[In-depth interview]Helping make space safe for exploration
Jaiwon Shin
It usually takes from 25 to 30 years for an American to reach this position, but Shin made it in 19 years.
“More than anything else, I think integrity is key because the word includes all the elements of honesty, diligence and consistency in a work ethic,” he said in a recent interview. “I want to focus on safety in space flight during my time here and lead other scientists together with engineers in the best quality research possible.”
Shin graduated from Yonsei University in 1982 and went to the University of California, Long Beach for a master’s degree.
He received his doctorate at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He was deputy associate administrator in NASA for three and a half years before getting this promotion.
Q. You have been appointed to an important position. What exactly are your responsibilities?
A.There are four major groups in NASA ― aeronautics research, exploration systems, science and space operations. While space operations is responsible for making spaceships and rockets as well as actual space exploration, the aeronautics research group isn’t involved in making aircraft.
The content of our research is about the future of space exploration and traffic. As more vehicles are sent to space, it is one of NASA’s duties to make the environment safer for space traffic.
You have received many awards. Tell me about work you’ve done that is especially memorable.
In the winter of 1994, an American Eagle aircraft crashed in Chicago and 70 people died. Researchers came together to figure out what went wrong and I was there as well, sent from NASA.
After some work, we discovered that the company responsible for the aircraft had neglected putting in proper anti-freezing parts on the wings in order to save money. After our research and announcement that the lack of anti-freezing equipment had caused the accident, the United States became stricter on this issue and after that, no similar accidents have happened.
It was a senseless accident; if the company had thought about the safety of their customers, it would never have happened.
What made you decide to work for NASA?
In 1969, when I was in grade school, I saw Apollo 11 land on the moon on television. At the time, I didn’t know what NASA was but I remember thinking, “Wow, the human race is doing something so amazing.” After college I went to the United States to study hydromechanics and got my master’s and doctorate degrees. While studying hydromechanics, I ran across a lot of research material from NASA and so after I got my doctorate, I didn’t hesitate to apply for a position at NASA.
Was being Asian an obstacle for you to get a position at NASA?
In 1989, when I applied for NASA, I also got a call from Glen Research Center, an affiliate of NASA. They said that if I wanted to be a civil servant in the United States, I needed citizenship. But at the time, I didn’t have it and it is nearly impossible to obtain citizenship here in a mere four or five months. My wife went to the Virginia Congress many times and pleaded with them to give me citizenship. A staff member there saw how passionate she was and called a congressman and we were able to obtain citizenship.
I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my wife.
Shin went to the United States in 1982. One of the two things he struggled with, at first, was English. “I had difficulty learning English but also experienced culture shock trying to adjust to life in the States,” he said. He confessed to taking up to an hour just to open a bank account. “The steps required in an American bank to open an account are different from Korea. I also had difficulty with finance-related language.”
During the time he was studying for his master’s degree, he spent sleepless nights because he didn’t know how to use a personal computer. “In Korea at the time, there were only several large computers at school and I didn’t know how to use them. I asked around a lot but still struggled with doing homework on the computer.”
He also worked at a supermarket for six months to pay the rent. “At first, my job was to mop the floor. After a while, when I was comfortable enough on the job, they let me organize the counter and then eventually, I was able to work behind the counter. I remember thinking that it wasn’t easy being behind the counter in America.
You must have had difficulty at first at NASA as well.
When I first went to Glen Research Center, my supervisor gave me a lot of stress.
When we were discussing a photograph of someone’s hand, he asked if it was mine because, in his words, he thought he saw soy sauce on the fingers. He was very racist. I responded in broken English, “You needn’t say that.” After that, he acted nice to me. I think he thought I was humble. I learned a lot from those experiences.
It must have been hard as an Asian to get to such a position at NASA.
There was this notion about Asians, that although they are competent, they only care about their work and nothing else. I think many Asians at NASA had a defeatist attitude and thought that they would never be hired for a top position. I just wanted to be the best at what I do and worked hard to pass the tests and wrote many papers. In the end, the work paid off and the people at the top saw how dedicated I was to this job.
In Korea, why is there reluctance among students to enter engineering studies?
I think that is because they think that it is difficult to get a job afterwards but I think the government and companies together should work on solving this problem.
The government should look toward the future and try to figure out a solution. Companies should also do the same and invest in schools and students.
I think Koreans are extremely diligent and smart, so if we put our minds to it, I believe we can be on top of any field.
By Lee Sang-il JoongAng Ilbo [jainnie@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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