Governor proclaims Monday as NASA Day in Arkansas

SEARCY — The Harding University Department of Engineering and Physics will host NASA Day at Harding on Monday, featuring NASA Chief Technologist Douglas Terrier, the highest-ranking NASA technology official and first NASA chief ever to visit Arkansas. In recognition of Terrier’s visit, Gov. Asa Hutchinson has proclaimed the date NASA Day in Arkansas.

During NASA Day at Harding, Terrier will hold meetings with and make a series of presentations to various groups, including area elementary, middle, junior high and high school students, as well as Harding students and faculty. More than 1,000 students from local schools will participate on campus. Along with student meetings about NASA programs, jobs and opportunities, Terrier will meet with representatives from the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium, which includes 17 four-year universities and colleges in Arkansas.

The day’s events will include the dedication of a plaque recognizing the NASA research conducted at the university from 1967 to the present. A special exhibit titled Harding and NASA: Through the Years will also display grant-funded research, beginning with astronaut physical fitness, of benefit to the first moon launch, to Harding’s membership in the Arkansas Space Grant Consortium and scientific and technology research that continues today.

The day will culminate with a 7 p.m. lecture by Terrier in Benson Auditorium titled Forward to the Moon: The NASA Artemis Program, which refers to NASA’s planned return to the moon, including landing the first American woman on the moon by 2024. NASA views the Artemis program as the next step toward the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the moon, laying the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy and eventually sending Americans to Mars.

The lecture is free and open to the public, and no ticket is required. Schools and organizations across the state are invited to recognize NASA Day and can access NASA-provided content and other information at harding.edu/nasaday.

As chief technologist, Terrier is the principal adviser and advocate on NASA technology policy and programs, helping plot the strategic direction of NASA’s space technology program.

Terrier earned a doctorate in aerospace engineering and a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas. He has completed the Carnegie Mellon Graduate School of Industrial Management Program with the Lockheed Martin Institute for Leadership Excellence, and earned the Lockheed Martin Outstanding Technical Achievement award on four occasions, several NASA Superior Technical Accomplishment awards and the NASA Leadership medal. Terrier also holds patents for his work in aerospace propulsion and has published multiple technical papers.