Protected: 2024 Blue Marble Awards

The NASA Environment and Energy Award Program recognizes NASA civil service employees and contractors who demonstrate environmental leadership while carrying out NASA’s mission. Approved as an official NASA awards program in 2005, the first call for nominations was made in 2006.

These honorary, non-monetary awards are referred to as the Blue Marble Awards. This NASA awards program contributes to NASA’s mission by raising internal awareness of the important role employees and contractors play in enabling environmentally sound mission success and mitigating environmental risk, and by enabling NASA to increase participation in and gain wider recognition of NASA achievements through prestigious external environment and energy award programs.

The NASA Blue Marble Awards are divided into five categories:

• Category I: NASA Environmental Quality Award This award recognizes individual or team accomplishments made in “Greening the Government,” environmental management, conservation, environmental remediation, or environmental communication.
• Category II: NASA Award for Excellence in Resilience or Climate Change Adaptation The award recognizes individual or team accomplishments made in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, facilitating the transition to clean power, or strengthening resilience to climate change including efforts related to master planning and other green practices.
• Category III: NASA Excellence in Energy and Water Management Award This award recognizes individual or team accomplishments made in energy efficiency, water conservation, or renewable energy.
• Category IV: NASA Excellence in Site Remediation Award This award recognizes individual or team accomplishments made for innovation in remediation, stakeholder partnership, strategies in remediation, exposure risk reduction, beneficial reuse, and expediting remediation.
• Category V: NASA Environmental Management Division (EMD) Director’s Environment and Energy Award This award is selected and presented by the EMD Director to recognize exceptional leadership by an individual or team to assist the Agency in enabling environmentally sound mission success.

EMD manages the Blue Marble Award Program on behalf of the Headquarters (HQ) Office of Strategic Infrastructure (OSI). This management included the formation of the 2024 Selection Committee. The judges represent directorates and others familiar with the work of EMD. The judges used five factors to review and rank each nomination. The ranking included five equally weighted factors, assigned a value from 0 to 20 points, for a maximum of 100 points. The five factors are:

1. Impact to Mission
2. Scope of Impact
3. Scalability/Extensibility
4. Ingenuity/Creativity/Leadership
5. Teamwork/Collaboration

Award Recipient: Glenn Research Center (GRC) Property Reutilization Team

Recognized for demonstrated teamwork and ingenuity in reutilization of excessed property and reduced waste as part of the GRC Property Reutilization Team.

Award Recipient: Gail Grafton

Recognized for leadership in reviewing, assessing, and mitigating environmental risks of mission-critical chemicals.

Award Recipient: Disaster Response Coordination System (DRCS) Team

Recognized for outstanding contribution to science-based disaster response and resiliency planning as part of the DRCS.

Award Recipient: Climate Adaptation Science Investigators (CASI) Work Group Initiative

Recognized for excellence in enhancing climate resilience at NASA through science-based data as part of the CASI.

Award Recipient: Design and Construction of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-Certified GRC Buildings

Recognized for excellence in design, construction, and LEED certification of Glenn Research Center (GRC) Buildings 330 and 164.

Award Recipient: Quentin Hibbs (Kennedy Space Center [KSC])

Recognized for dedication and expertise in advancing the KSC’s energy and water conservation efforts.

Award Recipient: Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Launch Complex 34 (LC-34)

Remediation Team Recognized for exemplary work in innovation, leadership, and site remediation at KSC’s LC-34.

Award Recipient: Goddard Space Flight Center’s (GSFC) Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Management Team

Recognized for outstanding collaborative management of infrastructure modernization and PFAS remediation at GSFC.

Award Recipient: John P. Herrmann (Johnson Space Center [JSC])

Recognized for exceptional dedication resulting in a “No Further Action” designation for the JSC Legacy Remediation Program.

Award Recipient: Farley Davis (Marshall Space Flight Center [MSFC])

Recognized for exceptional leadership and outstanding commitment above and beyond individual job responsibilities, to assist MSFC and the Agency in enabling environmentally sound mission success.

To learn more about each individual award, please download the 2024 Blue Marble Award brochure or visit the Blue Marble Award webpage.