NASA Mission Leader an Inspiration to Minority Engineering Students

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The upcoming launch of an unprecedented NASA mission to investigate the Earth's atmosphere will feature many firsts, including an African American NASA engineer leading the way to mission success.

Willis S. Jenkins, Jr., is the program executive of the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms mission (THEMIS), scheduled for launch Friday from Florida. Jenkins also oversees NASA's $1 billion, 500 employee-strong Explorer Program. The program includes the THEMIS mission and provides frequent flight opportunities for world-class scientific investigations from space.

"This is one of the most challenging yet rewarding jobs in my NASA career. Explorer missions are the most cost effective activities for the agency to return important science data to enhance life here on Earth," said Jenkins.

THEMIS' five identical probes will be the largest number of scientific satellites NASA ever has launched into orbit aboard a single rocket. The constellation of satellites will collect coordinated measurements every four days and be ready to observe dozens of substorms during the two-year mission.

Substorms are atmospheric events visible in the northern hemisphere as a sudden brightening of the Northern Lights. They can cause blackouts to cell phones, navigational systems, cable television and other worldwide communications. These storms also can impact astronaut operations in space.

For the first time, scientists will get a comprehensive view of the substorm phenomena from Earth's upper atmosphere to far into space. Data collected from the five probes will pinpoint where and when substorms begin, a feat impossible with any previous single-satellite mission.

Jenkins began his career with NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., in 1994.

Prior to joining NASA, Jenkins enjoyed a successful career in the private sector. He began his career as an electrical engineer at E-Systems, Falls Church, Va. As an electrical systems manager at McDonnell Douglass, Seabrook, Md., he managed the electrical systems for NASA orbital and atmospheric missions and supported the orbital launch service managers on various launch vehicles.

As a production test engineer with American Systems Corp., Chantilly, Va., Jenkins trained military personnel and provided expertise in the integration and testing of flight and ground communications. He also developed software for mainframe computers at General Electric, Rockville, Md.

Jenkins earned his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University in Boston. At age 15, Jenkins was accepted to "A Better Chance," a Boston program that placed talented African American youth in schools with rigorous academic programs. He left Washington to join the program and finish high school at public schools in North Andover and Amherst, Mass.

In 2001, he was nominated Black Engineer of the Year. Jenkins is also a recipient of the Professional Excellence in Federal Career Award. Among other awards, Jenkins has received one of NASA's highest honors, the NASA Medal for Exceptional Service, for his contributions to the successful launch of a vital weather monitoring satellite.

In his spare time, Jenkins enjoys spending time with his family, restoring antique Buicks and mentoring children in his community.

"My biggest goal in life is to give back to the community. I encourage students to do that and to tell them that dreams can come true if you are willing to work hard, sacrifice and overcome obstacles that will surely come your way," said Jenkins.

For a photo of Jenkins, visit http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/feb/HQ_0741_willis_jenkins.html

For more information about the THEMIS mission and imagery on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/themis