Carlos Ortiz Longo
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Dr. Carlos Ortiz Longo (born August 18, 1962 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is manager of the Crew Health Care System and Exercise Countermeasures for NASA's Johnson Space Center.
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[edit] Early education
Ortiz Longo received both his primary and secondary education in San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. As a child his creative imagination was encouraged by both his parents. His father, Dr. Ortiz, a medical physician, was very influential in his life. He was always fascinated with his son's curiosity and encouraged him to find out how things worked even if it meant taking them apart and putting them back together again.
[edit] Joining NASA
In 1980, Ortiz Longo enrolled in the Mayaguez campus of the University of Puerto Rico's school of engineering. During his third year, while studying mechanical engineering, he came upon an advertisement in his school stating that officials from NASA would be visiting and conducting interviews at the campus. Ortiz Longo responded to the ad and went to the interview. NASA accepted him and offered a him part-time job in the continental United States.
In 1983, he moved to United States and joined NASA as a cooperative education student. He helped train astronauts for the first Spacelab mission which was carried aloft in the Space Shuttle payload bay.
[edit] Further education
He returned to Puerto Rico and in 1984 earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He then returned to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and was hired full-time as an engineer. He also worked on his Masters in the University of Houston. In 1993, Ortiz Longo earned his Master of Science in Material Science and Engineering.
In 1996, Ortiz Longo was selected from amongst 16 finalists in the astronaut selection program. He was also named the Space Shuttle Division Chief Engineer for structures, mechanics and materials. In 2000, he earned his Doctorate in Science degree from the University of Houston and in 2003 he joined the Space Station program.
His team works closely with the astronauts to ensure that the exercise equipment operate properly in space. His team is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of the heart rate monitors and the computers which contain the data of the exercise equipments.
[edit] Awards
Among his many awards and recognitions are: NASA Group Achievement Award, ORS Flight Experiment, 1986, NASA Productivity Improvement Award, New TCS Blanket Inspection Method, 1989, Golden Eagle Award, TCS Inspection, 1989, NASA Productivity Improvement Award, Thermal Interactive Mission Evaluation System (TIMES-89), 1989, Silver Snoopy Award, STS-40 Payload Bar Door Seal Anomaly, 1991, NASA Fellowship Program, 1992, NASA Group Achievement Award, Shuttle Plume Impingement Flight Experiment, 1995, Space Act Award, Thermal Interactive Mission Evaluation System, 1995, AR&SD Elite Team Award, Letter of Recognition from the Chief of the Automation, Robotics, and Simulation Division, for support given to operational evaluation of the FGB grapple fixture, Space Act Award, Thermal Synthesizer System, TSS, 1996, Letter of Recognition from the NASA Administrator, Daniel S. Goldin, for contributions in the development of the Quantitative Risk Assessment System (QRAS) model, 1997, NASA Group Achievement Award, Space Shuttle Risk Model Team, 1998, NASA Group Achievement Award, Space Station Phase 1 Program Team, 1998, NASA Group Achievement Award, Orbiter Upgrades Definition Team, 1998, Various Outstanding Performance Ratings, and Performance Awards, 1985-1997, Chairman, Thermal and Fluids Analysis Workshop (TFAWS), International Conference, NASA JSC, 1997 and the Silver Snoopy Award.
Dr. Carlos Ortiz Longo currently lives in Houston, Texas with his wife and two children.
