2010 Sustainability Report - Cummins.com

For Chang-Diaz, it is rocket science
I have been aware of Cummins engines for most of
my life. My father worked in construction, so I knew
the Cummins name since I was a young boy. I even
took some of the engines apart and put them together
when I was young.
About two months after we first met, Tim brought
a group of about two dozen top Cummins leaders
to visit our facility in Houston, and there was a lot of
interest in what we were doing. When I was asked to
consider joining the board, I was humbled and excited.
Q: What attracted you to the idea of being a Director
at Cummins?
Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz, Chairman and CEO of Ad
Astra Rocket Company, joined the Cummins Board
of Directors in December 2009. The native of Costa
Rica is the Company’s first foreign-born board
member and brings a wealth of technical expertise
to Cummins. Prior to forming his own company in
2005 to commercialize a plasma rocket technology
he helped to develop, Dr. Chang-Diaz worked at NASA
for 25 years, during which time he flew seven missions
on the Space Shuttle. In May 2010, Dr. Chang-Diaz
sat down and shared his early impressions of
Cummins and the role he hopes to play as a Director.
Q: How were you introduced to Cummins?
A: I actually met (Cummins Chairman and CEO)
Tim Solso at EARTH University last year when he
came to visit the west campus (in La Flor, Costa Rica).
He also visited my rocket facility there. It was pretty
much instant chemistry.
A: I have always been interested in energy and power.
In fact, there are a lot of synergies between rocket
technology and power. Cummins has a tremendous
amount of technology that is poised to make a
difference in a changing world. I am really excited
to be joining at this important time.
Q: So, you see parallels between your work with
rocket technology and space travel with what
Cummins does?
A: Yes, especially when it comes to power
generation and materials. In my company, we
deal with fluids and materials that get very hot.
It’s the same thing that happens inside an internal
combustion engine.
That requires very advanced materials and very
advanced thermal management strategies. So there’s
a tremendous amount of synergy between the kind of
things I have been doing and what the company does.
Who knows, we could see Cummins materials on the
moon or Mars in the future (chuckling).
56 Cummins Inc. Sustainability Report 2010