Gregory Robinson, NASA’s Webb Telescope Program Director Is On 2022 TIME100 List

The Webb Program Director Named in TIME100 List

TIME magazine has chosen the commander of NASA’s largest space scientific project as one of the world’s most influential people.

Gregory Robinson, the director of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Program, has been nominated for the TIME100, the magazine’s annual list of the world’s most powerful people.

Robinson joins with other TIME100 winners such as President Joe Biden and Oprah Winfrey in receiving this year’s award.

Who Is Gregory Robinson?

Gregory Robinson is in charge of the Webb telescope, which will be the most important space observatory for the next decade.

Webb will investigate every aspect of the universe’s 13.5 billion-year history, from within our solar system to the farthest detectable galaxies and all in between, in order to better understand our role in cosmos.

Robinson, who is based at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington and heads the programme, joined the team in 2018.

“Throughout the challenges and amazing triumphs of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, Greg has displayed remarkable leadership,” stated NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Congratulations, Greg, and thank you for your outstanding contributions to NASA and humanity.”

Why Was He Selected?

According to TIME, the list honors the impact, ingenuity, and achievement of the world’s most influential people. TIME published a tribute to Robinson’s accomplishments by John Mather, a Webb senior project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and a Nobel Laureate in Physics.

“I am ecstatic and pleased to be included in the TIME100. “I want to thank a wonderful team of NASA engineers, scientists, technicians, our contractor and academic base, and partners from around the world for their incredible resiliency on the Webb mission throughout design, development, testing, launch, and now commissioning,” Robinson stated.

“We witnessed a once-in-a-lifetime event when Webb debuted on Christmas Day, a gift to the world.” “We have broken new ground and surmounted numerous hurdles to give spectacular vistas of our early universe this summer and for many years to come as we are near to the finish of the science instrument and observatory commissioning phase.”

Gregory Robinson’s Qualification

Gregory Robinson completed a dual-degree programme at Virginia Union University and Howard University, earning bachelor’s degrees in maths and electrical engineering.

Later, he earned a degree in Master of Business Administration from Averett University and Showed up at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government’s Senior Executive Fellows Program.

He also took part in the Leadership for a Democratic Society programme at Federal Executive Institute.

He currently teaches a graduate-level course on directing complex projects at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, and he formerly taught project management fundamentals at George Washington University’s Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering.

Gregory Robinson’s Back Story

Robinson started his career at NASA in 1989, where he worked on a number of high-profile missions. He served in a variety of leadership positions while working on multiple spaceflight and space shuttle missions.

He held positions as NASA deputy chief engineer and deputy center director at NASA’s John H. Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

He was also the acting deputy assistant administrator for the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“I’ve had a terrific career with amazing colleagues, and I’m very thrilled to be a part of this first chapter in Webb’s scientific story, working with a team that has demonstrated remarkable tenacity after years of effort on the programme,” Robinson said. “Webb will embark on a significant scientific trip, and it’s incredible to think that we’re so near to finally unraveling the cosmos.”

Conclusion

Webb’s complicated design was fueled by fundamental astronomical problems. Webb will attempt to solve the age-old issue of how the universe came to be. What are the processes that cause galaxies to develop and evolve? What place do we have in the universe?

Following its launch on December 25, 2021, the Webb crew experienced a stressful multi-week spacecraft commissioning process during which hundreds of parts coordinated to perform intricately in space’s hostile environment while on its route to its ultimate orbit one million miles from Earth. Webb is the first space telescope to have an unprecedented optical technology and a huge deployable primary mirror with 18 segments.

The team successfully oriented the telescope once its science instruments cooled to operating temperatures. The crew is now working on getting the observatory’s instruments ready to produce the observatory’s first magnificent science photos and spectra this summer.

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