Jan. 23, 2006

Laura Lewis
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Phone: (650) 604-2162

Karen Randall
SETI Institute, Mountain View, Calif.
Phone: (650) 960-4537

NASA AMES CENTER DIRECTOR JOINS SETI INSTITUTE

G. Scott Hubbard, director of NASA Ames Research Center, located in California’s Silicon Valley, today announced his personal plans for the future. He has accepted a new assignment as holder of the Carl Sagan Chair for the Study of Life in the Universe at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., effective Feb. 15, 2006.

As holder of the Carl Sagan Chair, Hubbard will work to strengthen the SETI Institute’s visibility and support for its research into the origin of life, and how it might be found on other worlds, particularly the planets and moons of our solar system.

“The people at Ames are among the best in the agency, and it has been both a pleasure and an honor to serve as the Ames center director. I know Ames will continue to play a creative and critically important role as NASA turns the Vision for Space Exploration into reality,” Hubbard said. “My new position at the SETI Institute is a wonderful opportunity for me to advance one of the most exciting areas of research today: the understanding of how life on Earth began, and the search for life elsewhere in the cosmos. It’s a chance to learn things that, only a generation ago, would have seemed beyond knowing.”

“Scott is the perfect candidate for the Carl Sagan Chair,” remarked Thomas Pierson, chief executive officer of the SETI Institute. “He has a solid background in the relevant sciences and has proven himself to be an effective and widely admired leader. As the holder of the Carl Sagan Chair, Scott will be engaged with many audiences, furthering their understanding about science and its potential for new discoveries. Scott will bring both expertise and enthusiasm to this task and will be a terrific representative for the Institute both domestically and internationally,” Pierson added.

“We are extremely grateful to Scott, and he should be very proud of his many contributions to NASA,” noted NASA Administrator Michael Griffin. “In recent years, he guided Ames through a critical transition that will serve the agency well as we implement the Vision for Space Exploration.”

Hubbard began his career at NASA Ames in 1987 , and has served as the Center director since 2002. He is known for his innovative approach to collaborations between government, academia and the private sector, particularly as embodied by the development of the award-winning NASA Research Park. His many accomplishments include his work on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, which helped to establish the physical cause of the loss of the space shuttle Columbia. His tenure as the first NASA Mars program director redefined NASA’s robotic Mars missions and led to the successful and ongoing reconnaissance of Mars by the Mars Exploration Rovers. He served as the manager for the Lunar Prospector mission that found water ice at both of the moon’s poles, and he is credited with conceiving the Mars Pathfinder mission. Hubbard also served as the first director of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute.

NASA Ames Research Center specializes in research geared toward creating new knowledge and new technologies that span the spectrum of the agency's missions and interests, with a focus on the Vision for Space Exploration.

The SETI Institute is a non-profit research organization addressing the broad question of life in the universe. It is home to many dozens of scientists engaged in investigating the origin, nature and distribution of life. Its staff and Board of Trustees includes many eminent scientists and educators, including two Nobel laureates, five members of the National Academy of Sciences, two members of the National Academy of Engineering, a MacArthur fellow, as well as numerous academics and technology innovators.

The Carl Sagan Chair for the Study of Life in the Universe is named for Dr. Carl Sagan, former member of the SETI Institute Board of Trustees.  Sagan was a distinguished astronomer and educator who popularized science and the search for life through his work on NASA missions, books, and the PBS television series "Cosmos."  Dr. Christopher Chyba, Princeton University's Professor of Astrophysics and International Affairs and Co-Director, Program on Science & Global Security, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, held the Sagan Chair from 1998 to 2005. Dr. Chyba joined the SETI Institute Board of Trustees in the fall of 2005.

Additional information about NASA Ames and the SETI Institute is available on the Internet at:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/home/index.html

http://www.seti.org

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