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the Marshall Space Flight Center is

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known as a repulsion Center but it also

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has made many contributions in science

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we're here to talk with a man who spent

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30 years here in science dr. Don Fraser

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thanks very much for taking the time to

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talk to us today thank you let's start

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back when you were small boy growing up

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in Detroit how did you discover that you

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wanted it to become involved in science

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if I saw a picture of someone from NASA

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I had utmost respect for that person

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because that was one of the people that

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John Glenn and others like him depended

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on and I said this is this has got to be

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a first-rate organization and so I

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wanted to be a part of it one of the

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things that I think we've contributed

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here from NASA is the ability to grow

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really good crystals some of these

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crystals are important and such things

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as infrared detectors for example you

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know you want a certain degree of

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perfection I mentioned earlier the

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possibility of nonlinear optics as a

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futuristic way of doing computing for

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example we have demonstrated that in the

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past protein crystal growth that was a

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biggie back in the microgravity days

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where you can grow a perfect crystal

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protein you can do x-ray diffraction on

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that perfect crystal and sometimes you

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can do some pharmaceutical type how does

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aspirin work for example and so that was

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a biggie protein crystal growth that was

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a big deal back during the microgravity

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days that that there was a lot of

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accomplishment of their divergent Luke

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astounded UAB did quite a bit of work in

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that area and others not just in the

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production of certain types of aerogels

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for example in microgravity or zeolites

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people have used it for purification of

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atmosphere I'm talking about

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microgravity related things but there

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are other things that are non

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microgravity related that NASA of course

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from the propulsion standpoint have been

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very instrumental in developing NASA is

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not just this side of the you know

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there's also the telescope's as the

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optics you know this Chandra you know

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there's our ability to look out at the

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edge of the universe near the edge of

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the universe back in time there near the

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creation you know we've done so many

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things that's difficult to compare

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what's more important than others we're

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getting more into earth scientists where

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we're looking at moving detectors on

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platform moving platforms and

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determining melting of ice how fast that

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rate is and this has a lot to do with

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our current focus on climate control and

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climate conditions and that sort of

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thing so all of these things are

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probably not comparable to each other

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but all are extremely important if not

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to our existence certainly to our

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knowledge of the universe that we live

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in computing optical computing and

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quantum computing and these sort of

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things that that nASA has played a role

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is playing a role in helping to develop

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flexible electronics you know the fact

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that not we'll be able to print circuits

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and photovoltaics on paper and very

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light low-mass your NASA's very

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interesting low-mass and I efficiency

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devices we can print a way of collecting

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energy from the Sun and storing it and

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printing the storage medium and printing

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light-emitting diodes on a piece of

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paper which is what we're working on now

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is some of the stuff I'm working on

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right now that's going to have a huge

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impact on my own personal view and the

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nation dr. Fraiser thanks very much for

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your time today well I thank you for

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taking the time with me this has been

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nice to talk about and it's not just

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work anymore it's fun Bonnie it was so

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gracious of you to have us in your home

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today can you tell us what it was like

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first of all working at Redstone and

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then tell me what the first meeting was

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like well he was so friendly so cordial

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he was just uh I felt like I had known

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him he was a he was very nice man you

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really became his right-hand lady right

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well a lot of people call me that he

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what was your role with my role well the

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secretary flunky whatever there were so

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many things to do and he was a very busy

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man of course and was in conferences all

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day I would have by the time he'd come

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from the meeting I'd have his briefcase

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packed with reading material and then we

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would go through the stack on his desk i

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had it prioritized and he always took

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his briefcase home with him and the next

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morning when he came in he would turn it

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upside down dump it on my desk and say I

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did my homework he was kind of the

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absent-minded professor he would leave

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his umbrellas or he usually carried his

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pillow with him on every trip because he

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had to have it he said he couldn't sleep

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without his pillow and he'd leave it at

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the hotels I'd have to find somebody who

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was on trowel in Washington or wherever

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he had been to go get his pillow and

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bring it when they come back to Marshall

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so he decides to switch you from the

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army or move everyone from the army to

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NASA and President Eisenhower comes to

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Marshall tell me about that you got to

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escort him right yes I did they had an

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outdoor stage and I got to escort

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President Eisenhower to the stage dr.

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von Braun escorted mrs. Marshall and

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that's when he named us official at the

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george c marshall space flight center

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which now is just goes by Marshall Space

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Flight Center but it was in honor of the

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late general george c marshall so what

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did he say to you once his rocket made

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it to the moon well he went from the

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cape to houston to Mission Control of

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course to watch the mission and he

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stayed through the lunar landing and and

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so I didn't see him

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talk to him during that period until he

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got back to the office and he came in

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with a big grin on his face and said

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mission accomplished went straight to

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his desk then back to work back to work

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when I was his desk was full Harvard

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Bonnie it was so sweet of you let us

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come see you today we are so

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appreciative thanks a lot my pleasure my

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pleasure morreion was really exciting to

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meet so many people instrumental to the

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success of this Center very humbling and

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inspiring a great group of people and a