Michael D. Griffin

Who is Michael D. Griffin?

Michael Douglas Griffin is an American physicist and aerospace engineer. He served as Administrator of NASA, the U.S. space agency, from April 13, 2005, to January 20, 2009. As NASA Administrator Griffin oversaw such areas as the future of human spaceflight, the fate of the Hubble telescope and NASA's role in understanding climate change. In April 2009 Griffin, who has an academic background, was named eminent scholar and a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Griffin had worked at NASA prior to serving as NASA Administrator, including as Associate Administrator for Exploration. When he was nominated as NASA chief, he was head of the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. While he describes himself modestly as a "simple aerospace engineer from a small town", Griffin has held several high-profile political appointments. In 2007 he was included in the TIME 100, the magazine's list of the 100 most influential people.

Griffin's appointment as Administrator was associated with a significant shift in the direction of the agency. He began signaling intended changes at his Senate confirmation hearing.