COLUMBUS, Ind. — Cummins Inc. announced today that Franklin Chang Díaz, chairman and CEO of Ad Astra Rocket Co. and former NASA astronaut, has been elected to the Company’s board of directors.
Chang Díaz, 59, becomes the 10th Cummins Board member, and will serve on the Board’s Safety, Environment and Technology committee, as well as the Audit, Finance and Governance and Nominating committees. His term begins immediately and he will stand for re-election at the company’s annual meeting next May. All Cummins directors are elected annually.
Chang Díaz, a native of Costa Rica who moved to the United States as a teen, brings an extensive technical background to Cummins. In 1980, three years after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with his doctorate in nuclear engineering, Chang Díaz was selected by NASA to be an astronaut candidate and earned his astronaut wings the following year.
During his 25 years at NASA, Chang Díaz was an integral part of the Space Shuttle program. While at NASA, he flew seven shuttle missions, logging more than 1,600 hours in space, and continued his research in applied plasma physics.
Chang Díaz retired from NASA in 2005 and formed Ad Astra Rocket Co. to continue his pioneering work in the VASIMR rocket engine design, which NASA plans to deploy on the International Space Station in 2013.
“Franklin’s expertise in advanced engineering and engine technology will be invaluable to Cummins as we continue our work to be a technical leader in all our markets,” said Cummins Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tim Solso. “In addition, Franklin’s long history of public service, both at NASA and in his work to promote education in Costa Rica and throughout Latin America, are a good fit with Cummins’ Mission and our work to improve the communities in which we operate.”
Chang Díaz was honored with the Liberty Medal in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan and was a four-time recipient of NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal, the highest honor awarded by the agency. He currently is leading Costa Rica’s “Strategy for the XXI Century,” a countrywide initiative aimed at transforming Costa Rica into a fully developed nation over the next 40 years.
Chang Díaz and his wife Peggy alternate their home between suburban Houston and Liberia, Costa Rica. The couple has four daughters, ranging in age from 14 to 36. In addition to his work at Ad Astra Rocket, Chang Díaz is an adjunct professor of physics at Rice University and The University of Houston.
