User:Creonlevit/Pete Worden 2

Dr. Simon P. ("Pete") Worden (Brig. Gen., USAF, Ret.) (born 1949, in Michigan) is the NASA Ames Research Center Director. Prior to becoming Director, Dr. Worden was a Research Professor of Astronomy, Optical Sciences and Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona where his primary research direction was the development of large space optics for national security and scientific purposes and near-earth asteroids. Additionally he worked on topics related to space exploration and solar-type activity in nearby stars. He is a recognized expert on space issues—both civil and military. Dr. Worden has authored or co-authored more than 150 scientific technical papers in astrophysics, space sciences, and strategic studies. Moreover, he served as a scientific co-investigator for two NASA space science missions.

In addition to his recent position with the University of Arizona, Dr. Worden served as a consultant to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on space-related issues. During the 2004 Congressional Session Dr. Worden worked as a Congressional Fellow with the Office of Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), where he served as Senator Brownback’s chief advisor on NASA and space issues.

He and his wife Nancy reside in Placitas, New Mexico.

In the military
Dr. Worden retired from the United States Air Force in 2004 after 29 years of active service. His final position there was Director of Development and Transformation, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base, CA. In this position he was responsible for developing new directions for Air Force Space Command programs and was instrumental in initiating a major Responsive Space Program designed to produce space systems and launchers capable of tailored military effects on timescales of hours.

He received the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for directing the 1994 Clementine mission.

Dr. Worden was commissioned in 1971 after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan. He entered the Air Force in 1975 after graduating from the University of Arizona with a doctorate in astronomy. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Dr. Worden served in every phase of development, international negotiations and implementation of the Strategic Defense Initiative, a primary component in ending the Cold War. He twice served in the Executive Office of the President. As the staff officer for initiatives in the George Bush administration's National Space Council, Dr. Worden spearheaded efforts to revitalize U.S. civil space exploration and earth monitoring programs.

Dr. Worden commanded the 50th Space Wing that is responsible for more than 60 Department of Defense satellites and more than 6,000 people at 23 worldwide locations. He then served as Deputy Director for Requirements at Headquarters Air Force Space Command, as well as the Deputy Director for Command and Control with the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations at Air Force headquarters. Prior to assuming his current position, Dr. Worden was responsible for policy and direction of five mission areas: force enhancement, space support, space control, force application and computer network defense. Dr. Worden has written or co-written more than 150 scientific technical papers in astrophysics, space sciences and strategic studies. He was a scientific co-investigator for two NASA space science missions.

Career
Pete Worden has held many positions in the United States Air Force and NASA, and some in the University of Arizona before becoming the director of the Ames Research Center.
 * 1) May 1975 - October 1979, astrophysicist, Air Force Geophysics Laboratory, National Solar Observatory, Sunspot, New Mexico.
 * 2) November 1979 - September 1983, Chief, Advanced Technology Division, Air Force Space Systems Division, Los Angeles AFB, California.
 * 3) October 1983 - May 1986, Special Assistant to the director, Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, Department of Defense, and adviser, delegation to the negotiations on nuclear and space arms with the Soviet Union, Geneva, Switzerland
 * 4) June 1986 - July 1987, senior policy analyst, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, and senior research fellow, National Defense University, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
 * 5) August 1987 - August 1989, Crew Commander, Space Defense Operations Center, later, Chief, Special Operations Branch, U.S. Space Command, Cheyenne Mountain AFB, Colorado.
 * 6) September 1989 - September 1991, Director, Advanced Concepts, Science and Technology, National Space Council, Executive Office of the President, Washington, D.C.
 * 7) October 1991 - November 1993, Deputy for Technology, Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Washington, D.C.
 * 8) December 1993 - July 1994, technical adviser to the special assistant for theater air defense, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
 * 9) August 1994 - November 1994, Director of Analysis and Engineering, Space Warfare Center, Air Force Space Command, Falcon AFB, Colorado.
 * 10) November 1994 - March 1996, Commander, 50th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command, Falcon AFB, Colorado.
 * 11) March 1996 - June 1997, Deputy Director of Requirements, Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colorado.
 * 12) July 1997 - September 1998, Deputy for Battlespace Dominance, Directorate of Operational Requirements, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
 * 13) September 1998 - December 1999, Deputy Director for Operational Requirements, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
 * 14) January 2000 - November 2000, Deputy Director for Command and Control, Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
 * 15) November 2000 - October 2002, Vice Director of Operations, Headquarters U.S. Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colorado.
 * 16) October 2002 – February 2004, Director of Development and Transformation, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command, Los Angeles AFB, California.
 * 17) March 2004 – Dec 2004, Congressional Fellow assigned to the office of Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) on detail as a Research Professor of Astronomy from the University of Arizona, Washington, DC.
 * 18) March 2004- April 2005, Research Professor of Astronomy, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
 * 19) April 2005-April 2006, Research Professor of Planetary Sciences and Research Professor of Optical Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
 * 20) May 2006-present, Director, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA.

Education

 * 1971 Bachelor of science degree in physics and astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
 * 1975 Doctor of philosophy degree in astronomy, University of Arizona, Tucson
 * 1978 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
 * 1987 National War College, Washington, D.C.
 * 1997 National Security Studies, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.

Commissions

 * Second Lieutenant May 1, 1971
 * First Lieutenant May 1, 1974
 * Captain May 1, 1977
 * Major Nov. 1, 1982
 * Lieutenant Colonel April 1, 1986
 * Colonel Oct. 1, 1989
 * Brigadier General Sept. 1, 2000
 * Retired from Active Duty, May 1, 2004