NASA Goddard Director Christopher J. Scolese to Deliver Von Kármán Lecture in Astronautics at 2018 AIAA SPACE Forum Written 1 August 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: John Blacksten
703.264.7532
johnb@aiaa.org

August 1, 2018 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has selected Christopher J. Scolese to give its 2018 von Kármán Lecture in Astronautics.

Scolese will deliver his lecture on “Strategies for Technology Infusion and Risk Mitigation at NASA” at 6:30 p.m. (EDT), September 18, at the 2018 AIAA Space and Astronautics Forum (2018 AIAA SPACE Forum) held September 17–19, at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, Florida.

Scolese, an AIAA Fellow, is the director of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). He is described as having “a rare blend of technical achievements and managerial skills in the area of Aeronautics and Space Systems Engineering.”

Scolese has worked at NASA in other high-ranking capacities including acting NASA Administrator, Associate NASA Administrator, Deputy Associate Administrator of Space Science, NASA Chief Engineer, and Project Manager since 1987. Before that he worked on several classified projects as an officer in the U.S. Navy and as a civilian employee of the Department of Defense (DoD) and at the General Research Corporation (GRC).

As current center director of NASA Goddard, Scolese oversees approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, which represents the largest NASA center in the country. He continues to provide leadership and guidance to meet mission objectives for GSFC’s basic scientific and engineering initiatives and is an advocate of new technology as demonstrated by the direction of GSFC research.

Scolese has won numerous awards, including the NASA Distinguished Leadership Medal, bestowed for his leadership of the agency as Acting Administrator; the AIAA Space Systems Award for his work on the Earth Observing System; and the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive, which was awarded twice (2000 and 2006).

The von Kármán Lectureship in Astronautics honors an individual who has performed notably and distinguished themselves technically in the field of astronautics, and is named in honor of Theodore von Kármán, a world-famous authority on aerospace sciences. Please visit AIAA’s Honors and Awards Program for more information.

About AIAA  
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 85 countries, and 95 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit  www.aiaa.org, or follow us on Twitter @AIAA.

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