Millard Franklin (Frank) Rose has been named director of the new Science Directorate created during the recent reorganization at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Rose will oversee the wide array of science activities -- from microgravity science and Earth sciences to astrophysics and advanced technology research in fields such as optics and propulsion -- performed at the Marshall Center. Creating the new directorate unifies all Marshall's science activities into one organization, making it easier to serve Marshall's customers, which include other NASA Centers, the Department of Defense, commercial industries and academia.
"This directorate will produce a full spectrum of knowledge that will be enormously exciting," said Rose. "I want to see the directorate help NASA explore the universe. But it is also important to conduct basic research to benefit the taxpayer by producing better medicines, improved crops and stronger materials, for example."
Rose's goal is for the Science Directorate "to be a magnet for talent -- a place where the best and the brightest will want to work. I want to attract the next generation of brilliant researchers."
Rose sees the new National Space Sciences and Technology Center -- a center that will house 500 to 600 scientists from the Marshall Center, industry and universities -- as an innovative way for Marshall scientists to perform high-tech research. Preliminary development of the science center, which is part of Marshall's Science Directorate, is under way.
"This new center will give us great potential for partnerships and provide more opportunities to work with visiting scholars who can expose us to different ways of thinking," Rose said.
Rose has more than 35 years of experience as a leader in the fields of basic and applied physics research, materials science and advanced technologies, including space power technology and energy conversion. He served as deputy director of Marshall's Space Sciences Laboratory from 1998 to 1999.
Rose brings a wealth of experience working with academia, industry and federal agencies. From 1985 to 1998, he served as director of the Space Power Institute at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., where he also was a professor of electrical engineering. From 1961 to 1985, he was senior research scientist for the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Va. He has obtained more than 22 patents in the fields of energy and energy conversion and has authored more than 150 technical publications.
"The Science Directorate's product is the generation and dissemination of knowledge," Rose said. "Our scientists and others are able to turn that knowledge into commercial products to benefit the American public and our economy, and NASA can use that knowledge to explore the universe."
Rose has received commendations for distinguished service from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the National Research Council for his service on numerous scientific panels. He also has served on several NASA panels, including committees that help advise the agency on space-related technologies and help determine the scientific experiments to be performed on the International Space Station.
In 1994, he received the Wright A. Gardner Award for contributions to the State of Alabama in the field of energy/power technology from the Alabama Academy of Science. In 1987, he was nominated for the U.S. Department of Commerce "Metal of Technology" for his work in the field of materials science.
Rose has earned both master's and doctorate degrees in solid state science from Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pa., and a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va.
He is a native of Clintwood, Va., and he and his wife, Carolyn, have their permanent residence in Auburn, Ala.
Note to Editors/News Directors: Interviews and photographs are available by contacting Steve Roy of the Marshall Center Media Relations Department at 256- 544-6535. For more information, please visit our News Center Web Site at: /www.msfc.nasa.gov/news NASA Photo #9903822: Frank Rose, new director of the Science Directorate at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. A print-quality photo can be downloaded at: www1.msfc.nasa.gov/NEWSROOM/news/photos/1999/photos99-107.htm