[meteorite-list] Physicist And Former Astronaut John Grunsfeld To Head NASA Science Directorate

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2011 10:27:34 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <201112191827.pBJIRYPd021553_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

Dec. 19, 2011

David Weaver
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
david.s.weaver at nasa.gov


RELEASE: 11-396

PHYSICIST AND FORMER ASTRONAUT JOHN GRUNSFELD TO HEAD NASA SCIENCE DIRECTORATE

WASHINGTON -- NASA has named physicist and former astronaut John
Grunsfeld as the new associate administrator for the Science Mission
Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington. Grunsfeld
will take the reins of the office effective Jan. 4, 2012. He succeeds
Ed Weiler, who retired from NASA on Sept. 30.

Grunsfeld currently serves as the deputy director of the Space
Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which manages the science
program for the Hubble Space Telescope and is a partner in the
forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope. His background includes
research in high energy astrophysics, cosmic ray physics and in the
emerging field of exoplanet studies with specific interest in future
astronomical instrumentation.

A veteran of five space shuttle flights, Grunsfeld visited Hubble
three times as an astronaut, performing a total of eight spacewalks
to service and upgrade the observatory.

"John's understanding of the critical connection between scientific
research and the human exploration of space makes him an ideal choice
for this job," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "I look
forward to working with him to take the agency's science programs to
even greater heights and make more of the ground-breaking discoveries
about Earth and our universe for which NASA is known."

Grunsfeld graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in
1980 with a bachelor's degree in physics. Returning to his native
Chicago, he earned a master's degree and, in 1988, a doctorate in
physics from the University of Chicago using a cosmic ray experiment
on space shuttle Challenger for his doctoral thesis. From Chicago, he
joined the faculty of the California Institute of Technology as a
Senior Research Fellow in Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy.

Grunsfeld joined NASA's Astronaut Office in 1992. He logged over 58
days in space on five shuttle missions, including 58 hours and 30
minutes of spacewalk time. He first flew to space aboard Endeavour in
March 1995 on a mission that studied the far ultraviolet spectra of
faint astronomical objects using the Astro Observatory. His second
flight was aboard Atlantis in January 1997. The mission docked with
the Russian space station Mir and exchanged U.S. astronauts living
aboard the outpost. Grunsfeld then flew three shuttle missions -
aboard Discovery in December 1999, Columbia in March 2002 and
Atlantis in May 2009 -- that successfully serviced and upgraded the
Hubble Space Telescope. He served as the payload commander on the
2002 mission and lead spacewalker in charge of Hubble activities on
the 2009 flight. In 2004 and 2005, he served as the commander and
science officer on the backup crew for Expedition 13 to the
International Space Station.

"It is an honor and a privilege to be offered the opportunity to lead
NASA's Science Mission Directorate during this exciting time in the
agency's history," Grunsfeld said. "Science at NASA is all about
exploring the endless frontier of the Earth and space. I look forward
to working with the NASA team to help enable new discoveries in our
quest to understand our home planet and unravel the mysteries of the
universe."

For Grunsfeld's NASA astronaut biography, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/grunsfel.html

For more information about NASA's Science Mission Directorate, visit:

http://nasascience.nasa.gov

-end-
Received on Mon 19 Dec 2011 01:27:34 PM PST