SPACE SYMPOSIUM SPEAKERS

Dr. Alison Nordt

Director, Space Sciences & Instrumentation
Lockheed Martin Space

Dr. Alison Nordt is the Director for Space Science and Instrumentation at Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Center. She is responsible for developing and operating missions that provide observational data to advance space science knowledge. Her work involves maturing technology to support current and future space-based telescopes and instruments. She is currently a Co-Investigator for TechMAST (Technology Maturation for Astrophysics Space Telescopes) and related internal research and development efforts.

Previously, Dr. Nordt was the senior manager for Astrophysics and held several roles on the NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera for the Webb Telescope) program including Program Manager, Integrated Product Team Lead and Certified Principal Engineer. She was responsible for the design, development, testing and delivery of the NIRCam instrument including optics, structures, mechanisms, electronics and software. She also held responsibility for programmatic performance including cost and schedule execution and post-delivery support.

Dr. Nordt has an extensive engineering background in structures, opto-mechanical systems and instrument development including design, analysis and hands-on hardware experience through integration and test. She has diverse program management experience through the program lifecycle from capture through end item product delivery.

Dr. Nordt holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University and a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the International Academy of Astronautics and an AIAA Fellow. She was named the AIAA Engineer of the Year in 2023.

Related Sessions

Space Science & Exploration Track

Monday, April 13, 2026

10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Track: