April 20, 2004
Baltimore, MD

Dr.  Michael D. Griffin is the new head of the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins  University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland.

Griffin  oversees the second-largest department at the Laboratory, with more than 600  specialists tackling some of NASA's and the military's toughest space science  and engineering challenges. His tenure begins as the Lab embarks on several  ambitious projects, including a "fire and ice" tandem of robotic  spacecraft to explore Mercury and Pluto - the planets closest to and farthest  from the sun - and unprecedented studies of solar activity and the sun-Earth  relationship.

Griffin  succeeds Dr. Stamatios M. (Tom) Krimigis, head of the Space Department since  1991. His experience includes a previous stop at APL in the 1980s, when he  helped design the successful Delta 180 series of missile-defense technology  satellites for the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. After leaving APL  in 1986, he served as the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization's deputy  for technology, and as both the chief engineer and associate administrator for  exploration at NASA Headquarters.

Before  rejoining APL this month, he was president and chief operating officer of  In-Q-Tel, a private, non-profit enterprise funded by the Central Intelligence  Agency to identify and invest in companies developing cutting-edge technologies  that serve national security interests. Griffin's resume also includes several  leadership roles at Orbital Sciences Corporation and key technical positions at  NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Computer Sciences Corporation.

"Mike  Griffin is an accomplished leader, well known and well respected in the aerospace  community," says APL Director Dr. Richard T. Roca. "He is a dedicated  professional whose enthusiasm for our critical work remained strong even while  he was distinguishing himself as a senior government executive and a leader in  private industry. We are very happy to have him back to provide leadership for  our civilian and military space initiatives."

A  resident of Reston, Va., Griffin is president-elect of the American Institute  of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and a member of the American  Astronautical Society and International Academy of Astronautics. In addition to  a doctorate in aerospace engineering, he holds master's degrees in aerospace  science, electrical engineering, applied physics, civil engineering and  business administration, and a bachelor's degree in physics.

Griffin  joins a laboratory about to mark 45 years in space exploration; APL's  distinguished record includes building and launching 60 spacecraft and more  than 150 instruments over those four-plus decades. The Lab's 61st spacecraft,  named MESSENGER (for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and  Ranging), is set to launch this summer from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and begin  orbiting Mercury in 2011.