Mark Leon (1962 – April 2018) was a former civil servant with NASA Ames Research Center. His primary work was in education and communication systems.
Mark Leon | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962 |
| Died | April 2018 |
| Occupation(s) | electrical engineer, civil servant |
| Known for | MCing at many FIRST robotics competitions |
Early life
editMark Leon grew up in a rather rough East San Jose neighborhood, and graduated from James Lick High School in 1980. He originally began taking a slightly more academic route to life when he began hiding in the library from other high school students who were attempting to beat him up.[1]
He also attended San Jose State University[2] and won a silver medal in the 1985 Collegiate National Judo Championships.[1] He received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1986.[3]
Communications work
editIn the 1980s Leon was instrumental in establishing trans-Atlantic communication between American, French and English space agencies. In the 1990s he completed the first audio/video link to Antarctica. This was thought to be impossible at the time.[4]
Affiliation with FIRST Robotics
editFor many years Mark Leon worked as a Master of Ceremonies in many FIRST robotics competition events both on and off season. He was particularly well known for wearing a bright blue NASA coat and dying his hair the same color for these events and coined the phrase "Do the math, Save the world".[5][1] He was widely cited as an inspiration to many high school students to build robots and impacted many career choices. He is also credited with the existence of a large number of FRC teams.[6]
Robotics Alliance Project
editBeginning in 1998 Mark moved to the Robotics Alliance Project at NASA Ames.[1] This department works primarily in educational and outreach projects and was estimated in 2006 to have reached more than 100,000 middle and high school students.[4] He also ran the Ames Robotics Academy every summer.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Mark Leon, Helping Kids Build a Better Robot". Archived from the original on September 30, 2009.
- ^ Mark León - NASA Learning Technologies
- ^ "Fall/Winter 2018: In Memoriam". Washington Square: The Stories of San Jose State University. November 20, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^ a b "Spaceward Bound, Mark Leon". Archived from the original on May 20, 2016.
- ^ Mark Leon
- ^ "Mark Leon has left the planet". Chief Delphi. December 31, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
- ^ NASA Ames Robotics Academy