Charles Elachi

Charles Elachi is Director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Vice President of the California Institute of Technology, where he is also a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Planetary Science. In his 30 year career, Elachi has played the lead role in developing the field of spaceborne imaging radar, which made JPL and NASA the world leaders in that field and over the last decade, developed Seasat, SIR-A, SIR-B, SIR-C, Magellan, SRTM and the Cassini Radar. As director of Space and Earth Science programs, Elachi was responsible for the definition and development of JPL flight instruments and missions for solar system exploration, the Origins program, Earth observation and astrophysics. He also chaired a number of national and international committees that developed NASA roadmaps for the exploration of solar systems and Mars. Elachi is the author of over 230 publications, three textbooks and holds several patents in the fields of space and planetary exploration, Earth observation from space, active microwave remote sensing, electromagnetic theory, and integrated optics. Among his dozens of awards, Elachi has received the Takeda Award (2002), the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal (2002), the Wernher Von Braun Award (2002), the UCLA Department of Earth and Space Science Distinguished Alumni Award (2002), Dryden Award (2000) and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal (1999). Elachi earned his Ph.D. at California Institute of Technology and his MBA at University of Southern California.