Dr Marc Lessard and both undergraduate and graduate students at UNH are at the cutting edge of pure science in the Atmospheric weather realm and the understanding of how earth's magnetic fields impact up the atmosphere and specifically the Aurora Borealis. Marc began his professional life at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard but longed for a greater challenge. That desire brought him back to school at UNH to get his PhD in physics and to work as a student at the then-newly formed Institute for Earth Oceans and Space. Today he heads the very same program where he interned as a UNH student. It's been a long and circuitous journey for Dr. Lessard but it has brought him to the pinnacle of a career of which he can be justifiably proud. Yet the generosity of his praise for his students, for the brilliance and dedication of his colleagues and for the tremendous focus and professionalism of NASA occupy the majority of his attention.

Perhaps his long and circuitous journey prepared him far better as a leader than an easier path might have. Dr. Lessards manner and modesty put me in mind of a quote from a famed Chinese philosopher. Long before we were launching rockets into the skies the philosopher Lao-Tzu said this:

A leader is best

When people barely know

That he exists,

Less good when

They obey and acclaim him,

Worse when

They fear and despise him.

Fail to honor people

And they fail to honor you.

But of a good leader,

When his work is done,

His aim fulfilled,

they will all say,

'We did this ourselves.’