NASA announced that Mason Peck will be the agency’s next chief technologist, effective January 2012. Peck is currently an associate professor at Cornell University’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
He succeeds Robert Braun, who recently returned to his work as professor and researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
As chief technologist, Peck will advise NASA on technology policy and programs, help communicate how the agency’s technology agenda relates to the average citizen, document NASA’s IT impact on society, among other internal IT-related duties, including technology transfer and commercialization initiatives.
“Mason’s lifelong commitment to learning and expertise in aerospace engineering makes him ideally suited to advise and help guide the agency toward the technologies and innovations that will enable our future missions,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. “His passion for education and his accomplishments in spacecraft design and robotics, along with his experience in the private sector, bring the skills I’ve come to depend on from my chief technologist.”
(Photo: cornell.edu)
