Thomas Zurbuchen

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Thomas Zurbuchen
James Webb Space Telescope Town Hall (30702908816) (cropped).jpg
Born1968
EducationUniversity of Bern
OccupationGovernment agency administrator
EmployerUniversity of Michigan
Known forAssociate Administrator, NASA (2016-current)

Thomas Hansueli Zurbuchen (born 1968) is a Swiss-American astrophysicist. Since October 2016,[1] he has been the Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA.[2] Prior to this, he was Professor of Space Science and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan, where he helped found the Center for Entrepreneurship.[not verified in body]

Personal life and education[]

Zurbuchen studied physics at the University of Bern, with a minor in mathematics, and was awarded the PhD in 1996 with a thesis entitled "Turbulence in the interplanetary medium and its implications on the dynamics of minor ions".[3]


Career[]

Zurbuchen joined the University of Michigan as a research associate, and was made professor in 2008. His scientific research focuses on solar and heliospheric physics, experimental space research, and space systems; he is also well known for his personal work on innovation and entrepreneurship.[citation needed]

In 2004, Zurbuchen was awarded the US Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.[4] He served as team leader for the development of one of the scientific instruments aboard NASA's Messenger spacecraft to Mercury, the Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer.[5] He chaired the National Academy of Sciences committee that produced a report in 2016 on Cubesats.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ "NASAWatch article announcing Zurbuchen's NASA appointment". Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Thomas Zurbuchen bio at NASA". Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  3. ^ "Astrophysics Data System reference for Zurbuchen's thesis". Bibcode:1996PhDT........34Z. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ "White House Announces Awards for Early Career Scientists and Engineers". PRNewswire. 4 May 2004. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  5. ^ "FIPS Page at University of Michigan". Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box (2016)". Retrieved 17 January 2017.

External links[]

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