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Personnel

Timelines and biographies for key personnel at NASA are presented here, as well as other information about the agency’s workforce.

From left to right, Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Dr. T. Keith Glennan smile as they have a discussion. Dryden and Eisenhower hold cylindrical objects in their hands; Glennan looks down at their hands. They are all wearing suits.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created on October 1, 1958, to perform civilian research related to space flight and aeronautics. President Eisenhower commissioned Dr. T. Keith Glennan, right, as the first administrator for NASA and Dr. Hugh L. Dryden as deputy administrator.
NASA
NASA Deputy Administrator Dr. Dava Newman
NASA Deputy Administrator Dr. Dava Newman walks to a meeting with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, on Monday, May 18, 2015, her first day on the job at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
NASA/Bill Ingalls

Deputy Administrators

Senior Leadership Oral Histories

Oral history interviews with NASA’s senior leadership document their experiences, their personal histories, the lessons learned, their thoughts on NASA’s past, and the decisions made that have directed NASA’s priorities over the years and continue to do so into the future.

Explore the Transcripts about Senior Leadership Oral Histories
Administrator Bridenstine, seated, with former NASA administrators O'Keefe and Bolden

Center Directors

Ames Research Center (Moffett Field, California)

Armstrong Flight Research Center (various names under the NACA and until 1976; facility under Ames 1981–1994)

  • Walter C. Williams , September 30, 1946–August 28, 1959: Supervisor, NACA Muroc Flight Test Unit, September 1946–Fall 1949; Supervisor, NACA High Speed Flight Research Station, Fall 1949–July 1, 1954; Director, NACA High Speed Flight Station, July 1, 1954–September 15, 1959
  • Paul F. Bikle, September 15, 1959–May 31, 1971
  • De E. Beeler, June 1, 1971–October 11, 1971 (Acting)
  • Lee R. Scherer, October 11, 1971–January 19, 1975
  • David R. Scott, April 18, 1975–October 30, 1977
  • Isaac T. Gillam, October 30, 1977–June 18, 1978 (Acting)
  • Isaac T. Gillam, June 18, 1978–October 1, 1981
  • John A. Manke, Director of Flight Operations, Ames Research Center (after Dryden was consolidated with Ames as the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility), October 1, 1981–April 27, 1984
  • Martin Knutson, Director of Flight Operations and Site Director, Ames-Dryden FRF, May 1984-Dec. 2, 1990
  • Kenneth J. Szalai (Facility Director), December 3, 1990–March 1, 1994
  • Kenneth J. Szalai, March 1, 1994–July 31, 1998
  • Kevin L. Petersen, August 1, 1998–February 7, 1999 (Acting)
  • Kevin L. Petersen, February 8, 1999–April 3, 2009
  • David D. McBride, April 4, 2009–January 3, 2010 (Acting)
  • David D. McBride, January 4, 2010–December 4, 2022
  • Bradley Flick, December 5, 2022–

Electronics Research Center (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

  • Dr. Winston E. Kock, September 1, 1964–October 1, 1966
  • James C. Elms, October 1, 1966–June 30 1970 (Closed June 30, 1970 at end of Fiscal Year)

Glenn (formerly Lewis) Research Center (Cleveland, Ohio)

Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, Maryland)

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, California)

Johnson Space Center (Houston, Texas)

Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Langley Research Center (Hampton, Virginia)

  • Leigh M. Griffith, November 1, 1922–December 31, 1925 (Engineer-in-Charge, NACA LMAL)
  • Henry J. E. Reid, January 1, 1926–May 20, 1960: January 1, 1926–June 1947 (Engineer-in-Charge, NACA LMAL); June 1947–May 1948 (Director, NACA LMAL); May 1948–October 1, 1958 (Director, NACA LAL); October 1, 1958–May 20, 1960 (Director)
  • Floyd L. Thompson, May 23, 1960–May 1, 1968
  • Edgar M. Cortright, May 1, 1968–September 26, 1975
  • Dr. Donald P. Hearth, September 26, 1975–November 30, 1984
  • Richard H. Petersen, December 3, 1984–December 2, 1991
  • Paul F. Holloway, October 15, 1991–August 2, 1996
  • Jeremiah F. Creedon, August 5, 1996–June 15, 2002
  • Delma C. Freeman, Jr., June 15, 2002–June 13, 2003 (Acting)
  • Roy D. Bridges, June 13, 2003–October 3, 2005
  • Lesa B. Roe, October 3, 2005–April 28, 2014
  • Stephen G. Jurczyk, April 28, 2014–March 1, 2015
  • David E. Bowles, March 2, 2015–September 30, 2019
  • Clayton P. Turner, September 30, 2019–

Marshall Space Flight Center (Huntsville, Alabama)

Stennis Space Center (Bay St. Louis, Mississippi)

Wallops Flight Facility (Wallops Island, Virginia)

  • Robert L. Krieger, June 30, 1948–July 31, 1981
  • Abraham D. Spinak, August 1, 1981–September 30, 1981 (Acting)
  • Warren Keller, October 1, 1981–February 23, 1989 (Senior Official. Placed under Goddard Space Flight Center for Management Purposes)
  • Joseph P. McGoogan, February 24, 1989–January 3, 1995
  • Arnold Torres, January 8, 1995–January 3, 2002
  • John Campbell, January 13, 2002–December 31, 2009
  • William Wrobel, January 1, 2010–January 18, 2010 (Acting)
  • William Wrobel, January 19, 2010–February 2019
  • David L. Pierce, February 2019–
NACA Laboratory Computers Help Compile Handbook: ”Monroe Methods for Algebra,” a booklet describing short-cuts that can be used in solving frequently-used algebraic formulas with a calculating machine, underwent trials at the hands of Langley Laboratory computers. Several Monro-matics were purchased by the NACA. NACA Air Scoop August 17, 1951 Page 4.

The NASA Workforce

The NASA Workforce: Past, Present, Future: Every year since the Apollo Era, NASA Headquarters has published a “NASA Civil Service Workforce Report.” It has contained information on the size, demographics, and dynamics of the Agency workforce—including hires, losses, awards, grades, salaries, and other such data. The report breaks most this information down by Center. Beginning in 1995 NASA has made the workforce report available only via the Web. See also: Workforce Information Cubes. Another good source is the Federal Workforce Data provided by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management where one can get information about the entire federal workforce (including NASA or any other Agency).