Ryschkewitsch Named NASA’s Chief Engineer

Michael Ryschkewitsch has been named the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s chief engineer, succeeding Christopher Scolese.

Ryschkewitsch will be responsible for the technical readiness of all NASA programs, as well as with making sure the agency’s missions are planned and conducted on a sound engineering basis.

Since October 2005 Ryschkewitsch has served as deputy center director for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. He previously was director of the applied engineering and technology directorate at Goddard. In addition, he held several management positions and supported projects from the first servicing mission of the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993 to the April launch of NASA’s Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere mission.

Ryschkewitsch, who joined NASA in 1982 as a cryogenics engineer, earned his bachelor’s degree in 1973 from the University of Florida and a doctorate in 1978 from Duke University.

Scolese was named NASA’s associate administrator earlier this month.