Steven Clarke Appointed NASA Heliophysics Director
Richard Fienberg AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force
This announcement is posted on behalf of Jennifer Rumburg of NASA's Science Mission Directorate:
Steven W. Clarke has been named Director of NASA's Heliophysics Division, leading the agency's efforts to study the Sun and its effects on Earth and the solar system. Heliophysics is not only vital to understanding Earth's most important and life-sustaining star, it supports exploration in the solar system and beyond.
The appointment, effective 1 June 2015, will be at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, where Clarke will report directly to the Associate Administrator (AA) for the Science Mission Directorate (SMD).
In partnership with other SMD directors, Clarke will assist the AA in determining and presenting the Heliophysics program to NASA senior management, the Office of Management and Budget, and Congress. More specifically, he will help guide the overall direction, strategy, and budget recommendations for the program.
Clarke brings a wealth of organizational and leadership experience to his new role. He recently directed SMD's Joint Agency Satellite Division (JASD), where he organized and managed its portfolio of reimbursable Earth satellite programs and instrument development performed by NASA for partner agencies. One example was the successful February 2015 launch of the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), a satellite designed to monitor and warn of harmful solar activity that could impact Earth.
The mission, marking the first JASD launch, is a partnership between NOAA, NASA, and the US Air Force. Other missions Clarke coordinated with partner agencies have produced data to assist with enhanced weather prediction capabilities, real-time storm tracking, and search and rescue.
Clarke also supported the Deputy Associate Administrator of the Exploration Systems Development Division at NASA Headquarters, responsible for developing and operating the architecture for human exploration beyond Earth's orbit.
After several years as a systems and project engineer in the aerospace industry, Clarke joined NASA in 2000 as an integration engineer responsible for NASA's scientific robotic missions. In 2003, he was selected as the Mechanical Branch Chief in the Launch Services Program, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Clarke joined the Constellation Ground Operations Project Office when it was established in 2005, assigned as the Chief of the Launch Vehicle Division. In that position, he was responsible for developing launch vehicle ground processing interface requirements and instilling operability into launch vehicle design. In 2009, Clarke was selected as the Deputy Director of the Ground Operations Project Office.
The newly appointed Heliophysics director has received NASA's Exceptional Achievement Medal for outstanding leadership in the development of the Ares I launch vehicle, in addition to numerous group achievement and performance awards.
Clarke has a BS degree in engineering and an MS degree in engineering management from the University of Central Florida.