White House names Daniel Hastings to space advisory group
United States Vice President Kamala Harris, the chair of the Nationwide Area Council (NSpC), has named MIT Professor Daniel Hastings to serve on the NSpC Customers Advisory Group (UAG). Hastings, who’s the affiliate dean of engineering for variety, fairness, and inclusion; head of the Division of Aeronautics and Astronautics; and the Cecil and Ida Inexperienced Schooling Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT, will be a part of a panel of specialists spanning academia, business, authorities, and the nonprofit sector to offer recommendation and steering to the White Home on issues associated to the area enterprise.
“I’m deeply inquisitive about all of the thrilling issues occurring within the area enterprise as a result of it’s a quickly evolving subject with a tangible affect on the U.S. safety and the financial system. The area enterprise is being disrupted by new know-how, new architectures, new enterprise fashions, and new horizons. Will probably be necessary to contemplate all of those as we transfer ahead,” says Hastings. “I’m thrilled and honored to be requested to have a seat on the desk with this unimaginable group of specialists and stakeholders to lend my perspective on these necessary matters.”
The aim of the NSpC is to help the White Home with technique and coverage growth associated to area exercise. Based on a White House news release, the UAG “will present the Nationwide Area Council recommendation and proposals on issues associated to area coverage and technique, together with however not restricted to, authorities insurance policies, legal guidelines, laws, treaties, worldwide devices, applications, and practices throughout the civil, industrial, worldwide, and nationwide safety area sectors.”
Hastings acquired his bachelor’s diploma from Oxford College, becoming a member of the MIT neighborhood as a graduate scholar in 1976. He acquired his MS (1978) and PhD (1980) levels in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT and joined the MIT school in 1985. His analysis pursuits have included laser-material interactions, fusion plasma physics, spacecraft plasma setting interactions, area plasma thrusters, and area programs evaluation and design.
Hastings has a devoted profession in service each inside and outdoors MIT. He served as MIT’s dean of undergraduate schooling from 2006 to 2013. In 2014, he was appointed to a five-year time period because the director of SMART, the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Analysis and Expertise. He was appointed head of the Division of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2019. In 2021, Hastings was appointed co-chair of MIT’s Values Assertion Committee.
Outdoors of MIT, Hastings served as chief scientist of the U.S. Air Pressure from 1997 to 1999. On this position, he was the chief scientific adviser to the chief of employees and the secretary and offered assessments on a variety of scientific and technical points affecting the Air Pressure mission. He’s a fellow of the Worldwide Astronautical Federation and the Worldwide Council in System Engineering and an honorary fellow of the AIAA. He’s additionally a member of the Nationwide Academy of Engineering.
Common (USAF, Ret.) Lester Lyles will function UAG chair overseeing the 30 members of the UAG. Hastings joins fellow MIT associates Charles Bolden (member of the MIT AeroAstro Visiting Committee), Karina Drees MBA ’07, Gwynne Shotwell (former member of the AeroAstro Visiting Committee), Robert Smith MBA ’98, and Mandy Vaughn ’00, SM ’02.