-- Douglas Isbell (doug.isbell@hq.nasa.gov), NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC
Dr. Ghassem Asrar has been selected as the new NASA Associate Administrator for Earth Science, according to Administrator Daniel S. Goldin.
Asrar currently serves as the chief scientist for the Earth Observing System in the Office of Earth Science at NASA Headquarters. In this position, he has led an international team developing the scientific priorities and measurements to be obtained from a series of advanced Earth-orbiting satellites that promise fundamental new insights into the connections between Earth's land, oceans, atmosphere, ice, and life.
"Dr. Asrar brings first-class interdisciplinary research skills and the respect of the scientific community to this challenging position," Goldin said. "Our Earth Science program is poised to enter a new era with the launch of the first Earth Observing System mission this summer. This is an ideal time for Dr. Asrar to assume the leadership of this key NASA enterprise." Asrar's appointment is effective immediately.
Asrar has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed scientific papers, primarily in the fields of land surface studies and biosphere/atmosphere interactions, and has edited several remote-sensing reference books. He conducted research and trained undergraduate and post-graduate students for nine years in academia prior to joining NASA as a senior scientist in 1987. He has continued his interest in developing the next generation of Earth scientists by establishing the NASA Earth System Science Fellowship Program, which has trained more than 400 young scientists to date. Prior to his research career, he earned graduate degrees in civil engineering and environmental physics from Michigan State University, East Lansing.
Asrar is an active member of several professional societies, including the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society, and the Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Distinguished Visiting Senior Scientist Award from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1991 and a NASA Exceptional Performance Award in 1997.
He and his wife Naimeh Razzaghi-Asrar live in Montgomery County, MD, and have one child.