Charles Elachi (born April 18, 1947
. ''Cedars Network''. Retrieved on February 20, 2008.) is a Lebanese-American professor (emeritus) of electrical engineering and planetary science at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

(Caltech). From 2001 to 2016 he was the 8th director of the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...

and vice president of Caltech.

Early life and education

Elachi was born in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. He studied at Collège des Apôtres, Jounieh from 1958 to 1962, and then at the École Orientale,

Zahlé Zahlé ( ar, زَحْلة) is the capital and the largest city of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. With around 150,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Lebanon after Beirut and Tripoli and the fourth largest taking the whole urban area ...

, where he graduated in 1964 first in

in the Lebanese Baccalaureate (Mathématiques Élémentaires). Elachi received a bachelor's degree (1968) in physics from Joseph Fourier University,

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

, France; a first master's degree (Diplôme d'Ingénieur - 1968) in engineering from Grenoble Institute of Technology; and a second master's degree (1969) and doctorate (1971) in electrical sciences from the

, Pasadena. He also has a master's degree (1983) in geology from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

, and an MBA (1979) from the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. He joined JPL in 1970.

Career

During his 16-year tenure as JPL's director, 24 missions managed by the laboratory were launched: Genesis, Jason 1 and Mars Odyssey (2001); GRACE (2002); Galaxy Evolution Explorer, Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, Spitzer Space Telescope (2003); Deep Impact and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2005); Cloudsat (2006); Dawn and Mars Phoenix lander (2007); Jason 2 (2008); Kepler and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (2009); Aquarius, Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, GRAIL and Juno (2011); NuSTAR (2012); Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (2014); Soil Moisture Active Passive (2015); and Jason 3 (2016). During flight projects for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

, Elachi was principal investigator for the Shuttle Imaging Radar series (SIR-A in 1981, SIR-B in 1984, and SIR-C in 1994), was a co-investigator on the Magellan imaging radar, is presently the team leader of the Cassini Titan Radar experiment and a co-investigator on the Rosetta Comet Nucleus Sounder Experiment. He is the author of over 230 publications in the fields of space and planetary exploration, Earth observation from space, active microwave remote sensing, electromagnetic theory and integrated optics, and he holds several patents in those fields. In addition, he has authored three textbooks in the field of remote sensing. One of these textbooks has been translated into Chinese. He taught "The Physics of Remote Sensing" at the California Institute of Technology from 1982 to 2000. During the late 1980s and 1990s as the director of Space and Earth Science programs at JPL, Elachi was responsible for the research and development of numerous flight instruments and missions for solar system exploration, space-based astronomy, and Earth science. Elachi was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

(1989) for pioneering developments of space-borne radars for imaging the earth and planets. In the mid to late 1990s, Elachi chaired a number of national and international committees which developed NASA roadmaps for the exploration of neighboring solar systems (1995), our solar system (1997) and Mars (1998). Elachi participated in a number of archeological expeditions in the Egyptian Desert, Arabian Peninsula and Western Chinese Desert in search of old trading routes and buried cities using satellite data, some of which were featured in National Geographic magazine.

Professional associations

In 1989, at the age of 42, he was elected to the

(NAE). From 1993 to 1995, he was a member of the NAE fourth Decadal Committee. In 1995 he chaired the NAE membership committee. He served on numerous NAE committees. In 2007, he was elected as councillor of the NAE for a three-year term and is also a member of the NAE Executive Council. He is a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the California Academy of Sciences. In addition, he is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).

External activities

Elachi is chair of the St. Exupery Innovation Council in Toulouse, France, member of the United Arab Emirates Space Agency International Advisory Council, member of the Commission on Department of Energy National Laboratories, member of the Visiting Committee for the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, past chair and current member of the UCLA Sciences Board of Visitors, past member of the Huntington Hospital Board of Trustees in Pasadena, California, past chair and member of the Lebanese American University Board of Trustees New York and Beirut, member of the International Advisory Board of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Saudi Arabia, past member of the International Advisory Council of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia, and member of the International Advisory Board of the University Oman. He was a member of the University of Arizona Engineering School Advisory Committee and the Boston University Center of Remote Sensing Advisory Council. He has lectured and given keynote speeches at numerous international conferences and at universities inside and outside the United States, including events in Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, China, Japan, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Monaco, Morocco, Singapore and Switzerland. He was also a speaker at Caltech's Alumni Day and the Watson Lectures. Charles Elachi in 2021 05

Awards and recognition

Elachi has received numerous awards, including the Gold medal of the City of

(2018), Aviation Week Lifetime Achievement Award (2016), 2016 RNASA National Space Trophy, 2016 IAF Allen D. Emil Memorial Award, American University of Beirut Honorary Doctorate (2013), Association of Space Explorers (ASE) Congress Crystal Helmet Award (2012), the Pasadena Arts Council Inaugural AxS (Arts & Sciences) Award (2012), the Lebanese American University Honorary Doctorate (2012), National Academy of Engineering Arthur M. Bueche Award (2011), Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, France (2011), Space Foundation J.E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award (2011), AIAA Carl Sagan Award (2011), Occidental College honorary Doctor of Science degree (2011), Sigma Xi William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement (2008), International von Kármán Wings Award (2007), the America's Best Leaders by U.S News & World Report and the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government (2006), the Royal Society of London Massey Award (2006), the Lebanon Order of the Cedars (2006 and 2012), the Philip Habib Award for Distinguished Public Service (2006), the American Astronautical Society Space Flight Award (2005), the Bob Hope Distinguished Citizen Award (2005), NASA Exceptional Service Medal (2005), the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal (2004, 2002, 1994), the Takeda Award (2002), the Wernher Von Braun Award (2002), the UCLA Department of Earth and Space Science Distinguished Alumni Award (2002), Dryden Award (2000), the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1999), the COSPAR Nordberg Medal (1996), the Nevada Medal (1995), the IEEE Medal of Engineering Excellence (1992), the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Distinguished Achievement Award (1987), the W.T. Pecora Award (1985), the NASA Exceptional Scientific Medal (1982) and the ASP Autometric Award (1982, 1980). In 1988 the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

selected him as one of "Southern California's rising stars who will make a difference in L.A." In 1989 Asteroid 1982 SU was renamed 4116 Elachi in recognition of his contribution to planetary exploration. In 2019 the JPL Mission Control Center was named after Elachi.

References

External links

Dr. Elachi's Official Biography from JPLYoutube.com: "Dr. Elachi on Sky Crane, Space Robotics"TED Talks: Charles Elachi on the Mars RoversScience News interview with Charles Elachi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elachi, Charles American electrical engineers Center Directors of NASA 1947 births Living people Jet Propulsion Laboratory NASA people Fellow Members of the IEEE Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the National Order of the Cedar Grenoble Institute of Technology alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni Marshall School of Business alumni Lebanese emigrants to the United States Lebanese engineers Lebanese scientists Scientists from California 20th-century American astronomers 21st-century American astronomers 20th-century American engineers 21st-century American engineers UCLA Department of Earth Planetary and Space Sciences alumni Recipients of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal Planetary scientists California Institute of Technology alumni California Institute of Technology faculty