DR. JESCO VON PUTTKAMER
to be Honored as the 2008 Distinguished German-American of the Year™
WASHINGTON, DC (October 6, 2008) – Dr. Jesco von Puttkamer of NASA will be honored on December 6, 2008, by the German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA® as the Distinguished German-American of the Year™ for 2008. The 22nd Annual Distinguished German-American of the Year™ Awards and Fundraising Gala will be held on Saturday evening, December 6th, in Philadelphia, PA at the Cannstatter Volksfest Verein.
The “Distinguished German-American of the Year™ Award” provides recognition for outstanding leadership of Americans of German-speaking ancestry in business, the arts, education, science, politics and society. Prof. Dr. Dipl.-Ing Jesco Freiherr von Puttkamer has had an outstanding career as a pioneer and strong advocate for Human Space Flight. He joined the US Space Agency 46 years ago, shortly after its inception, and is presently a Program Manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC in the Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD).
Jesco von Puttkamer came to the US in mid-1962 at the personal invitation of Dr. Wernher von Braun after graduating with a Master’s Degree (Diploma) in Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering from the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) in Aachen, Germany, and joined Wernher von Braun’s NASA Rocket Team in Huntsville, Alabama. He became an engineer on the APOLLO Lunar Landing program starting his career as a member of the SATURN rocket development team at the Aero-Astrodynamics Laboratory. Thereafter, he became involved with the SKYLAB Space Station Program and early Space Shuttle development activities at NASA with increasing responsibilities in engineering and technical management. In 1974, he transferred to NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, to assume leadership in the Office of Manned Space Flight (OMSF) for conceiving, initiating, conducting and directing long-range studies of human exploration and development of near-Earth, lunar and interplanetary space.
He was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Philosophy by the University of Saarbrücken and the title of a Professor at the Technical High School in Aachen.
In 1997 – 98 von Puttkamer was the focal point at NASA Headquarters for the International Space Shuttle (ISS) program’s Phase I with Russia. Dr. von Puttkamer has received many Awards for his contributions to the SATURN V launch vehicle, APOLLO and SKYLAB Program, among others. In 2004 he received NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal and in 2007 a Distinguished NASA Honor Award for successful initiatives of advancing American-Russian cooperation in Space Flight. He has written and lectured extensively on Space Flight and related themes to worldwide audiences, is a widely-known spokesman on Space Flight on German TV screens, and is the author of a large number of books on the subject of Space Flight in German language as well as for many years the author/editor of the section on “Space Flight” in the scientific-technical “McGrawHill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology”. In the late 70’s, he was also a consultant to the Paramount film STAR TREK – The Motion Picture.
Dr. von Puttkamer was born September 22, 1933 in Leipzig. He came to the US in 1962 and became a US citizen in 1967. For his leadership in the Space Program and for his outstanding contributions to fostering German-American relations for many years, we are delighted to honor Prof. Dr. Dipl.-Ing Jesco von Puttkamer.
The German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA® (GAHF) was founded in 1977 and chartered in 1978 as the United German-American Committee of the USA, Inc. (UGAC), which is an independent, tax-exempt educational not-for-profit organization. We are working to establish the first national German-American Heritage Center of the USA™ in Washington, DC.
Tickets for the Gala will be $150 per person and includes a cocktail reception, dinner, and dancing. For more information, please contact our national headquarters or visit our website at www.gahfusa.org.