NASA's Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility in Fairmont, West Virginia, held a swearing-in ceremony for civil servants on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. According to the report published Aug. 13, 2026, 51 new employees were hired at IV&V as part of NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman's directive to strengthen the agency's technical core competencies. Systems engineer Fletcher Newell was among those sworn in, alongside 48 colleagues.

Newell, who grew up in Grafton, West Virginia, first visited the facility as a fourth grader in 2013 and later took part in its high school internship program. He studied computer science at Stanford University, returned to the facility for three consecutive summer internships, and began working there as a systems engineer contractor in early 2025. He was named IV&V Engineer of the Year in 2025 after identifying more than 70 issues in Gateway and later Space Reactor-1 Freedom.

IV&V director Wes Deadrick said the ceremony was part of a workforce directive to bring mission-critical positions into the civil service, calling it an investment in NASA's future. Newell said he looks forward to helping NASA return to the Moon and described IV&V teams working to ensure lunar vehicles and systems are ready for their missions.