Phyllis Ward Buwalda Riggle
Personal Information
Born: 1924
Died: 2004
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
Pomona College BS 1945
""...if I didn't take away the uncertainty, my team couldn't do anything, & there wouldn't be a moon rover. So I just picked out something that I thought was the best bet. And I ruled out things which my team simply couldn't build for anyway." The HR Director"
— Phyllis Ward Buwalda Riggle
Professional Life
Field of Study: Research Engineering
Institution/Corporation: JPL; NASA
Degrees & Memberships: None found
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 1975 Citation & Medal for Excellence in Service, NASA
Achievements: worked closely with Marcia Neugebauer as a senior scientist in the JPL Division of Space Sciences; research hypothesized the topography of the lunar surface; work was fundamental in the creation and implementation of seven robotic spacecrafts under the Surveyor program, which explored the lunar surface from 1966 to 1968; Director of NASA's Future Mission Space Studies Team; worked on Mars Viking Landers & Explorers satellites
was home school on a ranch in Colorado
worked at JPL 31 years with final assignment as a research engineer
worked with Werner von Braun & Richard Feynman
was a gourmet cook, able seamstress & avid & creative gardener
her instructions to engineers working on moon craft/rovers were based on her best guess as to what the moon's surface would be like & are often cited as examples of good leadership & strategy