Speaker Profile

Dr. Ajay Misra is a member of NASA’s Senior Executive Service and serves as the Deputy Director of Research and Engineering at NASA’s John H. Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.  In this capacity he shares the responsibility with the Director of Research and Engineering for leading Glenn’s research and development competencies in propulsion, materials and structures for extreme environments, communications, power, and physical sciences.   He has been actively engaged in development of technologies for electrified aircraft for the last several years.  Prior to his current position, Dr. Misra served in multiple capacities at NASA, which include Chief of the Materials and Structures Division, Acting Director of the Fundamental Aeronautics Program, and Program Executive for Radioisotope Power Systems Program.  He received his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and has authored more than sixty publications and four book chapters.  He has received several prestigious awards including the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executives in Federal Government in 2015.