JACK LOUSMA | Official Site

Biographical Information Summary
Col. Jack R. Lousma, USMC (Ret.)

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science, Aeronautical Engineering, University of Michigan, 1959
Engineer's Degree, Aeronautical Engineering, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, 1965

EMPLOYMENT

President, CEO, and Chairman, Diamond General Development Corporation, 1998-2003
President & COO, Diamond General Development Corporation, 1996-98
Vice President of Marketing and Sales, AeroSport, Inc, 1993-1994
President & CEO, Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network, 1989-93
President, Michigan Columbia Corporation, 1985-Present
Candidate, General Election, United States Senate, Michigan, 1984
Astronaut, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1966-83
Officer / Aviator, United States Marine Corps, 1959-83

SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE

1991-2003: Diamond General Development Corporation (DGDC); Chairman/CEO (1998)
President/COO (1996), Independent Consultant (1994).

Chairman, President, and CEO of DGDC, a startup company that developed, manufactured, and sold an innovative electronic dental instrument based on technology for early diagnosis of periodontal disease, a serious oral health problem leading to elevated risks for life-threatening medical illnesses. I established DGSC's financial, administrative, and operations infrastructure, organized shareholder relations and Board functions, and led a team that developed and commercialized the Diamond Probe on budget and on schedule. I also authored business plans to solicit equity investments, prepared and presented briefings to potential investors, obtained U.S. FDA and foreign regulatory approvals, set up manufacturing, production and quality management processes, established distribution channels and implemented the marketing and sales programs.

1993-1994: Chairman of the Board and VP of Marketing and Sales of AeroSport, Inc.

I was one of three founders of a start-up company to develop an innovative product for the medical, health and fitness markets. I assumed lead or collaborative roles in strategic planning, business plan development, proposal preparation and acquisition of R&D funds, product trade show introduction, and initiation of marking, sales and FDA regulatory approval activities. Aerosport was profitably sold to a medical device company in 2000. As a director, I refused the purchase offer recommendation by management and personally negotiated a 25% increase in the sale price directly with the acquirer.

1989-1993 Founding President and Chief Executive Officer of the Consortium for International Earth Science Information network (CIESIN)

CIESIN is a not-for-profit consortium comprised of several research universities and other R&D institutions. It was tasked by NASA and several other Federal Agencies to devise and implement a new type of data center of worldwide electronic acquisition, integration, and access to satellite data, scientific databases, and applied research findings to understand environmental issues for both informed decision-making prior to committing major resources to resolving the issues and for improved environmental policy-making, resource management, and education. As founding President, I was responsible for building the team, articulating the vision, defining goals and objectives, implementing strategy and tactics, budgeting and allocating funds, and project management. I also coordinated with and presented briefings to CIESIN's Board of Trustees, U.S. Senate and House members and staffs, Federal Agencies, potential new partners, and other U.S. and international stakeholders and organizations. In my final year, I was responsible for a $32MM budget. In three years, CIESIN was officially connected and actively engaged with the most prestigious national and international organizations in the field, and it was augmented by NASA as a data and information center into its Earth Observing System. CIESIN is a leader in its field and received several awards and high acclaim in information technology services. It handles more data requests than NASA's seven other centers combined. I recruited my replacement and resigned voluntarily to pursue several emerging opportunities in starting small for-profit, high technology companies.

1985-2014 President of Michigan Columbia Corporation (MC2).

I formed MC2 for self-employment and became an Independent Contractor to several companies, one of which was the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM). I was assigned management and technical assistance roles in national defense, intelligent weapons, NASA projects, a neutron beam sensor to detect explosives and narcotics in concealed containers, and other ERIM R&D projects. These projects were of interest to the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), U.S. Customs, Sandia National Laboratory, and U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army. I arranged meetings with ERIM, and I prepared and presented briefings to various elements of those organizations.
I also performed technical consulting for several major aerospace firms engaged in manned space projects including Space Shuttle, Space Station, emergency crew return capsule, U.S. Army man-in-space, lunar base studies, Lunar/Mar missions planning and Hermes Spaceplane for the European Space Agency. I developed and instructed an astronaut training course in Germany on Space Shuttle Spacelab operations for new astronauts of DFVLR (former West German space agency).

1984: United States Senate Candidate in Michigan

I won the Primary Election as a Michigan candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1984 but was defeated by the incumbent in the General Election (margin < 5%).

1966-1983: Selected as One of 19 Astronauts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1966.

