Dr. James Garvin
Chief Scientist at Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA
Dr. James Garvin provides strategic advice on the scientific priorities and directions for the Goddard Space Flight Center to its senior management, as well as for NASA. As a veteran Earth and planetary scientist within NASA in a career that has spanned more than 20 years, Dr. Garvin brings his experience with interdisciplinary science and instrumentation in helping to direct the scientific trajectory of the Center. Prior to coming to Goddard, Garvin served as the NASA Chief Scientist, advising three separate Administrators and served as the chief scientist for Mars exploration from 2000 until 2004, spearheading the development of the scientific strategy that led NASA to select such missions as the Mars Exploration Rovers, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Phoenix polar lander, and the Mars Science Laboratory.
Dr. Garvin's scientific expertise spans several elements of Earth and Planetary sciences. He served as one of the founding fathers of the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) experiment and led the scientific investigation of impact cratering processes for Mars using MOLA topographic data. His scientific expertise includes the geology and geophysics of impact craters, the geomorphology of oceanic islands, and the geometric properties of sedimentary systems on Mars, Venus and the Moon.
Dr. Garvin is presently leading a team of scientists who are using the Hubble Space Telescope to explore the lunar surface at ultraviolet wavelengths in search of potential resources in support of the Vision for Space Exploration. He has served NASA as a member of Sally Ride's post-Challenger team, and chaired the 1999-2001 NASA Decadal Planning Team (for Exploration), as well as the requirements definition team for the 2008 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission. During his career, he has been a Co-Investigator on the Mars Observer, Mars Global Surveyor, NEAR-Shoemaker, Radarsat and ENVISAT missions. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed scientific articles and other popular articles about space exploration of Mars and the Moon.
Dr. Garvin earned his Ph.D in the Geological Sciences from Brown University in 1984 under the mentorship of Professors J. W. Head and T. A. Mutch. He also received an MS from Stanford University in Computer Sciences and a second MS from Brown in Geology. He graduated with highest honors from Brown University in 1978 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Most recently (2005), he was elected a Trustee of Brown University, and was the 2005 William Rogers award recipient (Brown University) for his contributions to society.