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Why Von Braun Center
The Von Braun Center for Science & Innovation wanted to have a name that captured the spirit of Huntsville, the goals and objectives of the organization, and our commitment to technical excellence.
That quickly led the Board to one possible name - the Von Braun Center for Science & Innovation.
The name Werner Von Braun has become synonymous with the uniqueness of Huntsville.
First, Von Braun was the standard of excellence for research and technology applications for the U.S. Army, NASA, and the aerospace industry.
Second, he was a visionary — a man who could see challenges of tomorrow, and the path to solving them.
Third, he was a great marketer. In the most positive sense of the word he fully understood how to capture and maintain the attention of the public — especially our youth — and to gain the nation's support for the space program.
Fourth, he was politically astute and realized that the Congress and the legislature in the State of Alabama were as critical to the success of the space program as the Saturn — political support and technical acumen were both required to propel our nation to new heights.
And finally, he was highly cognizant of the need for leading research universities to be integrated with our Federal R&D agencies and towards that end he played a key role in the establishment of the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
The challenge for the Von Braun Center for Science & Innovation is to live up to the expectations and accomplishments of the name Von Braun. It is a challenge that motivates the organization to work harder, dream bigger, collaborate more, and share our strengths to address national issues and requirements each and every day.
Werner Von Braun is synonymous with Huntsville, Alabama, and in the not-too-distant future, VCSI hopes that we will have reached a state where the nation sees the Center, our unique model, technical accomplishments, hands on learning activities, and business and university support as synonymous with the R&D organization of tomorrow.