NASA Ames honours four staff members as Science Stars of the Month for May 2026
Four researchers and project managers at the NASA Ames Science Directorate have been recognised for their outstanding contributions to the agency's mission, ranging from enhancing optical constants databases to simplifying task management for key contracts.
The NASA Ames Science Directorate has officially recognised four staff members as the Science Stars of the Month for May 2026. The honourees were selected for their outstanding contributions to the agency's mission, which represent the entrepreneurial spirit, technical expertise, and collaborative disposition required for exploration.
Lora Jovanavić was honoured for her major role in significantly increasing the number of experimental optical constant datasets available on the Optical Constants Database. Her work expanded the resource from 297 to 533 datasets, providing critical input parameters for models used to interpret observational data returned from space missions such as SPHEREx, Cassini, New Horizons, and Juno.
Tammy Moore received recognition for her leadership through major changes in budget guidelines and processes. As the Space Biosciences Division's Resource Analyst, she provided steady support to the whole division thanks to her expert knowledge and exceptional determination to help scientists and engineers navigate these shifts.
Frances Donovan was acknowledged for her boundless dedication and resourcefulness while serving as the Science Directorate's Contracting Officer's Representative for the FILMSS-2 task. Her work involved educating and supporting task requestors and inventing new approaches to significantly simplify task management.
Jaden Ta was recognised for her valuable contributions to the Earth Venture Suborbital FarmFlux investigation. As a deputy project manager in the Earth Science Project Office, she led the development of the project's Investigation Implementation Plan and played a strategic role in determining deployment locations for the research aircraft.
These recognitions underscore the diverse range of roles essential to the agency's success, from data analysis and resource management to project leadership and contract administration.
