National Laboratory Operations and Facility Management

By Kerry McGinley

Tens of millions of dollars and human lives are on the line on Peter Canipe’s watch. He’s the Division Manager in charge of Support Services for the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center, a U.S. Navy major range test base located in the Bahamas. AUTEC is a deep-water test evaluation facility that’s 72 miles long, 24 miles wide and 6,000 feet deep. Even with that much ocean, 45 people under his supervision and 36 years on the job, Canipe has a perfect safety record. 

By Terrence Nowlin

PAE Senior Engineering Manager Eartha Smith sits at the unlikely intersection of facilities management and customer service. She knows the value of building trust and delivering a quality product. In fact, her expectations for keeping leaders happy at Johnson Space Center could be described as out of this world. 

“If we don’t take care of our customer, I guarantee you somebody else will,” Smith said.