WASHINGTON-NASA has presented its highest honor for quality and technical performance, the George M. Low Award, to two companies committed to innovative management, process quality and customer service. The awards, containing a medallion alloyed with material flown to the moon on Apollo 11, were presented in February at NASA’s fourth annual Project Management Challenge Conference in Galveston, TX.

Teledyne Brown Engineering, nominated by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (Huntsville, AL), received the large business service award. Barrios Technologies, nominated by NASA’s Johnson Space Center (Houston), received the small business service award. Three finalists also were acknowledged: Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc. (Columbia, MD); Arcata Associates (Las Vegas); and Delaware North Companies Parks and and Resorts (Kennedy Space Center, FL).

Senior managers and engineers from government and industry attend the Project Management Challenge Conference, which serves as a forum for NASA and its contractor partners to exchange ideas and success stories. Participants learn about quality management and improved communication practices to apply in their own organizations.

Established in 1985, NASA’s Excellence Award for Quality and Productivity recognizes those in the contractor community whose quality management practices can be a global benchmark for excellence. In 1990, the award was renamed in memory of George M. Low, an outstanding NASA leader who contributed greatly during his 27-year tenure and was deputy administrator from 1969 to 1976. Low was a leader in the early development of NASA’s space and manned space flight programs.