1966-1971: Member of the astronaut support crews for the Apollo 9, 10, and 13 missions, primarily in Lunar Module test and checkout and Mission Control operations. Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) when the Apollo 13 explosion occurred enroute to the Moon. Supported Apollo Applications Program projects and development of lunar surface science experiments, lunar rover, and Skylab Space Station.
1971-1973: Pilot on the Skylab 3 mission lasting 59.5 days, July 28-September 25, 1973, an endurance record at the time. Performed experimental studies in solar physics, earth resources, medical response to zero-g, astronomy, materials technologies, and others. This spaceflight accomplished 150% of its mission goals while completing 858 revolutions of the earth and traveling some 24,400,000 miles in earth orbit. Also spent 11 hours and 2 minutes on two separate spacewalks outside the Skylab Space Station to make extensive repairs to the space station and to resupply the solar telescopes.
1973-1975: Backup Docking Module Pilot of the U.S. flight crew for the 1975 Apollo Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) mission, a joint spaceflight with the Soviet Union. Trained with cosmonauts in the U.S. and USSR for several months and acquired a modest fluency in conversational Russian language.
1975-1980: Represented the Astronaut Office in numerous assignments during design, development, test, and evaluation of Space Shuttle hardware and software. Trained one year on a mission to rescue the Skylab Space Station with the Space Shuttle. It was cancelled due to schedule incompatibility.
1980-1982: Commander of the third orbital test flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia, March 22-30, 1982. Major flight test accomplishments included exposing the Columbia to extremes in thermal stress, first use of the 50-foot remote manipulator arm to maneuver payloads in space and performance of 15 scientific experiments. Made first and only Shuttle landing on the lakebed at White Sands, NM.
1982-1983: Performed typical STS-3 post flight activities in the U.S. and internationally, represented the Astronaut Office in space shuttle development roles and participated in early Space Station planning. Resigned as a NASA astronaut in Nov. 1983, while in early training for a third spaceflight.

1959-1983: Officer and Pilot, United States Marine Corps.

1959-1963: Commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. after graduation from the University of Michigan in 1959. Received pilot wings in 1960 at the U.S. Naval Air Training Command. Assigned to a jet attack squadron and was trained in close air support with conventional weapons and in delivery of nuclear weapons. Also deployed on extended duty in the Far East and Caribbean region. Collateral squadron duties were focused on aircraft maintenance and repair.
1963-1965: Assigned to the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School earning an Engineer's Degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Thesis: Experimental validation of theoretically-derived propellent burning-rate equations for hybrid rockets. Required construction of hybrid-rockets fuel propellent elements and rocket test stand and equipment. Conducted 35 rocket test firings to acquire data.
1965-1966: Assigned to a jet squadron flying both photographic reconnaissance and electronic countermeasures aircraft in the U.S. and Caribbean. Collateral duties in aircraft maintenance.
1966-1983: Assigned as NASA Astronaut at Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. Retired as a Colonel from the U.S. Marine Corps in November, 1983, after nearly 25 years of active duty.

Flying Experience: Logged 7,100 hours of flight time, including 1,620 hours in two spaceflights, 4,400 in jet fighter-type aircraft, 250 in helicopters, 700 in a Cessna 310R, and 125 in single-engine prop aircraft.

SPECIAL HONORS

Distinguished Service Medals. Department of Defense, U.S. Navy, NASA (2).
Collier Trophy, Goddard Memorial Trophy, NASA Space Medal.
Marine Corps Aviation Association Exceptional Achievement Award
Honorary Doctorates:
Aeronautical Science, The University of Michigan, 1973
Science, Hope College, 1982
Science, Business Administration, Cleary College, 1986.
NCAA Silver Anniversary Award (University of Michigan), City of Chicago Gold Medal.
Federation Aeronatique Internationale's V.M Komarov Diploma (2) for spaceflight records.
Inducted into 3 Halls of Fame: International Space; U.S. Astronauts: andMichigan Aviation.
Alumni Society Merit Award: University of Michigan Department of Aerospace Engineering, 2001.
Lifetime Achievement Award, Michigan Business Aviation Assn, 2016

OTHER AFFILIATIONS

Adjunct Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, The University of Michigan, 1985-1996.
Director, Republic Bank Ann Arbor, 1987-1993; and Republic Bank, 1993-2002. (NASDAQ/RBNC).
Director, Newcor, Inc. Manufacturer of precision-machined parts, molded rubber & plastic parts, and automated welding & assembly line systems for the automotive and aerospace markets, 1991-2001.
Member, President's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament, 1989-1993.
Director, AvtekAir, Inc. Developer of a composite, general aviation twin-turboprop, 1994-2006.
Director, Association of Space Explorers, U.S. Chapter, 1994-1997.
Member, Selection Committee, FXB International Aerospace Prize ($250,000), 1994-2002.
Director, Aerosport, Inc. 1993-2000.
Director, Diamond General Development Corporation, 1994-2003.
Licensed Agent, Property and Casuality Insurance (Aviation), State of Michigan, 2003.
Director, Michigan Business Aviation Association, 2004-2014.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Jack Lousma and his wife Gratia Kay, were married in 1956. They have four children and sixteen grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. They reside in Kerrville, Texas and are active in church and community affairs.