George Schmidt to head NASA Propulsion Research Center

Dr. George R. Schmidt has been named manager of NASA’s Propulsion Research
Center, the primary organization occupying the new Propulsion Research
Laboratory at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Schmidt will lead the organization’s research and development of advanced
propulsion technologies at Marshall’s state-of-the-art laboratory. Under
Schmidt’s guidance, NASA scientists, engineers, guest researchers, and
partners from industry, academia and other government labs will seek
innovative breakthroughs in propulsion systems to support a broad range of
future space missions.

The Propulsion Research Center is a key participant in realizing the Vision
for Space Exploration — NASA’s bold initiative to return Americans to the
Moon and send robotic missions to Mars and elsewhere in the Solar System to
prepare for eventual human journeys beyond near-Earth space.

Schmidt most recently served as program executive for Nuclear Power Systems
in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. There, he led
development of radioisotope-based nuclear power systems for flight
applications and advanced power conversion technologies for NASA’s Project
Prometheus — intended to develop spacecraft power systems capable of
sending exploration missions throughout the solar system.

From 1999 to 2002, Schmidt served as deputy manager of the Propulsion
Research Center at Marshall, directing research intended to deliver key
technologies — nuclear, electric, high-energy plasma, solar, laser and
antimatter propulsion and studies in advanced physics — for safe, low-cost
access to Earth orbit and travel beyond.

A graduate of NASA’s Senior Executive Service candidate development program,
which grooms men and women to lead programs at the top levels of the federal
government, Schmidt had numerous additional responsibilities during his
tenure at the Propulsion Research Center. In 2002, he served on the staff of
the associate director for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Space
and Defense Power Systems, formulating development strategies for advanced
power systems supporting NASA’s Nuclear Systems Program. That year, he also
briefly served as acting manager of the Advanced Space Transportation
Program Office at Marshall, managing an organization responsible for more
than $200 million in launch and in-space flight technology projects.

In 2001, Schmidt helped the Marshall Center expand its partnership with
Alabama universities to develop space propulsion technologies while assigned
to the National Space Science and Technology Center in Huntsville — the
collaborative research facility uniting government, academic and industry
scientists. In 2000, Schmidt went to NASA Headquarters in Washington to aid
the Agency in responding to Federal Bureau of Investigation recommendations
for comprehensive security guidelines and protection of sensitive NASA
technology and software products and documentation.

He also served as an adjunct professor between 1999 and 2001 at the
University of Alabama in Huntsville, where he developed and taught courses
in the scientific and engineering principles of advanced space propulsion.

Schmidt joined NASA in 1989, leading testing of advanced cryogenic fluid
management systems for storage and transfer of extremely low-temperature
rocket fuel and propellants. He rapidly advanced to a number of successive
leadership positions related to the development of propulsion systems and
hardware.

Before coming to NASA, Schmidt held lead engineering positions on the
International Space Station program and several advanced space
transportation projects while working at Booz-Allen & Hamilton in Reston,
Va., and at The Boeing Company’s aerospace divisions in Huntsville and
Seattle.

Born in New York, N.Y., Schmidt considers Seattle, Wash., his home town.
Schmidt earned concurrent bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical
engineering in 1981 from Stanford University in Stanford, Calif. In 1985, he
received a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the
University of Washington in Seattle. In 1993, Schmidt earned a doctorate in
mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Schmidt is the author or coauthor of more than 50 papers and publications on
propulsion technologies and research. He has received nearly two-dozen NASA
awards, including the Research and Technology Award in 1994, recognizing his
notable achievements in technology development; two Marshall Center
Director’s Commendations for technical leadership; and four NASA Special
Service awards for significant contributions to NASA’s mission and the
welfare of its employees.

The Propulsion Research Center is part of the Marshall Center’s Science and
Technology Directorate, supporting NASA’s Exploration Systems and Science
Mission Directorates, and is a member of the National Space Science and
Technology Center. The Propulsion Research Center plays a critical role in
NASA’s development of advanced launch technologies and propulsion systems
intended to carry out the work of the Vision for Space Exploration.