News Article

Womble Carlyle member and former Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Aeronautic and Space Agency (NASA) in March for his commitment to strengthening the U.S. space program over his twenty years in public office. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin presented Governor Ehrlich with the award at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"NASA embodies America’s relentless pursuit of discovery," said Governor Ehrlich. "I am honored to have worked with the agency as a U.S. Congressman and as Governor to advance their cause in Maryland, across the globe, and beyond. We at Womble Carlyle recognize that science and technology are the foundations of American competitiveness in the 21st Century. On behalf of the entire Womble Carlyle team, I salute the men and women at NASA for their service to the country."

RLE NASA HIGHLIGHTS:

• Governor Ehrlich and Virginia Governor Warner in 2004 announced the creation of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport – or MARS – at Wallops Island. MARS is jointly managed between Maryland and Virginia with NASA assistance and dramatically strengthens the hi-tech and nanotech capabilities on the Eastern Shore. The partnership will also attract more companies, researchers and government contracts to the site on the Delmarva coast.

• Governor Ehrlich partnered with local officials in 2005 to install a fiber optic loop connecting NASA’s Wallops Island Space Facility to the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in St. Mary’s County.

• The Ehrlich Administration partnered with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center to attract hi-tech companies to Maryland with skills and services tailored specifically to NASA’s needs.

• Governor Ehrlich and NASA’s Michael Griffin both attended the ground breaking of the Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building at the University of Maryland College Park, which will focus on engineering, nanotech, and other research that is so critical to NASA.

• The Ehrlich Administration provided seed funding through Maryland’s Technology Development Corporation, or TEDCO, to Maryland companies working with NASA.

• Then-Congressman Ehrlich partnered with Senator Mikulski to block the closure of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, thereby protecting more than 1,000 Maryland jobs.