NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

By: Denise Lineberry

Richard Davis retired from NASA Langley as a senior scientist in 2007, but that didn't mean his work was anywhere near complete.

As a Distinguished Research Associate, Davis has taken his passion for space and his appreciation for outreach a step further with NASA Langley's speakers bureau ... and beyond!

For more than 25 years, Davis has been a member of the bureau and has discussed topics ranging from his specialty -- the solar system -- to space exploration, space travel, airplanes and weather.

Richard Davis teaches a course about the solar system, "An Overview of Space Exploration," through Christopher Newport University's Lifelong Learning Society (LLS). Credit: NASA/Sean Smith

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His interest in outreach began with visits to the classroom of his daughter, Ellen, for career day. That interest expanded to enrichment talks in Williamsburg schools, serving as a science fair judge, talking with civic groups such as Kiwanis and Lions, in-service training for teachers on the solar system in Isle of Wight to his newest venture, teaching a course at the Lifelong Learning Society (LLS) of Christopher Newport University, a membership organization dedicated to retirees who seek learning opportunities.

Davis teaches a course about the solar system, "An Overview of Space Exploration," a concept that has captivated audiences ranging in age from kindergarten through retirement.

Davis is also involved as an after-school speaker for Hampton Parks and Recreation.

"Someone opened up my eyes to these things," Davis said. "You can catch a kid's attention and change their life."

Davis knows that first-hand. His parents got him interested in astronomy when they pointed out a lunar eclipse. "When I asked them what was happening, they encouraged me to go look it up in the encyclopedia," Davis said.

"This was before Google," he added.

Davis was hooked on astronomy. "I came home from school and found that my mother had made me a model of Saturn, using an orange and some cardboard. The orange eventually rotted away, of course, but the astronomy stuck," he said.

"Also, my sixth-grade teacher put some Chesley Bonestell paintings on the wall of her classroom, which were his conceptions of how Saturn would look, as viewed from some of its moons," Davis said. "This aroused a great sense of wonder in me, which continues to this day."

Davis hopes to have the same impact on children through his outreach with the speaker's bureau. Although he speaks with children of all ages, he mostly speaks to middle school students.

"NASA Langley's Outreach Office and speaker's bureau has given me a lot of help over the years, letting me borrow artifacts and providing materials for my talks and apprising me of speaking opportunities," he said. "The cheerful, enthusiastic help and camaraderie of everyone in the Outreach Office is really outstanding."

And the compliment can easily be returned. "Mr. Davis is very personable, well-liked and knowledgeable. He is a vital part of our outreach organization," said Eileen Spillane, head of the NASA Langley's Speakers Bureau and public outreach specialist. "I hope that people see that if I, at the age of 71, am able to do this outreach and make a difference, that they too, have the resources and the opportunities available to them," Davis said.

Davis and his wife, Laura, reside in Newport News, where Davis spent 43 years working at NASA Langley on projects such as limb navigation sensor development, laminar flow aircraft research, remote sensing instrument modeling, the Mars airplane and modeling and simulation standards development.

In addition to doing outreach and teaching, he manages to find time to be active in his church choir, is involved with Friends of the Newport News Library and, for enjoyment, he reads, does yard work and travels. He and Laura returned from Thailand and Japan in January.

Davis finds that he has more time to do those things in retirement. Whether he is teaching, doing outreach or traveling far and wide, Davis finds enjoyment and purpose in what he does.

And as a native of Norwich, Conn., he naturally squeezes in some Red Sox and Patriots action, when possible.

But still, his focus remains where it was caught as a child -- in space.

To become involved in the Langley Speaker's Bureau, please contact Eileen Spillane at 864-8015.

To learn more about the Langley Speaker's Bureau, please visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/speakers.html

To learn more about CNU's LLS, please visit: http://lifelonglearning.cnu.edu/


 
NASA Langley Research Center
Managing Editor: Jim Hodges
Executive Editor and Responsible NASA Official: H. Keith Henry
Editor and Curator: Denise Lineberry