Leslie Livesay, former associate director for flight projects and mission success at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has been named deputy director of the federally funded research and development center, succeeding Larry James, who held the role for over a decade.
Livesay, who brings to the role 37 years of experience in autonomous space exploration, Earth science and astrophysics, will work under Laurie Leshin, the first woman to lead the laboratory, NASA said Monday.
Her nearly four-decade career at JPL includes time as director for astronomy and physics, director for engineering and science, deputy director of the Astronomy and Physics Directorate and flight system manager for the New Millennium Deep Space 1 Project.
She also served as project manager for the Kepler space telescope mission to search extrasolar terrestrial planets.
“Leslie has blazed a path in numerous senior leadership positions across JPL. She brings remarkable experience and capabilities to the role as we look toward the enormous and exciting opportunities that lay ahead,” Leshin said.
