New NASA Ames director
names deputy

By Anna Molin,Bay City News Service

May 13, 2006

MOFFET FIELD (BCN) - NASA Ames Research Center officials announced yesterday that newly appointed director and retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Simon "Pete" Worden has named Marvin "Chris" Christensen to serve as his deputy director.

The announcement comes after a series of recent shake-ups at the Moffett Field laboratory, which is considered one of the leading research centers in space exploration.

Christensen took over as acting center director about two and-a-half months ago, when Scott Hubbard, who had served as the center's director since 2002, resigned to become the holder of the Carl Sagan chair for the study of life in the universe at the SETI Institute in Mountain View.

Worden, a research professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona in Tucson, was selected to replace Hubbard, who among other things helped investigate the space shuttle Columbia accident.Christensen, meanwhile, replaces Steven Zornetzer, who lately has served double duty as acting deputy center director and deputy director of research, where he started in August 2005.

"With Chris and Steve at the helm, the center was able to navigate its way through turbulent times and we find ourselves closer to our goals as a result of their skill and dedication," Worden said in a statement released yesterday. "(Christensen) has provided experienced leadership as acting program manager of the Robotic Lunar Exploration Program (RLEP) since coming to Ames in September 2005. In that role, he has been instrumental in regaining a true mission management role for the center and in kicking off our efforts in the area of small satellites, which I think will be key to our future."

Christensen's background includes a senior management position at Lockheed Martin and 40 years at the NASA headquarters, working in the jet propulsion laboratory, in the field centers and in the aerospace industry.

"I am delighted that Pete Worden has demonstrated his confidence in me by naming me his deputy director," Christensen said in a statement. "I look forward to working with him to strengthen Ames by building on our traditional areas of excellence, expanding our business base and pursuing creative use of our facilities."

Worden held director and deputy director positions in the Air Force Space Command. Together, the new director and deputy director will preside over the research center's 2,500 research personnel, an annual budget of about $600 million and more than $3 billion worth of equipment.

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