The Technology Administration today announced that Dr. Cary Gravatt will serve as the Acting Director of the Office of Space Commercialization. Dr. Gravatt will oversee policy development, analyze markets, and work to promote the international competitiveness of the U.S. space industry. Most recently, he served as the Director of the Manufacturing Competitiveness Office within the Technology Administration.
Dr. Gravatt has had previous Department of Commerce experience working on a number of space issues. He was Deputy Director of the former Office of Space Commerce in the Secretary’s office and also served as a member of the interagency team working on the commercialization of Landsat, the nation’s earth remote sensing satellite system.
Dr. Gravatt has a broad science and technology background, including management and research experience at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Bell Telephone Laboratories Materials Research Department, and teaching and research positions at Cornell University and Georgia Tech. He earned a B.S. from the University of Richmond, a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Duke University and did postdoctoral research in Chemical Physics at Cornell University.
Dr. Gravatt takes over the role from Deputy Under Secretary Benjamin H. Wu who has served as the agency’s Acting Interim Director.
