In its first century and counting, NASA Langley Research Center [LaRC] has had a remarkable history that has stood out not only for the many outstanding achievements in flight and space exploration but the people who made it happen. "If there were a list of 100 people who contributed the most the progress in the world of flight, I believe Langley would provide the most names. Without question," observed astronaut, aeronautical engineer and the first man to walk on the Moon, Neil Alden Armstrong (1930 - 2012) on LaRC's nineteenth anniversary, "many of the giants of aero research spent their careers here, and many others, who learned their craft here, went on to lead other research efforts at other governments labs in the industry. Langley has been a powerhouse of creative thinking." With a centennial theme of "inventing the future," NASA LaRC is poised to enter its second century of ingenuity and invention with a wealth of pending and proposed research, and near-term prognostication may prove a bit easier.
