U.S. Senate Confirms Alumnus Griffin to Lead NASA

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Dr. Michael D. Griffin, Ph.D. '77, Aerospace, to lead NASA.

President Bush appointed Dr. Griffin for the post in March.

Dr. Griffin currently serves as Space Department Head at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory. Prior to that, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of In-Q-Tel, Inc. He also served in several positions within Orbital Sciences Corporation, including Chief Executive Officer of Magellan Systems, Inc.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Griffin served as Chief Engineer at NASA and as Deputy for Technology at the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization.

Before his doctoral work at the Clark School, he received a bachelor's degree in Physics from Johns Hopkins University and a master's degree in Aerospace Science from Catholic University of America. He holds additional master's degrees in electrical engineering, applied physics, business administration and civil engineering.

Dr. Griffin serves on the advisory board of the Clark School's aerospace engineering department and is a member of its Academy of Distinguished Alumni.

Published April 14, 2005