DRYDEN DIRECTOR TO LEAVE NASA FOR PRIVATE SECTOR.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

Ken Szalai, director of NASA Dryden Flight Research Center for 7-1/2 years, will end a 34-year NASA career Aug. 1.

Szalai, who has spent all but six months of his National Aeronautics and Space Administration career at Dryden, is leaving NASA to join the IBP Aerospace Group Inc. as its president and chief operating officer.

``I've decided to pursue other interests in the private world,'' said Szalai, who has led Dryden since December 1990. ``It was a hard decision. The agency is an exciting place to work, particularly with the current administrator (Dan Goldin).''

At IBP Aerospace, Szalai will be involved in the company's efforts to market a Russian-made ejection seat in the United States and in other nations.

``I'm interested in saving lives. This is a terrific opportunity to save American lives and other pilots' lives,'' Szalai said.

Kevin Petersen, Dryden's deputy director, will serve as acting director while NASA searches for a successor.

During his tenure as director, Dryden returned to its status as a separate, autonomous research center in 1994, ending 13 years as serving as an operating facility for NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif.

The move allowed Dryden to directly approach other NASA centers and private aerospace companies about possible research programs.

Szalai lists establishing partnerships for developing flight research programs and seeing the return of the X-series planes, experimental aircraft designed to test new technologies, as highlights of his tenure as Dryden's leader.

``Ken Szalai has done a remarkable job in meeting the challenges I have placed before (him),'' Goldin said. ``Through his superior leadership of Dryden's flight research programs, NASA has helped the United States maintain its position as the global leader in aeronautics.''

Szalai, who grew up in Milwaukee, was introduced to electronics by a neighbor who was an amateur radio operator. Szalai built one of the first transistor radios in Milwaukee.

Szalai joined NASA in 1964 after graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering. In 1970, Szalai earned a master of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Southern California.

Before becoming director, Szalai served as the head of the research engineering division at Dryden for eight years. Szalai is an internationally recognized expert on flight control and flight systems.

Szalai's honors include the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, for his work on the first digital fly-by-wire aircraft, and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal.