Daniel E. Hastings is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

, currently the Cecil and Ida Green Education

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and the former director of the

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. Hastings became head of the Department of

Aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design process, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred ...

and

Astronautics Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the practice of sending spacecraft beyond atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science is its overarching field. The term ''astronautics' ...

on January 1, 2019. He has served as the chief scientist of the US Air Force and on many national level boards. Hastings earned his B.A. at

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in the UK (1976) and his S.M. (1978) and Ph.D. (1980) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, writing his doctoral thesis on "The high‐β universal drift mode." Hastings worked at Physical Sciences Inc from 1980 to 1981 and then Oak Ridge National Lab Fusion Energy Division from 1981 to 1985. He returned to

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

as an assistant professor (1985-1988). Hastings was an associate professor (1988-1993) and later full professor for the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT (1993–present). He was also the associate department head of research (1993-1996). He took a leave to be the chief scientist of the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

(1997-1999) and served on the National Science Board from 2002-2008. Dr. Hastings was asked to direct the Technology and Policy Program (TPP) at MIT (2000-2003) as well as associate director and co-director of the Engineering Systems Division (2000-2004), and later became its director (2004-2005). Dr. Hastings became the Dean for Undergraduate Education (2006-2013) and then the CEO and director of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (2014-2018). As of January 1, 2019, he is the head of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Hastings has received many honors, including membership to the

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

(2017) for contributions in spacecraft and space system-environment interactions, space system architecture, and leadership in aerospace research and education. He also holds fellowship in the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences (1998), and the Air Force Distinguished Civilian Award (1997, 1999). Hastings is a Christian, and a member of Grace Chapel in Lexington. He states, "I became a Christian in 1972 basically as a search for meaning in my life. I have found Jesus Christ to provide the purpose and meaning for which I was searching. He has led and guided me ever since. In coming to know Jesus Christ, I have acknowledged that I am not capable of running my life on my own and I need Him to explicitly give me direction. After becoming a Christian in high school, I went on to study mathematics, engineering and physics. I have never found my occupation as a scientist and engineer to be in conflict with my faith. Rather I see my calling to be in searching out and using the knowledge that God has given us to better the lot of humanity and serve Him on this earth."

Academic work

Hastings has published extensively in aerospace engineering, including a highly cited textbook called ''Spacecraft-environment interactions''. His research includes uncertainty and systems' engineering.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people MIT School of Engineering faculty 21st-century American physicists Alumni of the University of Oxford Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni {{US-physicist-stub