Laurie Leshin is the Deputy Director for Science and Technology at
NASA’sThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Goddard Space Flight CenterThe Goddard Space Flight Center is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. GSFC,...
in
Greenbelt, MarylandGreenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Contained within today's City of Greenbelt is the historic planned community now known locally as "Old Greenbelt" and designated as the Greenbelt Historic District...
. She oversees strategy development at the Center, leading an inclusive process to formulate future science and technology goals, and an integrated program of investments aligned to meet those goals. With other NASA Goddard senior managers, she is responsible for effectively executing the Centers’ $3B in programs, and ensuring the scientific integrity of
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
observing missions, space-based telescopes such as the
James Webb Space TelescopeThe James Webb Space Telescope , previously known as Next Generation Space Telescope , is a planned next-generation space telescope, optimized for observations in the infrared. The main technical features are a large and very cold 6.5 meter diameter mirror, an observing position far from Earth,...
, and instruments exploring the
SunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
,
MoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
,
MercuryMercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
,
MarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
,
SaturnSaturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
,
cometA comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
s and more.
Education
Leshin earned her B.S. degree in
ChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
from
Arizona State UniversityArizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
in
Tempe, ArizonaTempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in
GeochemistryThe field of geochemistry involves study of the chemical composition of the Earth and other planets, chemical processes and reactions that govern the composition of rocks, water, and soils, and the cycles of matter and energy that transport the Earth's chemical components in time and space, and...
in 1994 from the
California Institute of TechnologyThe California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
in
Pasadena, CaliforniaPasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
.
Career
Leshin’s scientific expertise is in
cosmochemistryCosmochemistry or chemical cosmology is the study of the chemical composition of matter in the universe and the processes that led to those compositions. This is done primarily through the study of the chemical composition of meteorites and other physical samples...
, and she is primarily interested in deciphering the record of water on objects in our
solar systemThe Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
. As Deputy Director for Science and Technology, Leshin focuses on helping new missions through the startup process, ensuring teams of experts are brought together to match science requirements with technical capabilities and available resources to ensure mission success.
Before joining NASA, Dr. Leshin was The Dee and John Whiteman Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences, and the Director of the
Center for Meteorite StudiesFounded in 1960, on the Tempe Campus of Arizona State University, the Center for Meteorite Studies houses the world's largest university-based meteorite collection. The collection contains specimens from over 1,600 separate meteorite falls and finds, and is actively used internationally for...
at Arizona State University. In 2004, Dr. Leshin served on
President Bush’sGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy, a nine-member commission charged with advising the President on the execution of his new
Vision for Space ExplorationThe Vision for Space Exploration is the United States space policy which was announced on January 14, 2004 by President George W. Bush. It is seen as a response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, the state of human spaceflight at NASA, and a way to regain public enthusiasm for space...
. She first joined NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in August 2005 as the Director of Sciences and Exploration, and assumed her current position in January 2008.
On October 1, 2011, Leshin joined
Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteStephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
in Troy, NY, as dean of the School of Science. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Women in Aerospace and on the Council of the
American Geophysical UnionThe American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
. She has published over 40 scientific papers, including most recently papers on interplanetary dust particles and the chemistry of early Mars.
Awards
Leshin received the
NASA Distinguished Public Service MedalThe NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal is an award similar to the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, but awarded to non-government personnel. This is the highest honor NASA awards to anyone who was not a government employee when the service was performed....
in 2004. In 1996, she was the inaugural recipient of the
Meteoritical Society'sThe Meteoritical Society is a non-profit scholarly organization founded in 1933 to promote research and education in planetary science with emphasis on studies of meteorites and other extraterrestrial materials that further our understanding of the origin and history of the solar system.The...
Nier PrizeThe Nier Prize is named after Alfred O. C. Nier and is awarded annually by the Meteoritical Society and recognizes outstanding research in meteoritics and closely allied fields by young scientists....
, awarded for outstanding research in meteoritics or planetary science by a scientist under the age of 35. The
International Astronomical UnionThe International Astronomical Union IAU is a collection of professional astronomers, at the Ph.D. level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy...
recognized her contributions to planetary science with the naming of asteroid
4922 Leshin4922 Leshin is a main belt asteroid with an orbital period of 1552.3558531 days . The asteroid was discovered on March 2, 1981; it was named for Laurie Leshin, an American astrobiologist.-References:...
.
External links