Dr. Mjwara, thank you for that wonderful introduction. It is indeed a pleasure and an honor to be here today as we celebrate World Space Week 2013. I want to congratulate the South African National Space Agency for yesterday’s inauguration of the IOT Antenna at SANSA Space Operations, Hartbeesthoek. It is a source of South African national pride and will help ensure that this country remains an essential and valuable partner to all space faring nations. It is one of the great accomplishments of 2013.
Back home in the United States, we celebrated in 2013 the 50th anniversary of the Great March on Washington that was led by among others Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The leaders of that march called for civil and economic rights for African-Americans so that all U.S. citizens could take part in the American dream.
At the time of that march, NASA was pursuing another dream—the dream of a young president, John F. Kennedy, to land humans on the moon and return them safely to Earth. Making that dream a reality spawned scientific and technological innovations that led to economic prosperity for our nation and continue to impact lives around the world today.
Today, we have been charged by another young president –Barack Obama—to accomplish bold and exciting things in the cause of research and exploration. Our president has charged us with the mission to redefine the future!! It is a future that will feature revolutionized airspace systems, advanced robotics, environmentally friendly aviation, advanced materials, wireless power transmission, and new generations of rockets for humans and machines to explore the universe.
That last part should be exciting to all of us because we are a world of explorers, and the
universe is calling. There are new worlds to explore and new knowledge to be gained and shared. Our President has launched us on a bold and ambitious new space initiative to enable us to explore new worlds, develop more innovative technologies, foster new industries, increase our understanding of the Earth, expand our presence to asteroids, Mars, and beyond, and inspire you—the next generation of explorers.
It is indeed a wonderful time to be alive and be a part of the space exploration community!!
We will be counted on to develop breakthrough technologies that will transform almost every aspect of our lives and commerce.
Revolutionary discoveries will occupy a major portion of the global economy, and those nations that participate in discovery and innovation will lead that economy. The world thrives on innovation, and we must have a climate to encourage everyone to compete, contribute, innovate, and succeed domestically and internationally. This is because there is an undeniable link between scientific discovery, engineering excellence, innovation, and economic prosperity.
You see, space exploration arguably is the most productive of all of our endeavors. This
tremendously exciting program of scientific and engineering excellence and innovation provides benefits to people throughout the world; developments that we use every day such as kidney dialysis machines, water purification systems, precision optics, cell phone cameras, and fireretardant materials to name just a small few. And, remember, there are numerous opportunities for international cooperation.
To achieve our space exploration goals, we need everyone to be on the leading edge of technical excellence and innovation. We must fully engage everyone, including women and traditionally underrepresented minority populations, to make this space exploration vision a reality. In fact, that is the only way that this vision can become a reality.
As he gave NASA the goal of landing humans on the moon, President Kennedy stood in
Houston, Texas, on September 12, 1962, and declared that “no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space.” And I stand here today in Kimberly and add that “no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can have less than full participation from any groups of its citizenry!!”
Just study America’s space achievements. We all know of Alan Shepard, John Glenn, and Neil Armstrong. Their achievements are monumental and, rightfully, will live in the history books forever. However, there were many more who led our country’s scientific and engineering successes.
A few years ago, I was giving a presentation at Adlai Stevenson Elementary School in
Southfield, Michigan back home in the U.S. The presentation was in January, and the children had been studying the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. While I was standing at the front of the auditorium waiting for all of the students to come in and take their seats, one little boy in the front looked at me and said “You’re Martin Luther King.” I said “No, I’m not Martin Luther King.” He said “Yes, you are. You’re Martin Luther King.” At that time, the little boy’s teacher walked by and asked how I was doing. I mentioned that I was fine and was just trying to convince the little boy that I was not Martin Luther King. The teacher scolded the boy and asked him “Didn’t I tell you that Martin Luther King was dead” and the he said “Yes.” I felt bad because I had caused the boy to get in trouble. The teacher then walked away, and the boy looked at me and said “I don’t care what she said. You’re still Martin Luther King.” I then asked the little boy what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he said that he wanted to be “one of those Black History People—like Martin Luther King.”
I told him that we have Black History People everywhere. They are at home at the dinner table, at church, at our weddings, and at our funerals. Black History People are in your classroom and in the office next door at work. Go meet them and talk with them.
During my career, I have had the privilege of working with some of the world’s greatest
scientists and engineers who just happen to be African Americans.
One is University of Maryland Professor, Jim Gates. Jim was one of my tutors at MIT
and is, without a doubt, the brightest person that I know. His current work includes
developing a single theory to explain all of the particles and fundamental forces in nature.
Another is Dr. George Carruthers, a 2003 inductee into the U.S. National Inventors Hall
of Fame. He developed the first moon-based space observatory, an ultraviolet camera
that was carried to the moon by Apollo 16 astronauts.
On February 1, 2013, President Obama presented Jim with the National Medal of Science and George with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
Some of the African-American women with whom I had the privilege of working include Mary Jackson, Dr. Christine Darden, and Katherine Johnson. All had long, distinguished careers with NASA.
Mary was one of the world’s premier wind-tunnel test engineers.
Dr. Darden is an internationally recognized aerodynamicist and an expert on supersonic
flow and sonic booms.
Katherine solved problems of interplanetary trajectories, space navigation, and spacecraft orbits.
They are but a few of the African-American pioneers who made monumental contributions to America’s technical achievements and helped pave the way for me.
When I see the leaders of South Africa’s space efforts, they are paving the way for you, this nation’s youth. A strong, robust space program provides inspiration for young learners and the opportunity for high-tech, high-paying jobs right here at home.
That’s why every effort to recruit, retain, and develop your engineers and scientists must
succeed!!
That’s why every effort to increase the number of graduate students and increase their graduation rates must succeed!!
That’s why strategies to increase the number of students obtaining degrees and faculty positions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics must succeed!!
Each of you has the ability to do something great with your lives. All you need to do is couple that ability with desire. It won’t be easy, and you always won’t be comfortable. But you must get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Greatness requires you to move out of your comfort zone. And to achieve greatness, you must commit to excellence and never be content with anyone else’s definition of you.
When I was making my choice of where to attend college, a recruiter from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology came to my hometown in Michigan to talk to me. There was one person who did not want me to meet with the recruiter because “our students don’t go out of state to college.” My counselor arranged a meeting anyway, and I eventually earned three degrees from MIT.
I’ll tell you this—that one person may not have had high expectations for me, but I sure had high expectations for myself. If you let others define you and you try to be like everyone else, you’re likely to end up average—middle of the pack. And I know of nobody who starts climbing a mountain with the goal of making it to the middle. So stay focused on your goals. To achieve any goal, all it takes is vision, confidence, endurance, and inspiration. Without it, nothing is possible but, with it, nothing is impossible. Just remember as you chase your dreams,
Always have fun.
Never, ever accept mediocrity. Anyone who accepts mediocrity compromises and when
you compromise, we all lose.
Drop all conditions about achieving your goals. Conditions allow you to escape
accountability and allow mediocrity to creep back in.
Don’t fear trying new things.
Be prepared to be humiliated by the less visionary—until people see what you
accomplish. Small minds always are the first to condemn great ideas, and great spirits
always have encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
You have to accomplish something because you can’t build a reputation on what you
intend to do.
And whatever you do, do it with excellence. If you pursue your goals with excellence, the
history books might one day include about one of you that “she or he was the first to walk on Mars.” And that, my friends, will be a great feat for which to be remembered.
Thank you!!
