J. Wayne Littles

Infobox Person
name = Jerroll Wayne Littles

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caption = Official NASA portrait of J. Wayne Littles
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occupation = Director of the
Marshall Space Flight Center
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Dr. Jerroll Wayne Littles (born 1939) was the eighth Director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center located in Huntsville, Alabama. He served as Director from February 3, 1996 to January 3, 1998.

Early life

Littles was born in Moultrie, Georgia in 1939.cite web|title=J. Wayne Littles|url=http://gtalumni.org/Publications/magazine/sum95/littles.html|work=Georgia Tech Alumni Association|accessdate=2007-10-28]

Education

*Attended Moultrie High School, graduating in 1957.
*Graduated from Georgia Tech in 1962 with a BME; Phi Eta Sigma, Pi Tau Sigma, Tau Beta Pi and Briaerean societies.
*Mechanical Engineering Masters degree from the University of Southern California in 1964.
*Doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin, in 1969.
*Harvard University, Boston, MA, Advanced Management Program in 1990. cite web|title=Biography / Evaluation Report of Subcommittee For Space Utilization|url=http://warp.ndl.go.jp/REPOSWP/000000001418/00000000000005995/www.nasda.go.jp/press/1998/11/hyouka_981125_e_14_e.html|work=NASDA|accessdate=2007-10-28]

Early career

*Aerospace Engineer, North American, 1962
*worked in the propulsion area at Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, California, 1962-1964
*Research Engineer, Teledyne Brown Engineering Company, 1964

NASA career

Prior to his appointment as Center Director, Littles served as NASA Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Flight (1994-1996). Littles began his NASA career in 1967 when he worked as an engineer in Marshall's former Propulsion and Vehicle Engineering Directorate. He worked in various capacities at the Marshall Center, including Science Engineering Director (1988-1989) and Center Deputy Director (1989-1994) before transferring to NASA Headquarters in 1994, as Chief Engineer. Littles was involved in the redesign of the space shuttle booster rockets, blamed for the Challenger disaster in 1986. cite web|title=New Head Official for Space Shuttle Office|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E1DC1E31F932A15752C1A962958260|work=New York Times|date=November 21, 1994|accessdate=2007-10-28]

During the two short years as Center Director, Dr. Littles' administration was responsible for the space lab mission, the space science projects, alternative light-weight launch vehicles and their engine development. He retired from NASA in 1998.

Littles is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

References

External links

* [http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/management/center_directors/pages/littles.html NASA biography]