Newswise — Dr. John M. Horack, a senior NASA executive, scientist and entrepreneur, has been chosen as the Vice President for Research at The University of Alabama in Huntsville.
President Dave Williams, announcing the appointment, stated: "John emerged as the top candidate after an exhaustive process led by a national search firm, in conjunction with a committee of university and community research leaders. He has the range of credentials essential to leading UAHuntsville's extraordinary research programs to even greater heights. In addition to his strong scientific, entrepreneurial and technological-management background, John brings a deep appreciation for the full intellectual capabilities of a research university, including the roles of the liberal arts, nursing and other scholarly disciplines."
Dr. Horack is the Director of the Science and Mission Systems Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. As a member of the Senior Executive Service, Dr. Horack leads a team of 200 civil service scientists and engineers, along with several hundred contractor employees, in performing scientific research and project implementation for NASA's Exploration, Space Operations, and Science initiatives, overseeing total research, technology, and development expenditures of $240 million.
His organization's responsibilities include high-profile NASA programs such as the $2 billion Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the Discovery/New Frontiers planetary exploration program, the Quest program for robotic scientific research and exploration of the Moon, Environmental Control and Life Support Systems for the International Space Station, technology development of advanced rocket engines, and important Earth Science research and applications activities.
Prior to this work at NASA, his second tour of duty with the agency, Dr. Horack was a co-founder, executive, and board member of Huntsville-based Mobular Technologies. Founded in 2000, Mobular is a software technology company dedicated to serving Financial Services and eCommerce sectors of the economy with innovative and cost-effective electronic document solutions. He was instrumental in Mobular's early product development, the securing of venture financing, and the hiring of the initial leadership and executive team. Mobular is still thriving in Huntsville 9 years after its founding and has more than 25 employees with major clients that include IBM, Microsoft, and PepsiCo.
Dr. Horack will join the university on February 23, 2009.
"Having been in Huntsville since 1987, having earned graduate degrees from UAHuntsville, and having worked in leadership positions within both the public and private sectors, I have seen the breadth of assets that this community brings to important national issues " defense, education, exploration, the economy, and the generation of new knowledge to fuel our economy," Dr. Horack said.
"Much of what Huntsville and the region have become is directly attributable to the quality of research and academics at UAHuntsville. And I believe that the extent to which this community will grow and develop in the future is intimately connected to our ability to further mature UAHuntsville into a world-class research and educational institution, on par with the best universities anywhere."
"I am therefore very excited and honored to have this opportunity to work with Dr. Williams, Dr. Karbhari, and this entire community to help grow UAHuntsville as a major 'anchor tenant' in the future development of our region, state, and the nation."
Former NASA Administrator Dr. Mike Griffin praised Dr. Horack's capabilities. "John is a great choice. He is as good an applied scientist as I know. He has a bright, agile mind, and a sure eye for where the results of new research might be usefully applied. He also has the advantage, too rare among technical folks, of having a truly engaging personality. He's a scientist who can work with people and get them going in his direction."
Rex Geveden, President of Huntsville-based Teledyne Brown Engineering was equally complimentary. "John is an extraordinary person who has achieved success as a researcher, entrepreneur, and government executive. UAHuntsville could not, in my opinion, have made a better choice."
The university's search team was led by Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Dr. Vistasp Karbhari, who commented:
"I am thrilled that Dr. Horack is joining UAHuntsville as the Vice President of Research. John will bring a fresh look and dynamism to this position. His scientific background, his managerial acumen, and his ability to both plan strategically and to develop ties to the local community will assist us tremendously as we move towards our goal of becoming a pre-eminent national research institution. I'm looking forward to working closely with him to integrate research and academics as we move UAHuntsville to the next level of excellence."
Dr. Horack will be responsible for two of the major goals outlined in the university's Power of 10 Strategic Plan, namely increasing research expenditures from $65M to $100M ($10 million to the power of 8)/year and increasing the number of PhDs generated through this research from approximately 35 per year to 100 (10 to the second power) each year. He has the broad management, entrepreneurial and community experience to help in achieving many of the other goals which comprise:
"¢ 1 international campus (10 to the power of zero) "¢ 10 new degree programs (10 to the power of 1) "¢ 1,000 co-ops and internships/year (10 to the power of 3) "¢ 10,000 students (10 to the power of 4) "¢ $10,000,000 in annual giving (10 to the power of 7) "¢ $100,000,000 in total endowment (10 to the power of 8)
Dr. Horack earned his master's and doctorate degrees in physics at UAHuntsville in 1992 and 1993, respectively, and his bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy from Northwestern University in 1987.
He is the author or co-author of more than 85 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, books, monographs, and conference proceedings. He has given 25 invited talks at universities, research institutes and industrial organizations. He serves on the International Astronautical Federation's Space Transportation Congress, planning the space transportation symposia of the annual International Astronautical Congress meeting of over 5,000 scientists and engineers.
Dr. Horack's research interests include high-energy astrophysics, and in particular, cosmic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In 1987, he joined NASA as a member of the instrument development and science teams for NASA's Burst and Transient Source Experiment which flew aboard the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory from 1991 until 2000. During this time he was a leading scientist in the discovery of the concomitant spatial inhomogeneity and angular isotropy of gamma ray bursts, published in Nature, as well as the discovery of gamma-ray flashes from terrestrial thunderstorms, published in Science. His research included the earliest use of gamma-ray bursts as cosmological markers to understand better the large-scale structure and evolution of the universe.
Dr. Horack was also instrumental in the development, implementation, and management of cooperative research agreements between NASA/Marshall and the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications to better understand the theory and practice of effective communication of science and technology research. His early work in this area led to a 1999 Webby Award for NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center in the category of "Best Science Site on the Internet." He was a finalist for NASA's Astronaut Candidate Program in 1998, and represented the agency at the International Space University Summer Session in Toronto, Canada in 1990. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has helped organize numerous peer-reviewed panel discussions at annual AAAS meetings. He is a member of the American Astronomical Society.
Dr. Horack is an Eagle Scout, and a licensed private pilot with an instrument rating and a committed booster for UAHuntsville soccer and ice hockey. He lives in Huntsville with his wife, Dr. Elizabeth K. Newton, an alumna of the graduate school at UAHuntsville, and their three children.
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