Dr. Jack Kaye worked for NASA over 41 years as a researcher, program manager, and senior executive. For more than 25 years, he served as Associate Director for Research in NASA’s Earth Science Division, managing its research and analysis programs and providing enabling capabilities to support the division. He received numerous awards, including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and the NASA/USGS Pecora Award (Individual). He has a PhD in chemistry from Caltech, and a BA in chemistry from Adelphi University.

2025 NASA Symp

Chemistry, polymers, and space: 40 years of NASA Research

Polymers can play an important role in the space enterprise. The vantage point of space can be used to look at polymers through remote sensing. The environment of space (weightlessness, radiation and high energy atom impact) may provide ways to address the behavior of polymers, in conditions not easily available in the laboratory. Finally, polymers themselves may be used to enable space missions with their unique and demanding characteristics. In this talk, a review of the connection between polymers and space will be provided, taking into account the efforts of scientists and engineers from across NASA.

2022 NASA Symp

Space-based remote sensing is key to studying Earth, including human impact and its natural processes. Remote sensing techniques draw heavily on the tools and techniques of chemistry to provide information about the Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, biosphere, cryosphere, and lithosphere. When combined with observations and models, satellite data play a critical role in predicting Earth’s evolution for the benefit of society. This talk will cover how satellite remote sensing data are used to address these topics and lay the groundwork for sustainability.