Speaker for April 2026 Meeting
April 14, 2026
Please join us on April 14, 2026, for our monthly LAA General Membership and Board Meetings. We are honored to welcome LAA’s own Rick Ross, who will talk about “Charlatans, Swindlers and Bilks.”
Rick Ross joined the NASA Langley team in 1986 as a contractor with Wyle Laboratories doing development and support of data acquisition systems for the National Transonic Facility (NTF), and later for other Langley wind tunnels and facilities. In 1997, Rick became a civil servant in Data Acquisition and Information Management Branch (DAIMB) within the Experimental Testing Technology Division.
In 2003, Rick joined the Mechanics and Durability Branch (MDB). Following a reorganization, he moved to the Mechanics of Structures and Materials Branch, which later became the Durability, Damage Tolerance, and Reliability Branch (DDTRB). While in DDTRB, Rick became an Associate Principal Investigator for the Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) project, then served as Project Scientist for the Vehicle Systems Safety Technologies (VSST) project.
In 2015, Rick transitioned to the Research Directorate (RD) as the Contracting Officer’s Representative for the National Institute for Aerospace (NIA). Rick concluded his career as the Senior Contracts Manager, overseeing all RD-led research contracts. Rick retired at the end of 2020 during the height of COVID-19. He now enjoys hobbies including photography, building projects, and taking classes at Virginia Peninsula Community College for personal enjoyment and continuing education.
