NASA Team Honored For Assisting Chilean Miner Rescue

[NASA News <hqnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sept. 15, 2011

Joshua Buck 
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-1100 
jbuck@xxxxxxxx   


RELEASE: 11-302

NASA TEAM HONORED FOR ASSISTING CHILEAN MINER RESCUE

WASHINGTON -- The NASA team, who provided medical, survival and 
engineering expertise to help the miners trapped underground in Chile 
last year, received the National Security and International Affairs 
Medal from the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service. 

The team -- led by Michael Duncan, former deputy chief medical officer 
at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston -- was recognized at the 
Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, or Sammies, gala in 
Washington on Thursday. 

"We are very proud of the NASA team for its contribution that earned 
this prestigious award," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "The 
help provided to the Chilean government is a testament to the 
research and technology development we do at NASA. This was a 
practical example of how science and engineering for the space 
program has direct benefits to people on Earth." 

After the Chilean government requested technical advice in August 
2010, the NASA team spent three days at the rescue site in Copiapo, 
Chile. Duncan was joined by J.D. Polk, also a medical doctor, Albert 
Holland, and Clinton Cragg. Duncan works in the Office of 
International and Interagency Relations at NASA Headquarters in 
Washington. Polk is the chief of the Space Medicine Division at 
Johnson. 

Holland is a senior operational psychologist with the NASA Behavioral 
Health and Performance Group at Johnson. Cragg is a principal 
engineer in the NASA Engineering and Safety Center located at the 
agency's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. 

More than 400 nominations were submitted for the 2011 medals. A 
committee of leaders in government, academia, the private sector, 
media and philanthropy selected the winners. The gala was hosted by 
Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and moderator 
of "Face the Nation." 

For more information about NASA's participation in the mine rescue, 
visit: 


http://www.nasa.gov/news/chile_assistance.html 


For more information about Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, 
visit: 


http://www.servicetoamericamedals.org   

	
-end-



To subscribe to the list, send a message to: 
hqnews-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To remove your address from the list, send a message to:
hqnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx