F&M Stories

Jacob Bleacher ’00, who will be the featured speaker at Franklin & Marshall’s 236th Commencement May 13, is the chief exploration scientist in NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) at the space agency’s headquarters. In this role, he is the science advocate for NASA technology and architecture development that is intended to enable human exploration of the moon and Mars. 

Bleacher also is the primary contact with NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and the science community outside NASA. His research focuses on understanding the volcanic history of the Earth, moon and Mars by remote sensing mapping. He earned his bachelor’s degree in geosciences at Franklin & Marshall before earning his doctorate in geological sciences at Arizona State University in 2006.

When he began working for NASA in 2006, Bleacher was a research scientist at its Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, where he supported the Constellation Program Office to conduct studies examining potential landing sites and developing plans to help define requirements for hardware that would enable travel on the lunar surface. He served as a test subject and crew member for NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies, which focused on field tests of operations for prototype human rovers for the moon. He then led its instrument field team, organizing its planetary science field research deployments, and later was Goddard’s lead exploration scientist, creating awareness of ongoing human exploration projects.

Bleacher, who will receive an honorary doctorate of science at F&M’s Commencement, is a  co-author of several peer-reviewed science publications, including a cover article for the journal Nature about explosive volcanism on Mars, as well as the chapter on Mars Volcanism in the 2nd edition of the “Encyclopedia of Volcanoes.” He has returned to his alma mater many times to speak on campus.

Carlos Graupera is the founder and chief executive officer of the Spanish American Civic Association (SACA) in downtown Lancaster. Since 1973, that organization has been uplifting and restoring the residents of marginal communities through human relations, economic assistance and social services, while also supporting their cultural identities.

Graupera, who will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters at Franklin & Marshall’s Commencement, has announced he is stepping down later this year after 50 years with SACA. Under his leadership, the organization has grown to serve nearly 1,400 people each year in Lancaster, focusing on behavioral health and wellness, educational services, job placement, and home ownership.

Graupera has long had a passion for supporting the Latinx community, which comes from his family. He came to the United States with his family from Cuba in 1961 when he was just 11 years old. They moved to Lancaster four years later. Graupera’s father, Charles, eventually became a Spanish professor at Elizabethtown College; his mother, Aida, was the first bilingual case worker for Catholic Social Services.

Graupera has no plans to slow down in retirement. He wants to focus on establishing a regional network for Tec Centro, SACA’s bilingual workforce development center, expanding it with the help of city leaders in York, Lebanon and Reading.