Engaging with History Expert, Dr. Roger Launius

Our guest, Dr. Roger Launius is the Principal of Launius Historical Services. He has worked as a historian and author for over 35 years, including as Associate Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs at the Smithsonian Institute and as Chief Historian for NASA. He is a Fellow of numerous Aerospace and Aeronautics organizations including the AIAA and RAS and holds a Ph.D. in History from Louisiana State University. We chatted about preparation, “I err on the side of extreme preparedness and exhaustive research along those lines.” He is a firm believer that it is impossible to overprepare for a case or a report and that being confident in your preparation is key during cross. Additionally, we addressed time management, maintaining expertise, and organizing your work “. . . my first step is almost always to build some sort of a timeline, a chronology of what happened when it happened, and how it happened,” remarked Launius.