Dr. John M. Logsdon

Dr. Logsdon is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. Prior to his leaving active faculty status in June 2008, he was on the faculty of the George Washington University for 38 years; before that he taught at the Catholic University of America for four years. He was the founder in 1987 and long-time Director of GW's Space Policy Institute. He is also a faculty member of the International Space University. He holds a B.S. in Physics from Xavier University (1960) and a Ph.D. in Political Science from New York University (1970).

Dr. Logsdon's research interests focus on the policy and historical aspects of U.S. and international space activities. He is author of The Decision to Go to the Moon: Project Apollo and the National Interest and the soon-to-be published John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon and is general editor of the eight-volume series Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in the History of the U.S. Civil Space Program. He has written numerous articles and reports on space policy and history. He is frequently consulted by the electronic and print media for his views on space issues.

Dr. Logsdon is a member of the Exploration Committee of the NASA Advisory Council and the Academic Council of the International Space University. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Planetary Society and the Advisory Board of the Secure World Foundation and the London Institute of Space Policy and Law. From September 2008-August 2009, he held the Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. In 2003, he served as a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. From 1997-1999, he served as a member of a blue-ribbon international panel evaluating Japan's National Space Development Agency. From 1998-2008, he was a member of the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Council of the Department of Transportation. He has also served on the Vice President's Space Policy Advisory Board and the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board of the National Research Council. He is a recipient of the NASA Exceptional Public Service, Distinguished Public Service, and Public Service Medals, the 2005 John F. Kennedy Award from the American Astronautical Society, and the 2006 Barry Goldwater Space Educator Award of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics.