atmosphere, global warming, polar caps, human exploration and development of space, and NASA in terms of going to the moon, space stations, Mars and beyond, and life sciences, i.e. improving human life on earth which helps us expand into space.