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ENGINEER COMPARES WORKING FOR PRIVATE INDUSTRY
TO BEING A PART OF AMERICA'S SPACE PROGRAM
by John C. Stennis Space Center
HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. — NASA's Carmen Ramirez-Pagan, who works in the Propulsion
Test Directorate at Stennis Space Center as an AST-Technical Resources Management engineer,
greets visitors in a quiet, almost distant, demeanor. In a soft, Spanish-tinted drawl, she talks about her
work and education. She talks easily of her early experiences in corporate life in Puerto Rico and
how she made the transition in October 1990 from being in the business of making profits for Digital
Equipment Corp. to the business of space.
"In my prior job as a project manager, my driving forces were cost, budget and deadlines,"
said Ramirez-Pagan. "What I did individually and what my people did affected the corporation's
profit line. Here at NASA, they are still a challenge, but I am responsible to my colleagues, and the
success of a project depends on how well we work together. In my previous job, corporate profits
were the goal; here, I work to show American taxpayers a return on their investment in the space
program. I don't look at any job as being too small or too big."
It takes only a question or two about Carmen's current project, the construction of a 42,000-
square-foot Propulsion Test Directorate office facility, for the professional persona to be replaced by
unabashed enthusiasm and excitement. "It has become my pet project," she said with an expanding
smile. "It is a challenge to get people's input and to somehow sort out the differences so that there is
a good compromise. I consider co-workers my customers. They depend on me to do a good job for
them."
The new facility is housed in two buildings and will provide office space for more than 200
propulsion engineers and technicians. The project is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2003.
"The progress of the construction reflects Carmen's outstanding organizational skills and her
focused attention to detail," said NASA's Mike Dawson, manager of the Propulsion Test Program
Office at Stennis. "She has been able to work closely with the people who will occupy the building
and has been tenacious in resolving conflicts between our budget and those requirements."
Ramirez-Pagan was Stennis' nominee for the 2002 Hispanic Engineer National Achievement
Award that honors Hispanic excellence in science, engineering and technology nationwide.
"Carmen's professionalism and career achievements have contributed to opening the doors for other
Hispanics at the center," said NASA's Fernando Figueroa, manager of the Hispanic Employment
Program at Stennis.
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