Fred Martino interviews Dr. Patricia (Pat) Hynes, who has served as director of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium (NMSGC) since 1998. They discuss the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight, which will be held at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces on October 15 and 16. Registration and the agenda can be viewed online at www.ispcs.com
In 2007, Hynes was appointed director of NASA's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive l Space GraResearch (EPSCoR) program. Both programs under her leadership are headquartered at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The NMSGC is a member of the congressionally funded National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program which is administered by NASA. NMSGC programs are statewide and include all three research universities in New Mexico. EPSCoR supports aerospace research throughout New Mexico. Technical areas include but are not limited to low-earth orbit vehicle and testing programs, micro-gravity research, deep space exploration and sensor networks. Other technical areas are radio astronomical observation, solar observation, and space communications. The EPSCoR program is focused on enabling the growth of competitive research programs that stimulate economic growth in New Mexico. In 2005 Dr. Hynes co-founded and has served as chair of the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight, another strategic effort to engage the research universities in this growing business. Held each October in Las Cruces, ISPCS is now the industry's leading venue for the visionaries and builders delivering the promise of spaceflight for mankind. The annual Symposium features informative sessions, networking opportunities and provides attendees with the latest news, trends, best practices, and case studies that foster and help bring personal and commercial spaceflight to reality. Dr. Hynes also founded and serves as Executive Director of the Space Development Foundation, whose mission is to support summer internships for students from across the globe in businesses related to personal and commercial spaceflight In 1991, as Director of the Center for Aerospace Science, Technology and Education (CASTE), Dr. Hynes began her long involvement in what is now Spaceport America. The Center was established early in the state's spaceport development efforts as a focal point for research and education related to inland spaceport development. That effort culminated in January 2009 when the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) received its vertical launch license from the Federal Aviation Administration's Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation. The license represents a critical step to moving forward with Spaceport America, the nation's first purpose-built commercial spaceport. Dr. Hynes is a graduate of New Mexico State University where she earned a Ph.D. in Business Administration, an M.S. in Higher Education Management and a B.S. in English. She currently serves as a NMSU Development Officer and Chair of the NMSU Leadership Institute. At the behest of the NMSU president she also headed a planning committee that lead to the establishment in 2003 of the prestigious NMSU Teaching Academy. Dr. Hynes has been actively involved in numerous industry and public affairs leadership roles. She is a member of the President's Commission on the Status of Women and also a member of the Board of the National Space Grant Alliance, an organization that advances the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. From 2002 to 2004 she served on the Executive Committee of that organization, charged with enabling the coordination of 52 Space Grant programs across the nation. Since 2006 Dr. Hynes has also served as Treasurer of the National Space Grant Foundation.