Richard A. Slywczak is a computer engineer with the Satellite Networks and Architectures Branch at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in Cleveland, Ohio. He is currently involved with two research projects. The first aims to enhance the dissemination of weather data to the cockpit during transoceanic flights. The effort will focus on effectively and efficiently separating the cabin and cockpit services once they are onboard the aircraft. The second project is the Satellite Communications Emulation Facility (SCEF), which is tasked with developing an emulation environment that mission managers and researchers can use to test and validate future satellite missions. Users from academia, government, and industry will be able to test individual components or emulate entire missions in this environment.

Mr. Slywczak earned his bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering with a computer science minor from Pennsylvania State University in 1989. He earned his master's degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1999. He is fluent in a number of computer languages including C, C++, Java, and FORTRAN.

At NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mr. Slywczak served as the software development manager during the 1990s for the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Science Data and Information System (TSDIS). Mr. Slywczak came to NASA Glenn in 2001.