Michael M. Watkins is an American engineer, scientist, and a Professor of Aerospace and Geophysics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He previously served as the 9th director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and as a vice president of Caltech, which staffs and manages JPL for NASA. His directorial position was effective from July 1, 2016 to August 20, 2021.[1][2]
Michael M. Watkins | |
|---|---|
 Watkins in 2012 | |
| 9th Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory | |
| In office July 1, 2016 – August 20, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Elachi |
| Succeeded by | Larry D. James (interim) Laurie Leshin |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at Austin |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Engineering, Space Science |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | Tracking station coordinates and their temporal evolution as determined from laser ranging to the Lageos satellite (1989) |
| Doctoral advisor | Bob E. Schutz |
Education
editWatkins attended the University of Texas at Austin and received B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in aerospace engineering in 1983, 1985 and 1990, respectively. For his doctoral degree, Watkins worked under the supervision of Bob E. Schutz.[3]
Career
editWatkins joined the staff at JPL in 1993 and stayed there 22 years. During that time, he served as chief scientist for JPL's Engineering and Science Directorate, manager of JPL's Science Division and manager of its Navigation and Mission Design Section. He was mission manager from development through landed operations for the Mars Science Laboratory mission, which sent the Curiosity rover to Mars. He also led NASA development and review teams for the Cassini, Mars Odyssey and Deep Impact robotic space missions.
He served as project scientist for the GRACE, GRAIL and GRACE Follow-On missions. He was an originator of the concept for the GRACE mission, which uses a pair of Earth-orbiting satellites to make detailed measurements of Earth's gravity field anomalies. In addition, he has been a pioneer in the development and use of gravity data for new science applications to better understand Earth's climate and its evolution.[4] Other research interests include mission design, instrument design and science analysis for acquisition and use of remote sensing data for Earth and other planets.[5]
In 2015, Watkins left JPL to serve as the Clare Cockrell Williams Chair in Engineering and director of the Center for Space Research at the University of Texas at Austin[6] before returning to JPL as director the following year.
He has published in both engineering and science, contributed more than 100 conference presentations, and serves or served on the boards of numerous international scientific and engineering societies. In addition, he has taught estimation, filtering theory and system engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and at Caltech.
Honors and awards
edit- 2019 – The Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics (ASE/EM) Academy of Distinguished Alumni in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin[7]
- 2020 – Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.[8]
- 2022 – Member of the National Academy of Engineering[9]
References
edit- ^ "Michael Watkins Named Next JPL Director". California Institute of Technology. May 2, 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ "JPL Director Michael Watkins to Return to Academia". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). August 9, 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
- ^ Watkins, Michael Mullen (1990). Tracking station coordinates and their temporal evolution as determined from laser ranging to the Lageos satellite (Ph.D. thesis). The University of Texas at Austin. OCLC 27097643. ProQuest 303865022.
- ^ "Michael M. Watkins". Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, The University of Texas at Austin. Archived from the original on 2016-07-09. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ "Michael M. Watkins, Division Manager". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 2015-04-05. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
- ^ "NASA Leader Returning to UT Austin to Head Center for Space Research". Cockrell School of Engineering. April 21, 2015.
- ^ "All Academy Members". Cockrell School of Engineering.
- ^ "Alumnus Michael Watkins Elected to AIAA Fellow". Cockrell School of Engineering. February 4, 2020.
- ^ "2 Professors and 2 Alumni Elected to National Academy of Engineering". University of Texas. February 9, 2022.
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