Ascension—Life Lessons from the Space Shuttle Columbia accident for Engineers, Managers and Leaders (Published on September 16, 2025) 

 

This book is part memoir, part historical accounting, and part advice for engineers, managers, and leaders, stemming from my experiences with the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. I was at the center of gravity of it all, serving as the Mission Operations representative to the Orbiter Project Office—from the day of the accident in 2003, to recovery operations, the entire mishap investigation, and finally over a year of Return to Flight activities leading up to the launch of Space Shuttle Discovery in 2005. In this role I was afforded front row seats to the events, meetings, and NASA leaders during a critical period in the agency’s history.

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The “Ascension” title lends itself thematically to multiple elements of these historical events: the basic fact that Space Shuttles ascends to space, to the things we learned as an agency from the tragedy and improvements we made, and even to a phoenix-like quality of recovery from the depths of failure.

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Personally, the loss of Columbia and, more importantly, her crew, left an indelible mark on me that I'll carry for the rest of my life. This emotional scaring made me stronger, perhaps, but at a high price. This is that story.

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As for current status, all peer reviews for the book have been completed and the book is now in the hands of the NASA History Office. Once a copy editor is onboard, a production timeline will  be generated to include the editing, formatting, cover art and production (digital and hard copy) schedule details. (I was wistfully hoping that all of that work could be completed by the anniversary of the accident (February 1st), but that’s not realistic. The estimate for publication and release is late-Spring 2025). Once published, a digital version of the book will be made free to the public

Lastly, the books is to be dedicated to my University of Texas at Austin graduate advisor, Dr. Wallace T. Fowler, with whom I really began my journey which took me to NASA. Dr. Fowler is the Professor Emeritus of the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at UT and has had more credit for launching dozens of careers than his humility probably allows him to admit. Dedicating this book to him is the least I could do for such a remarkable and impactful teacher who prioritized his students over all else.

 

 

The Calculus of Consciousness  (Published on August 1st, 2025).

 

The Calculus of Consciousness—my third novel-- is the story of one man’s pursuit to reveal the mysteries of the cosmos, only to discover that the most powerful force in the universe is, in fact, love.

Otan Parsec is a young professor of physics on the distant planet of Zell. Surrounded by the luminaries of the physics world, Otan yearns to make a major discovery of his own. Working with his younger but alluring graduate assistant—Eilie Tolkhamm—Otan endeavors to establish that consciousness is not just a conception of the Zellian brain but is a physical force of the universe. Unfortunately, Otan only has a hypothesis and lacks hard proof, which activates the ire of the Determinia—the quasi-priestly organization that dogmatically administers the university. The Determinia demand that Otan either reveal scientific evidence that substantiates his hypothesis or terminate the research. But Otan is convinced his supposition is true and his passion for the idea compels him to continue.

Further complicating his situation, Otan has fallen deeply in love with Eilie, but the impropriety of their student-faculty relationship has long prevented him from revealing this fact to her.

Into their lives walks Salan, a mysterious man who offers Otan his assistance in further developing a consciousness thesis. Salan is vague about his background, which raises the suspicions of Eilie. Ever protective of Otan, she is convinced Salan is hiding something. But the man’s scientific acumen is solid and Otan accepts his help, eager to further the consciousness work.
Set against the backdrop of pending war between Otan’s country of Hollum and the planet’s other island nation—Boria, the country of Eilie’s birth—the three cooperate to advance a theory of consciousness amid the challenges of Eilie’s distrust of Salan and the Determinia’s persistent attempts to shut down their research.

When war finally breaks out between Hollum and Boria, Eilie is arrested by Hollumian authorities and deported. Anxious to rescue the woman he loves, Otan and Salan clandestinely travel to Boria, risking being discovered and arrested as spies. But once in Boria, Otan and Salan become ensnared in the enemy’s own research into a theory of physical consciousness, with the intent of using this knowledge as a weapon against Hollum.

Interlaced with stories from Zellian mythology that converge in a gripping ending, The Calculus of Consciousness is a tale of one man’s passionate quest for knowledge in the face of the intransigence of orthodoxy, as well as a journey of self-discovery that what truly matters is the love we share.