Charles Elachi

Dr. Charles Elachi

Charles Asshur Al-Wadad Elachi (Arabic: شارل عشي‎, born April 18, 1947 in Lebanon^[1]) is the Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), located in Pasadena, California. He has held this position since May 1, 2001 and also holds professorships in electrical engineering and planetary science at Caltech.

Early life and education

Elachi is the director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and vice president of the California Institute of Technology. -Primary and secondary education in Lebanon: Elachi studied at Collège des Apôtres, Jounieh from 1958 to 1962, and then at the Ecole Orientale, Zahlé, where he graduated in 1964 first in Lebanon in the Lebanese Baccalaureate (Mathématiques Elémentaires). -University studies: Elachi received a bachelor's degree (1968) in physics from University of Grenoble, France; the Diplome d'Ingenieur (1968) in engineering from the Polytechnic Institute, Grenoble; and a master's degree (1969) and doctorate (1971) in electrical sciences from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. He also has a master's degree (1983) in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MBA (1979) from the University of Southern California. He joined JPL in 1970. He is professor of electrical engineering and planetary science at Caltech.

Achievements

Elachi has been a principal investigator on a number of research and development studies and flight projects sponsored by NASA. These include the Shuttle Imaging Radar series (science team leader), the Magellan imaging radar at Venus (team member), and the Cassini Titan radar (team leader). He is author of more than 230 publications in the fields of active microwave remote sensing and electromagnetic theory, and holds several patents in those fields. He taught the physics of remote sensing at Caltech from 1982 to 2001.

As JPL's director for space and Earth science programs from 1982 to 2000, he was responsible for the development of numerous flight missions and instruments for Earth observation, planetary exploration, and astrophysics.

In 1988, the Los Angeles Times selected him as one of Southern California's rising stars who will make a difference in L.A. In 1989, asteroid 1982 SU was renamed 4116 Elachi in recognition of his contribution to planetary exploration.

In 1989, Elachi was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and has served on a number of academy committees.

He has chaired a number of strategic planning committees for NASA. He has lectured in more than 20 countries about space exploration and Earth observation. He participated in a number of archeological expeditions in Egypt, Oman and China.

In 2010, he became a member of the University Advisory Board of KFUPM, Saudi Arabia.^[2]and serves on the board of KAUST, Saudi Arabia. He is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon.

In 2010, he received the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur award. ^[3]

In 2011, the Space Foundation bestowed its highest honor, the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award, to Dr. Elachi.^[4]

Awards

His numerous awards have included being honored as one of "America's Best Leaders" by U.S. News & World Report (2006), in collaboration with the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, the Royal Society of London's Massey Award (2006), Lebanon's Order of Cedars (2006), the American Task Force for Lebanon's Philip Habib Award for Distinguished Public Service (2006), the American Astronautical Society's Space Flight Award (2005), the National Defense Industrial Association's Bob Hope Distinguished Citizen Award (2005), NASA Exceptional Service Medal (2005), NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal (2004, 2002, 1994), NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (1982), NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1999), the Takeda Award (2002), the Wernher von Braun Award (2002), Dryden Award (2000), the Committee on Space Research's Nordberg Medal (1996), the Nevada Medal (1995), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Medal of Engineering Excellence (1992) and Geoscience and Remote Sensing Distinguished Achievement Award (1987), the W. T. Pecora Award (1985), and the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing's Autometric Award (1980 and 1982). He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the International Academy of Astronautics.

See also

• NASA
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory

References

1. ^ Cedars Network US Directory: Dr. Charles Elachi, Director of JPL. Cedars Network. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
2. ^ http://www.kfupm.edu.sa/pr/upload/future_news/200.pdf
3. ^ http://www.eas.caltech.edu/news/171
4. ^ http://www.spacefoundation.org/news/story.php?id=1040

External links

• Dr. Elachi's Official Biography from JPL
• Interview with Pan-Arabic Channel Al-Arabyia (In Arabic).
• America's Best Leaders: Charles Elachi
• TED Talks: Charles Elachi on the Mars Rovers at TED in 2008

Persondata
Name	Elachi, Charles
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Date of birth	April 18, 1947
Place of birth	Lebanon
Date of death
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