Thomas H. Zurbuchen

Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen is NASA’s Associate Administrator of Science and in that role is responsible for NASA’s Science program, including Earth Science, Heliophysics, Planetary Science, and Astrophysics with a total budget of approximately $7B/yr. With this program and a diverse set of leaders, he is helping answer some of humanity’s biggest questions: Where did we come from?, Are we alone?, and How does the universe work? Growing up in Switzerland, Dr. Zurbuchen was a keen observer of the natural world from an early age and received a public education with Masters and doctorate of physics degrees from the University of Bern. His science and leadership career focused on solar, heliospheric and planetary instrumentation and data analysis as a professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he taught in Space Science, Aerospace Engineering and Innovation-focused classes. He led several University of Michigan innovation initiatives in both education and research, one of which led to the top-ranked undergraduate entrepreneurship program nationally. He joined NASA in 2016. His honors include induction as a member of the International Academy of Astronautics and the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW), a 2021 Presidential Rank Award, and the 2018 Heinrich-Greinacher prize from the University of Bern. Dr. Zurbuchen engages people worldwide with NASA’s work and the inspiration of science. He can be found on Twitter @Dr_ThomasZ.