On July 12, 2012 NVAHOF Director T.D. Barnes and BOD member UNLV’s Dr. Darrell Pepper, Ph.D., currently serving as Distinguished Visiting Professor, US Air Force Academy, extended NVAHOF’s outreach program to support the AIAA Las Vegas Kickoff Dinner Meeting at the Wildhorse Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada.
David Knight, CEO of Terbine Entertainment lead with an excellent talk accompanied by a great documentary file “Space Shuttle & the New Pioneers that he produced of the final days of the Space Shuttle. Knight’s presentation was followed by that of Barnes about the pioneering of space with the X-15, Lifting Bodies, and LLRV in which Barnes is a pioneering veteran. Knight and Barnes’ presentations were followed by those of Charles Pooley, CEO of Microlaunchers, Inc. entitled “Microlaunchers: the Case for Very Small Spacecraft” and John Spencer, President of the Space Tourism Society (STS) entitled “Mars World and Other STS Activities in Las Vegas.
Approximately 50 aeronautics and astronautic professional, military, and others in aerospace attended the dinner and presentation to establish a Los Angeles/Las Vegas Section of AIAA. Organizing the event are Section Chairman Jeff Puschell, Section Programs Chairman Dr. Nicola Sarzi-Amade, and the Las Vegas Members Chairman Marty Waldman. More about this new section of AIAA can be found at: https://info.aiaa.org.
NVAHOF was honored to accept the new membership of Elizabeth Gaynor at the dinner. We expect many more to join our membership as we expand our educational outreach program and honor the aerospace legends of Nevada.
ABOUT NVAHOF
NVAHOF has dedicated its mission to preserving the history of aerospace in the state of Nevada and establishes and maintains an ongoing means of honoring individuals from Nevada who have contributed in a significant manner to the development, advancement and promotion of aerospace.
NVAHOF was incorporated in the State of Nevada on December 1, 2008 as a not for profit corporation organized exclusively for educational purposes under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and received tax exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service on November 9, 2009. The NVAHOF currently operates as an educational resource and virtual museum through our website, www.nvahof.org we offer the general public information related to the history of aviation and space through our virtual museum, speakers bureau, and access to our historical archives holdings, recommendation of related books on related subjects and our annual Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.
NVAHOF also honors individuals who were not native to Nevada but were associated with the Battle Born state, whose careers enhanced the aerospace climate worldwide or in space. The mission of NVAHOF is unique as it especially recognizes and honors the men and women, federal, military, and civilian, who worked in secrecy at various locations in Nevada.
The primary educational objectives of the NVAHOF focus on honoring the past by supporting the future of aviation. First, the programming consists of four annual scholarships awarded to outstanding students of aviation and aerospace engineering on the high school and university levels. Second, the NVAHOF also provides a state-wide Speakers Bureau for outreach within the community. The third educational objective is the creation of an accessible archive of Nevada aviation history. The uniqueness and diversity of Nevada’s aviation projects make it the most important state in the nation in regards to cutting-edge aerospace technology and development.