Don Sawyer Becomes Acting NSSDC Head

By Joe King

Donald M. Sawyer will serve as Acting NSSDC Head while a permanent replacement for this writer is being sought. Don has been at NSSDC for about 30 years, the first half as a contractor and the second half as a civil servant. In his early years, he used his cosmic ray background to create the still-definitive empirical model, called AP8, of fluxes of magnetospherically trapped protons. He played a key role in the 1970's development and operation of NSSDC's initial CDAW and SSC (Coordinated Data Analysis Workshop, Satellite Situation Center) capabilities. He also served as Project Manager for NSSDC's onsite support services contract for several years in the 1980's.

Don Sawyer, left, takes the NSSDC data and the reigns from Joe King

For much of the past 15 years, Don has been the lead person on NASA's multi-Center CCSDS (Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems) Panel 2 activities and has led the NASA/Science Office of Standards and Technologies (NOST) at NSSDC. Among other things, he led the efforts to standardize FITS (Flexible Image Transport System), now an international Astronomical Union standard, and, with a much broader effect, to create the CCSDS/ISO-sponsored Open Archive Information System (OAIS) archive reference model.

Over the past 3 years, Don and his small NOST team have been centrally involved in the NSSDC software and operations efforts to create a new OAIS-compliant permanent archive environment at NSSDC. Don and his colleague John Garrett have been the most faithful contributors to this NSSDC Newsletter.

Don will endeavor to carry forward with all his prior responsibilities in addition to his new role as Acting NSSDC Head. NSSDC and its user communities are very fortunate Don volunteered for this role.