Dr. Michael Griffin (NAE) is the chairman and chief executive officer of Schafer Corporation, a leading provider of scientific, engineering, and technical services and products in the national security sector. He was previously King-McDonald Eminent Scholar and professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, was the Administrator of NASA from 2005-2009, and prior to that was the Space Department Head at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He has also held numerous executive positions with industry, including president and chief operating officer of In-Q-Tel, chief executive officer of Magellan Systems, general manager of Orbital Science Corporation’s Space Systems Group, and executive vice President and chief technical officer at Orbital. Dr. Griffin’s earlier career includes service as both chief engineer and associate administrator for Exploration at NASA, and as the deputy for technology at the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. Prior to joining SDIO in an executive capacity, he played a key role in conceiving and directing several "first of a kind" space tests in support of strategic defense research, development, and flight testing. These included the first space-to-space intercept of a ballistic missile in powered flight, the first broad-spectrum spaceborne reconnaissance of targets and decoys in midcourse flight, and the first space-to-ground reconnaissance of ballistic missiles during the boost phase. He also played a leading role in other space missions in earlier work at the JHU Applied Physics Laboratory, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Computer Science Corporation. Dr. Griffin was an adjunct professor for thirteen years at the University of Maryland, the Johns Hopkins University, and George Washington University, offering courses in spacecraft design, applied mathematics, guidance and navigation, compressible flow, computational fluid dynamics, spacecraft attitude control, astrodynamics, and introductory aerospace engineering. He is a registered professional engineer in Maryland and California, and is the lead author of over two dozen technical papers and the textbook Space Vehicle Design. Griffin is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the International Academy of Astronautics, an honorary fellow and the current president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a fellow of the American Astronautical Society, and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, the AIAA Space Systems Medal and Goddard Astronautics Award, the National Space Club’s Goddard Trophy, the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement, the Missile Defense Agency’s Ronald Reagan Award, and the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest award which can be conferred on a non-government employee. He received his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland and has been recognized with honorary doctoral degrees from Florida Southern College and the University of Notre Dame.