Dr. Douglas O. Stanley has served as President and Executive Director of the National Institute of Aerospace since July 2012. In that position, he is responsible for all aspects of operations of a $30M/year major research, education, and outreach institute.

He was selected for the position after serving since October 2011 as NIA’s Vice-President of Research and Program Development. In this position, Dr. Stanley oversaw NIA’s research programs and the continued expansion of the Institute’s research portfolio through leading teams that incorporate university faculty, NIA’s research staff, government laboratories and industry partners.

Dr. Stanley previously served as a Principal Research Engineer on the Aerospace Engineering Faculty of Georgia Tech and Visiting Professor in Residence at NIA. He is an internationally recognized expert with over 25 years of experience leading the systems engineering and analysis of advanced space transportation systems and technology development in government, industry, and academia.

In 2005, Dr. Stanley received the highest honor that NASA confers on a non-government employee, the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, for his exceptional leadership of the Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS). The 400-person study defined the systems, schedule, programs, budgets, and technologies required to return humans to the Moon, service the International Space Station after Space Shuttle retirement, and eventually transport humans to Mars. He has also been selected as the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Hampton Roads Section Engineer of the Year, AIAA Region 1 Engineer of the Year, and Engineer of the Year for the Peninsula Engineering Society.

Prior to joining the faculty of Georgia Tech, Dr. Stanley served as Program Director, Advanced Flight Systems, for Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Advanced Programs Group (APG). While at Orbital, he led a range of business development activities related to advanced space flight systems and technologies, including some of the largest and most complex proposals in that company’s history.

Before joining Orbital, Dr. Stanley had a 12-year career at NASA Langley Research Center and NASA Headquarters. During this time, he served as Senior Technical Advisor to the Head of NASA’s Reusable Launch Vehicle Program Office, which was responsible for all of NASA’s advanced space transportation research and development, including the X-33 and X-34 flight demonstrator programs.

He has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and conference papers in the space transportation field and currently serves on the Space Transportation Technical Committees of both the AIAA and the International Astronautical Federation, in addition to AIAA’s Space Exploration Program Committee.

Dr. Stanley holds a D.Sc., in Systems Engineering and Management from the George Washington University (2002), an M.S. in Astronautical Engineering, JIAFS Program from the George Washington University (1988), and B.S., in Mathematics from Baylor University (1986).