You may not find Steve Bollman, left, and Mike Croft at a steampunk convention any time soon, but you will find them working hard at NASA Langley Research Center’s steam plant.
Bollman is the manager of NASA Langley’s steam plant. Croft is the plant’s operations manager. They work with their colleagues at the City of Hampton’s Hampton/NASA Steam Plant to ensure that the steam generated there flows free and clear to NASA Langley.
Together, they factor prominently into NASA’s energy picture… even if they prefer to stay behind the scenes.
“We’re the guys who like to stay invisible,” said Bollman. “When one of the services isn’t working in one of the facilities, that’s when we become visible.”
Fortunately, they’re able to maintain a low profile most of the time. It may even afford them extra time to plot new ways to conserve energy, which is something they’re very good at.
One of their biggest efforts netted Bollman, Croft and their colleagues at the nearby Hampton/NASA Steam Plant a 2012 Federal Energy and Water Management Award.
“We did a project with the refuse-fired steam plant next door to try to utilize a lot more of their steam,” Bollman said. “So we changed a lot of our procedures and we were successful in saving about $750,000 between water usage and the BTUs it takes to make the steam by utilizing much more of their steam.”
For Croft, who spent 25 years as the operations manager at the Hampton/NASA Steam Plant before coming over to assume the same role at the NASA Langley steam plant, the energy-saving efforts, small or large, all boil down to one thing.
“I think we’re the stewards for our environment,” he said. “We’re in the energy business, so we should take ownership in that.”
Photo Illustration: NASA/David C. Bowman