Griffin Presents Plan for NASA’s Future

Clark School alumnus and NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin, Ph.D. '77 aerospace engineering, returned to campus on October 5th to share his vision for the space agency and its plans to return to the moon and beyond.

The archived video of Dr. Griffin's talk is available to watch online, in addition to his PowerPoint presentation.


	Dr. Griffin (center, gray suit) also met with the student officers of AIAA, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; and Sigma Gamma Tau, the honor society for Aerospace Engineering.

Dr. Griffin is one of many engineering alumni who have maintained close ties with the Clark School after achieving greatness. He gave his talk in the new Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building, which was dedicated in September and is named after the '91 Ph.D. reliability engineering alumnus who now heads Bell Labs. Earlier this year, Clark Enterprises Chairman and CEO A. James Clark, a 1950 alumnus and the man for whom the Clark School is named, donated $30 million towards a scholarship endowment.


Left to right: William "Brit" Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland; Dr. Michael Griffin, NASA Administrator; Dr. Nariman Farvardin, dean of the Clark School of Engineering; and Dr. C.D. Mote, Jr., president of the University of Maryland. Dr. Griffin is one of many engineering alumni who have maintained close ties with the Clark School after achieving greatness.

Dr. Griffin also has remained active with the Clark School since earning his degree here. He served on the advisory board for the Department of Aerospace Engineering for several years, providing guidance and support for the department’s programs. He helps to maintain and strengthen the Clark School's relationships with industry and with the space agency he now runs.

Aerospace engineering's Academy of Distinguished Alumni inducted Dr. Griffin in 1999 and he was named one of the Clark School's Distinguished Engineering Alumni in 2000.

Pres. Bush nominated Dr. Griffin to lead NASA in March and the U.S. Senate confirmed him for the position in April.

Published October 7, 2005