By Shana SagerThe Daily Northwestern
While Northwestern alumnus Dr. John Horack spent his years in Evanston attending Cubs games and playing “loud and not so good” music, he always kept his eyes on the stars.
In December 2006, Horack, Weinberg ’87, was named manager of the Science and Mission Systems Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. He also was appointed to the Senior Executive Service, which covers key positions across almost 75 federal agencies.
As Science and Mission Systems manager, Horack is responsible for the development and operation of about 65 science and engineering projects, including basic research – such as studies of the sun – and development of new hardware for use in space missions. Horack oversees about 250 civil servants and contractors.
Of his many accomplishments, Horack said his involvement in gamma ray astrophysics ranks as his most important contribution. Scientists used to define cosmic gamma ray bursts as explosions of moderate size within our galaxy, Horack said. But in the early 1990s, Horack and NASA researchers discovered that such bursts are more distant and emit more energy in 10 seconds than the sun puts out in its 10-billion-year lifetime.
“Cosmic gamma ray bursts are the most powerful explosions in the universe,” Horack said. “We were fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, to ask the right questions and to build the right piece of hardware.”
NU Physics and Astronomy Department Chairman Mel Ulmer worked with Horack on a satellite, which researchers then used to make the discovery. The two were involved with different telescopes on the satellite.
“The experiment that John Horack worked on pretty much sealed the argument that these things are not associated with our galaxy,” Ulmer said.
Because the explosions are so far away, scientists had to create super-energetic explosion models to explain how they are seen from earth. Follow-up research suggests that gamma ray bursts are even related to super-massive stars.
“We now know how to design experiments to track these explosions,” Ulmer said. “If they were within our galaxy, the observational technique would be totally different.”
With his new position, Horack is focused on the future. He said NASA needs to combine scientific research with human space flight, a process which could take up to 10 years.
“We have to take our robotic spacecrafts and the spacecrafts we fly with people and integrate them into a cohesive picture so we can explore with our minds and our bodies,” Horack said.
He added that NASA needs to begin exploring space outside of low-Earth orbit.
From an early age, Horack knew he wanted to work for the space program. His interest was apparent to those around him.
“He asked more questions about topics than other students did,” said Larry Russell, Horack’s high school physics and calculus teacher. “He always wanted to take things farther than just what we did in class.”
Reach Shana Sager at [email protected].
