Robert David Braun is an American

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

and academic. He has served as the dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

, the David and Andrew Lewis Professor of Space Technology at the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, and the

NASA Chief Technologist The Chief Technologist is the most senior technology position at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Chief Technologist serves as the principal advisor to the NASA Administrator in technology policy and programs, and as ...

. Currently, Dr. Braun is the Space Sector Head at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).

Education

Braun received his B.S. in

aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, his M.S. in astronautics from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

, and his Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. He has worked on a variety of advanced planetary exploration concepts at the NASA

Langley Research Center The Langley Research Center (LaRC or NASA Langley), located in Hampton, Virginia, United States of America, is the oldest of NASA's field centers. It directly borders Langley Air Force Base and the Back River on the Chesapeake Bay. LaRC has fo ...

from 1987-2003. He worked on the

Mars Pathfinder ''Mars Pathfinder'' (''MESUR Pathfinder'') is an American robotic spacecraft that landed a base station with a roving probe on Mars in 1997. It consisted of a lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a lightweight, wheeled robot ...

mission from 1992–1997.

Career

He joined the faculty of Georgia Tech in 2003, and was the founding director of the university's Center for Space Technology Research. In early 2010, NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr. appointed Braun as the Agency's Chief Technologist. In this capacity, he created and staffed the NASA Office of the Chief Technologist, formulated the NASA Space Technology program and advocated for the budget necessary to advance cutting-edge technology applicable to NASA's future missions. Braun served in the position for 20 months before announcing his resignation and returning to Georgia Tech. In 2012, Braun and SpaceWorks CEO John Olds founded Terminal Velocity Aerospace. The company, a design and hardware manufacturing organization, focused on orbital reentry devices and entry system technology. Braun sold his share of the business in 2015; it is now a subsidiary of SpaceWorks. Braun served as the Moore Distinguished Scholar at Caltech in 2015. Braun was named dean of the University of Colorado Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science in 2016, beginning in the position on January 3, 2017. He stepped down from the role in January 2020 to begin employment at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory before joining APL in March 2022.

Honors and distinctions

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...

Lawrence Sperry Award, 1999 * National Air and Space Museum Trophy, 1998, presented to the Mars Pathfinder team *

NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal The NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal is an award of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration established in 1991. The medal is awarded to both civilian members of NASA and military astronauts. To be awarded the medal, a NASA employee ...

, 1996 and 1998. * NASA Group Achievement Award (9 times) * Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2007 * NASA Distinguished Service Medal, 2011 * AIAA von Karman Astronautics Lectureship, 2011 * Alvin Seiff Memorial Award, 2012 *

American Astronautical Society Formed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society (AAS) is an independent scientific and technical group in the United States dedicated to the advancement of space science and space exploration. AAS supports NASA's Vision for Space Exploration ...

Space Technology Award in 2014 * Elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2014

Selected publications

* Braun, R.D.; and Manning, R.M.; "Mars Entry, Descent and Landing Challenges," Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 310–323, Mar-Apr, 2007. * Dubos, G.F.; Saleh, J.H.; and Braun. R.D.: "Technology Readiness Level, Schedule Risk, and Slippage in Spacecraft Design." Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 45, No. 4, pp. 836–842, July-Aug, 2008. * Clark, I.M.; Hutchings, A.L.; Tanner, C.L.; and Braun, R.D.: "Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators for Use on Future Robotic Missions to Mars." Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 340–352, Mar-Apr, 2009. * Korzun, A.M.; Braun, R.D.; and Cruz, J.R.; "A Survey of Supersonic Retropropulsion Technology for Mars Entry, Descent and Landing," Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 46, No. 5, pp. 929–937, Sept-Oct, 2009. * Theisinger, J.E.; and Braun, R.D.; "Multi-Objective Hypersonic Entry Aeroshell Shape Optimization," Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 46, No. 5, pp. 957–966, Sept-Oct, 2009. * Grant, M.J.; Steinfeldt, B.A.; Matz, D.M.; Braun, R.D.; and Barton, G.H.; "Smart Divert – A New Entry, Descent and Landing Architecture." Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 385–393, May–June, 2010. * Putnam, Z.R.; and Braun, R.D.; "Precision Landing at Mars Using Discrete-Event Drag Modulation," Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 128–138, Jan-Feb, 2014.

References

External links

*
Next Step Mars?
interview and research results published in Astronomy magazine, August 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Robert D. American aerospace engineers Living people Stanford University School of Engineering alumni Georgia Tech faculty NASA people George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Penn State College of Engineering alumni Year of birth missing (living people)