Article written by Eric Mailman and Judy Cassela EE’71

Robin Orans ME’71

Robin Marsha Orans, ME71, passed away at age 75 in September 2024.
Robin graduated from James Madison High School in Brooklyn before attending The Cooper Union.

She was very active in Green Camp. In 1985 Robin married Peter Henry Wasserberger who predeceased her in October, 2023.

She made her mark at NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA from July 1988 – June 2015 where she was 1) Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel Test Support Coordinator for the Aerodynamics Facilities Branch, 2) Experimental Facilities Techniques COTR for the Support Service Contract for Operation, 3) Technology Partnership Manager – Project Manager for NASA-wide intellectual property management system and technology transfer, and Technology Awards officer.

Prior to working at NASA Ames, she worked at Hewlett Packard, Gordon and Associates, and Western Division – Naval Facilities Engineering Command.

Awards

  • NASA Ames 1992 Total Award for pivotal efforts in organizing the Technical Support Paper Contest for Women and serving on the Technical Paper Contest Committee
  • NASA Ames 2001 Technical Support Honor Award
  • NASA Ames 2015 Administrative Professional Honor Award
  • NASA Ames 2016 Exceptional Service Medal

Robin was a member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) for more than 55 years. She helped organize the Oregon State University local section in Corvallis, OR, and was Chair of the San Mateo County Section in California.

Robin was a member of the Corvallis Evening Garden Club and owned Horticultural Photography, a stock photo library of plants and natural subjects (250,000 images) that includes the work of her brother Arthur Orans and her mother Muriel Orans.