Last month, we sadly lost Steve Jurczyk to cancer at the age of 61. During his time at NASA, Steve rose in the ranks to associate administrator, which he held from May 2018 to January 2021. After that, he eventually went on to server as the acting the acting administrator, which he served until his retirement in 2021.
When he retired, he had the following to say:
“It has been an honor to lead NASA and see the agency’s incredible growth and transformation throughout my time here. The NASA workforce is what makes this agency so special, and I’m incredibly grateful for their amazing work, especially throughout the coronavirus pandemic. At NASA, we turn dreams into reality, and make the seemingly impossible possible. I am so fortunate to have been a member of the NASA family.”
During his career at NASA, Steve Jurczyk received many awards which include a Distinguished Service Medal, Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executive, Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive, Silver Achievement Medal, and the Outstanding Leadership Medal.
That’s a lot of awards for one person, and he certainly deserved it. He has other accomplishments which include developing space-based earth remote sensing systems, as well as helping with formulating and executing NASA’s space portfolio in the past. He was also the director of NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia until May 2014.
You will be missed.
Image Source: NASA/Joel Kowsky (Article Source: NASA/Abbey Donaldson)
