NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, right, shares a laugh with U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., center and U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., prior to an event at the MathScience Innovation Center, Friday, Jan. 28, 2011, in Richmond, Va. Bolden later spoke to students from Albert Hill Middle School highlighting the importance of science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, as he shared his life experiences with the students. (Photo Credit:NASA/Paul E. Alers)

Alex Mather watches a congratulatory video from Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va, during an event to announce the official name of the Mars 2020 rover, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Va. The final selection of the new name, Perseverance, was made by Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, following a nationwide naming contest conducted in 2019 that drew more than 28,000 essays by K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory. The rover is currently at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida being prepared for launch this summer. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, right, counts down along with others as U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., readies to launch a paper rocket as U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., third right, looks on, Friday, Jan. 28, 2011, at the MathScience Innovation Center in Richmond, Va. Earlier, Bolden, spoke to students from Albert Hill Middle School where he highlighted the importance of science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, as he shared his life experiences with the students. (Photo Credit:NASA/Paul E. Alers)

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden speaks to students from Albert Hill Middle School during a visit to the MathScience Innovation Center, Friday, Jan. 28, 2011, in Richmond, Va., as U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., seated, look on. During his talk, Administrator Bolden highlighted the importance of science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, as he shared his life experiences with the students. (Photo Credit:NASA/Paul E. Alers)

January 23, 1941 groundbreaking ceremony at the NACA Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory: left to right (does not include two individuals obscured from view behind Maj. Brett and Dr. Lewis): • William R. Hopkins – Cleveland City Manager from 1924-1930, was personally responsible for planning and acquiring the land for the Cleveland Airport. The airport’s huge capacity for handling aircraft was one factor in selecting Cleveland for the site of the research center. The Cleveland Airport was renamed Cleveland Hopkins airport in his honor in 1951.
 • Major John Berry – Cleveland Airport Manager • Edward R. Sharp – GRC’s first director, serving from 1942 to his retirement in 1961. He came to Cleveland in 1941 as the construction manager for the new facility.
 • Frederick C. Crawford – President of Thompson Products, which became the Thompson-Ramo-Woolridge Corporation (TRW) in 1958. Crawford was, at the time, also president of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. He began in 1939 to campaign for Cleveland as the location for the new NACA facility.
 • Major George H. Brett – A Cleveland native, Brett served in WWI and was commanding officer at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio before becoming chief of the Army Air Corps.
 • Dr. Edward P. Warner – Acting chairman of the NACA.
 • Captain Sydney M. Kraus – Officer in charge of Navy procurement
 • Edward Blythin – Mayor of Cleveland
 • Dr. George Lewis – Director of Aeronautical Research for the NACA from 1924-1947, Lewis devoted his life to building a scientific basis for aeronautical engineering. The Cleveland laboratory was renamed the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in his honor in 1948. A description of the event, based on newspaper accounts and later NASA publications is as follows: On January 23, 1941, a brief groundbreaking ceremony at the site marked the start of construction. Dr. George W. Lewis, director of research for the NACA, loosened the soil with a