MIT World Speakers

Jim Garvin

Dr. Jim Garvin currently serves as Lead Scientist for Mars Exploration at NASA Headquarters for the Space Science Enterprise. Prior to this position, he was with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center where he served as a Senior Earth and Space Scientist for 15 years.

Garvin was educated at Brown and Stanford Universities, receiving his Ph.D. in 1984. His research focused on the sedimentary geology of the Viking Lander sites on Mars, as well as impact cratering processes. Upon arrival at Goddard, Garvin spearheaded development of planetary orbital laser altimetry as a tool for measuring landscapes on Mars and Earth. Garvin served as Chief Scientist for the Shuttle Laser Altimeter (SLA), which flew in Earth orbit in 1996 and 1997 on STS-72 and STS-85, respectively. He was recently awarded NASA's Outstanding Leadership Medal for his work developing the scientific strategy for Mars Exploration and for chairing the NASA Decadal Planning Team.