CRIDERSVILLE – In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, the Cridersville Historical Society will host a special presentation by Glenn Smith.

Smith is a Cridersville native and former project engineer and manager at NASA from 1967 through his retirement in 1994. In addition to working on the Apollo project, Smith was involved in the Skylab, Space Shuttle and Space Station projects.

Smith will make a presentation about his career at NASA at 7 p.m. Monday in the Community Room at Cridersville Otterbein Retirement Community, 100 Red Oak Drive. The program is free and open to the public.

“This is a great opportunity to meet a real rocket scientist who grew up in Cridersville,” Greg Myers, president of the local historical society, said. “Dr. Smith was highly engaged in NASA engineering during its most active years. He will give us an insider’s perspective.”

Smith graduated from Cridersville High School in 1952. He graduated from Ohio Northern University in 1956 with high distinction and first in his class in the College of Engineering. He earned his Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh in 1963 and his Ph.D. In 1965. His doctoral thesis topic was the heat transfer in nuclear reactors.

In 1967, Smith joined the staff at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. During his 27 years at NASA, he was the winner of 25 outstanding or superior performance awards. He also gave testimony to Congressional committees regarding safety and cost of space launch systems. He continues to live in Houston.

Smith also will participate with the Cridersville Historical Society in the Cridersville Jamboree Parade at 1 p.m. Saturday and the 50th anniversary Parade in Wapakoneta at 3 p.m. Sunday. There will be a reception for Smith at the Cridersville Museum, 110 W. Sugar St., from 2-4 p.m. Saturday following the Cridersville parade.