FAYETEVILLE, N.C. — Fayetteville native Gary Smith remains as busy as ever since retiring in 2021 after a 20-plus year career with NASA. He served as a lead engineer, responsible for overseeing all software on board the James Webb Space Telescope. Recently, the agency celebrated the first anniversary of the first images from its largest and most powerful observatory.

"I worked on that program for about 20 years," said Smith, who grew up in Grove View Terrace. "I personally wrote a lot of the software on the instrument module."

What You Need To Know

  • Retired NASA engineer Gary Smith is on a new mission to inspire the next generation of STEM stars

  • Smith was a lead engineer on the James Webb Space Telescope program

  • He helps run a learning center in Fayetteville, located about two miles away from where he was raised

Following retirement, Smith has dedicated more of his time to inspiring the STEM stars of tomorrow. He spoke to Spectrum News 1 at a learning center he helps run in Fayetteville, not far from where he grew up.

"My goal is to reach these kids at a young age and take the mysticism out of math for them," said Smith, who also played a vital role in developing software for the Hubble Space Telescope. "I want to show them a face that looks like them in this science and technologically driven world."

Smith also hopes to impart the tireless work ethic that helped pave his way to NASA. During college, he spent his time outside the classroom working at IHOP, flipping pancakes to help pay for his room and board.

"I used to work at IHOP in the afternoons and on the weekends," said Smith, who graduated from North Carolina A&T State University. "I would go to work 5 Friday nights, get off around 4 the next morning, then go in Saturday morning at 5 and get off at 5 a.m. the next morning. Then on Sunday, I would go back in from 1 to 8."

Smith uses robots to hook kids into STEM. He’s handed out robot starter kits that come with a remote and basic components that control everything, including how the robot moves and what appears on the digital display. Each kit costs less than $50.

"I just give them out sometimes like it's candy," Smith said. "It's an investment in our future."

Within those young minds, Smith sees the building blocks of a universe brimming with possibilities.

"These are going to be your astronauts, your next NASA engineers, the next scientists who will help change this world," said Smith."These are going to be your astronauts, your next NASA engineers, the next scientists who will help change this world," said Smith.

Though retired, Smith continues to do contract work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, focusing on its weather satellites.