The (Illinois) Tooling and Manufacturing Association (TMA) Education Foundation held its first annual fund raising Gala Saturday evening, October 22, 2011. The featured guest speaker was former NASA astronaut Dr. John Grunsfeld, now Deputy Directory of the Space Telescope Science Institute.
The focus of the event is to perpetuate the TMA's ongoing efforts to grow the talent pool of qualified workers in skilled manufacturing through its Education Foundation (more info). The video below, "Changing Tomorrow" set the stage for the evening's events.
Dr. Grunsfeld began by touring Numerical Precision, a TMA member shop that had built the groundbreaking "mini power tool" used by Grunsfeld and others in the repair of the Hubble Telescope. Dialog within this impressive shop demonstrated Dr. Grunsfeld's appreciation for the skills required in the industry, as well as impressing all of us with his unique insights about the tools needed now and in the future to advance science.
In a private reception, Dr. Grunsfeld was both engaging and engaged, taking time for everyone, especially the younger attendees. My favorite photo from the event was Dr. Grunsfeld explaining the physics of orbiting objects to a curious high school student.
A crowd of approximately 200 watched and listened intently as Dr. Grunsfeld showed video and described the details of launch, space flight, and other experiences known only to a special few. Throughout, Grunsfeld emphasized the importance of the thousands of people who make a single flight possible, especially those of us in manufacturing.
After his presentation, the Wheeling High School metals class presented Dr. Grunsfeld with a "Freedom Cannon" they had built in metals class.
Use the menus above to select the appropriate galleries for additional photos from the event.
5-Axis Mill Designs
Link to video Intro