NASA names new deputy chief technologist

Michael Gazarik has been picked to be NASA's new deputy chief technologist.

Gazarik will work in the NASA office responsible for coordination, integration and tracking of all technology investments across the agency. Gazarik is a NASA alum, coming to his new position from Engineering Directorate at NASA's Langley Research
Center in Hampton, Va., where he served as deputy director.

Before that, he  was the chief engineer of NASA's Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) Earth science mission and has worked the agency's Mars and shuttle projects. He will also provide management of NASA's Space Technology programs.

"I'm delighted Mike has agreed to come to Washington to help manage the technology portfolio that will enable NASA's future missions in aeronautics, science and exploration," Bobby Braun, NASA'S chief technologist, said in a press release. "Mike has more than 20 years experience in the design, development and operation ofspaceflight systems, spanning both science and exploration missions. His technical leadership skills will be a great asset to our team as we implement the agency's Space Technology Program."

Gazarik is a Silver Snoopy Award winner, one of NASA's highest honors and not usually given to managers. The Silver Snoopy is given to individuals who have made contributions toward enhancing the probability of mission success, or made improvements in design, administrative/technical/production techniques, business systems, flight and/or systems safety or identification and correction or preventive action for errors. Gazarik also won NASA's Outstanding Leadership Medal in 2007.

Gazarik has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Pittsburgh as well as a Master of Science and Ph. D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Out side of NASA he as worked in commercial software production and served as project manager for the
Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory.