NASA Names Interim Director
Effective immediately, David Morrison will take the reins as interim director of the NASA Lunar Science Institute, based at the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA. He was appointed to the position while a nation-wide search for a permanent director is being held. While currently serving as senior scientist at the Ames - based NASA Astrobiology Institute, Morrison is a world - renowned planetary scientist.
The Lunar Science Institute will be composed of teams across the nation working jointly to lead the agency’s research activities related to NASA’s exploration goals. The Astrobiology Institute will be the model for the program. Interdisciplinary science and exploration research teams will be funded by the Lunar Science Institute. They will conduct basic lunar science and solar, astronomical, and Earth science investigations that can be performed from the moon.
Scheduled to begin March 1, the institute teams will also provide a quick-response capability in support of NASA’s Exploration initiative. “I am delighted that Dave Morrison has agreed to take on this challenge and responsibility. The Science Mission Directorate is looking forward to working with him in the coming months,” said Alan Stern, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington. Morrison has written more than 155 technical papers and published twelve books. Receiving his PH.D in astronomy from Harvard University, he has worked at Ames since 1988, as Chief of the space science division and director of the space directorate in the center.
Morrison’s long list of achievements include faculty member of the University of Hawaii, recipient of the Dryden Medal for research of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Sagan (sic) Medal of the American Astronomical Society for public communications and the Klumpke-Roberts award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for contributions to science education.
Two NASA Outstanding Leadership medals and the Presidential Meritorious Rank round out the list. “David Morison is an Ames Institution and a pillar of the planetary research community, having served as a scientist on NASA’s Mariner, Voyager, and Galileo,” said S. Pete Worden, Ames Center Director. “His experience at the NASA Astrobiology Institute and his communication and management skills are just the talents we need to ensure success for the NASA Lunar Science Institute.
Morrison will be responsible for completing the first call for institute proposals through a cooperative agreement announcement later this spring, prior to the arrival of a permanent director. The interim director said,”Creating a new and innovative program in lunar science is an existing prospect, which I am thrilled to take on”. In Oct 2007, NASA announced its plans to establish a new lunar science institute.
This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 8:56 am and is filed under Public Relations, Space Agency News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
