Slye (Robert E.) Papers, 1961-2001

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Summary

Title:

Robert E. Slye Papers

Dates:

1961-2001

Creators:

Ames Research Center

Abstract:

This collection, accumulated by NASA Ames Research Center scientist Robert E. Slye, consists of reports, research proposals, memoranda, contracts, conference and workshop proceedings, user guides, administrative announcements, newsletters, secondary publications and other materials related to the NASA Mission Analysis Division, technology applications research and general administrative activities.

Extent:

Number of containers: 4 Volume: 4.8 cubic feet

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

NASA Ames History Office, NASA Ames Research Center. Moffett Field, California. PP07.13-RS, Robert E. Slye Papers, 1961-2001, [Container number]: [Folder number]. [Identification of item]. [Date, if available].

Abbreviated Citation

NASA ARC. PP07.13-RS, [Container number]: [Folder number]. [Identification of item]. [Date, if available].

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of scientific reports, quarterly and annual reports, research proposals, memoranda, correspondence, contracts, studies, secondary publications, conference proceedings, meeting minutes, agendas, newsletters, bibliographies, indexes, directories, rosters, workshop proceedings, user guides, administrative announcements, clippings, ephemera and a transcript of the 1996 NASA Ames "State of the Center" speech. The materials provide insight into Slye's activities with the Mission Analysis Division and Technology Applications/Ecosystem Science and Technology Applications Branches as well as into the administrative activities of NASA Ames.

Series I, Mission Analysis Division Records, 1965-1974, contains reports, proposals, memoranda, secondary publications and other material related to the design, costing, selection and analysis of shuttles and launch vehicles. Series II, Technology Applications Records, 1974-1998, includes reports, memoranda, newsletters, rosters, plans and other materials related to the activities of the NASA Ames Airborne Missions and Applications and Life Science/Earth System Science/Earth Science Divisions. A number of records relate to the Landsat Remote Sensing Technology Program and the Western Regional Applications Program (WRAP). Series III, NASA Ames Administrative Records, 1971-2001, consists of clippings, publications, memoranda and administrative announcements related to topics such as staff honors, organizational restructuring and policies. Series IV, General/Reference Publications, 1961-1999, largely consists of newsletters (generated both by Ames and outside publishers) and secondary publications on topics related to Slye's fields of interest, including aeronautics, remote sensing and computing.

Biographical / historical:

Robert "Buzz" E. Slye was born in 1934 in Burlington, Vermont. He received a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Yale University in 1956, where he also served in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. He earned a M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from Stanford University in 1957. Slye joined NACA Ames Aeronautical Laboratory in Moffett Field, California, in June 1957 as a summer student, and was subsequently assigned to Air Force duty on the Ames campus in the fall of 1957.

As a summer student, and after conversion to a permanent post as research scientist in 1958, Slye worked with Alfred Eggers and Clarence "Sy" Syverston as a member of the 10 x 14 Inch Wind Tunnel Branch (1957 to 1960) and the 3-1/2 Foot Wind Tunnel Branch (1960 to 1963). Here, he was involved in projects relating to the aerodynamics of lifting bodies, rockets and re-entry capsules. In 1963, Slye became a member of the Mission Analysis Division, Space Applications Branch. The Mission Analysis Division's main function was to conduct studies to determine research areas in which Ames could use its time and funds most effectively. Here, Slye became an expert in trajectory analysis, and was involved in conducting studies on the feasibility of transporting humans to the moon and mars, and in conducting shuttle and launch vehicle studies, including trajectory and payload analysis, costing, planning, design and implementation. Slye was a member of the Mission Analysis Division from 1963 to 1969, the System Studies Division from 1969 to 1971, and the Advanced Concepts and Missions Division from 1971 to 1975.

When the Advanced Concepts and Missions Division dissolved in 1975, Slye moved to the Data Research and Management Branch (1975 to 1976), the Technology Applications Branch under the Airborne Missions and Applications Division (1976 to 1984) and later the Ecosystem Science and Technology (ECOSAT) Branch under the Life Science/Earth System Science/Earth Science Divisions (1984 to present). His research activities under these divisions largely relate to the analysis and display of computer information, including remotely sensed images. As a member of the Ecosystem Science and Technology Branch, Slye worked to develop new understandings of the Earth's ecosystems through remote sensing, airborne imaging and data processing research.

Slye's career at Ames has spanned over a half of a century and is remarkable in that he has made important research contributions in a wide range of disciplines. Slye received the NASA/Ames Special Achievement Award in 1988. At the time of his retirement in December 2007, Slye was the longest continually employed worker at Ames. He became an Ames Associate in 2008, and as of November 2009, Slye is listed as an Ames Associate with the Ecosystem Science and Technology Branch.

Acquisition information:

Transferred by Robert E. Slye in August 2007.

Arrangement:

The papers are arranged into four series:

I. Mission Analysis Division Records, 1965-1974.
II. Technology Applications Records, 1974-1998.
III. NASA Ames Administrative Records, 1971-2001.
IV. General/Reference Publications, 1961-1999.

Materials within each series are arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Bibliography:

Bugos, Glenn E. Atmosphere of freedom: sixty years at the NASA Ames Research Center. Washington, D.C.: NASA SP4314, 2000.

Bugos, Glenn E. “NASA’s 50 Year Men and Women: Buzz Slye” in NASA: 50 Years of Exploration and Discovery. NASA, 2008.

NASA Ames History Office, NASA Ames Research Center. Moffett Field, California. AFS1030.39A, Ames Astrogram Collection. 1958-2008.

NASA Ames History Office, NASA Ames Research Center. Moffett Field, California. AFS1070.8A, Archives Reference Collection. Telephone Directories. 1962-2003.

Indexed terms

Subjects:: Launch vehicles (Astronautics)
Trajectory optimization
Payloads (Aerospace engineering)
Computer engineering--Data processing
Remote sensing.
Remote-sensing images
Landsat satellites.
Image analysis.
Image processing.
Ecosystem management--Research.
Feasibility studies
Cost analysis

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:: Guide prepared by Laura Williams
Date Encoded:: Machine-readable finding aid created by Laura Williams. Machine-readable finding aid derived from MS Word. Date of source: November 2009.

Access and use

Restrictions:: Collection is open for research.
Terms of access:: Copyright does not apply to United States government records. For non-government material, researcher must contact the original creator.