During his long career in the aerospace industry, George Epstein made many significant contributions for which he has received numerous awards, citations and commendations. A college scholarship is named in his honor, awarded annually by the Society of Plastics Engineers; and the Los Angeles Chapter of SAMPE awards annual scholarships in memory of George’s late wife Irene – who also supported SAMPE. Especially significant among his contributions to the aerospace industry, he was responsible for creating the Air Force Problem Prevention Program (MP3) which has helped Air Force and NASA space programs avoid costly anomalies and mistakes, based on previous experience. He has taught materials-and-process courses at seven NASA Centers, UCLA and other colleges. He is listed in many academic and technology Who’s Whos.
After retiring from The Aerospace Corp. in 1991, George has continued to be involved in aerospace materials and processes technologies. For twenty years, he continued to work on special projects at Aerospace on a part time basis and continues to hold various offices in SAMPE and serve on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Chapter. Upon retiring, George decided to make poker his “second career.” In the poker world, he has authored three poker books and taught classes at various colleges, senior citizen centers, the Veterans Administration, and engineering societies. He has focused on recreational poker, helping retirees to learn and enjoy the game of poker. At local casinos, George has organized special poker tournaments for seniors. He believes that playing poker may help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. He is a regular poker columnist for several gaming publications.