| Carlos Ortiz Longo | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 18, 1962 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Nationality | Puerto Rican |
| Occupation | electronics engineer and scientist |
Carlos Ortiz Longo (born August 18, 1962) used to be the Constellation Program Division System Manager for the Structural Engineering Division at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. He is responsible for integrating Constellation Program items related to structures, mechanics, materials, and thermal. Formerly the manager of the Crew Health Care System and Exercise Countermeasures for NASA's Johnson Space Center.
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Ortiz Longo was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico where he received both his primary and secondary education. 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.[1]
In 1980, Ortiz Longo enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez 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.[1]
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 Columbia's payload bay during STS-9.
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.[2]
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.[3]
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.[3]
Among his Professional Publications and Conference Presentations are the following:
“Interfacial Phenomena in the Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior of Monolithic Ceramics”, C.R. Ortiz-Longo, R. Geragthy, L. Olasz, and K.W. White, Abstract submitted to the 51st Pacific Coast Regional Meeting (PCRM) and the ACerS Basic Science and Electronics Divisions Meeting, Bellevue, WA, Oct. 27-29, 1999[2]
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,[4] 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 NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal.
Dr. Carlos Ortiz Longo currently lives in Houston, Texas with his wife and two children.