Oklahoman to share her NASA experience at Science Café at OSU

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Donna Shirley will cover the highs and lows of her 32 years at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in her presentation “Oklahoma to NASA’s Mars Exploration Program and Beyond,” at the next Science Café at OSU Feb. 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the Peggy V. Helmerich Browsing Room, on the second floor of Edmon Low Library. Admission is free and the public is invited to attend.

Among Shirley’s more positive experiences at NASA was managing the Mars Exploration Program and working as a team leader for the Mars Pathfinder and the Sojourner Rover. However, she admits her retirement from the space agency was triggered by the fear of unsuccessful missions. “It was very difficult because we had a lot of trouble with NASA management wanting us to do more than we could afford,” Shirley said. “I retired in 1998 because I was afraid there were going to be failures and, indeed, the two (missions in) 1998 failed.”

The Mars Climate Orbiter disintegrated in the planet’s upper atmosphere, while the Mars Polar Lander lost communication with Earth during its descent to the surface of Mars. NASA believes the lander crashed after an engine malfunction.

Shirley grew up in Wynnewood and graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in professional writing in 1963 and aerospace engineering in 1965. Driven by a fascination with space exploration, she stood out among her peers, not only for her excellent work, but also because she had chosen a field dominated by men. “I was always the only woman in my engineering classes at OU,” Shirley said. “In 1966, I was also the only female engineer among 2,000 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and I was always the only woman at my management level throughout my career.”

Following her time at NASA, Shirley wrote “Managing Martians: The Extraordinary Story of a Woman’s Lifelong Quest to Get to Mars” and “Managing Creativity,” her guide to developing ideas for innovative products. She also served as an assistant dean and instructor of aerospace mechanical engineering at the OU College of Engineering until 2003. Shirley was the founding director of the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle from 2003 to 2004 and is currently the president of her consulting company Managing Creativity.

Shirley’s many honors include induction into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame in 2003 and having asteroid 5624 Shirley named after her.

Her biography, “Managing Martians,” will be available for purchase and signing at the event. For more information, visit sciencecafeosu.okstate.edu, and for more about Donna Shirley, visit managingcreativity.com.

Story by Jackson Hodges