Professor Laurie Leshin is University Professor for Space Futures at Arizona State University (ASU), where she advises senior leadership on space, research, and higher education.

She works closely with ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, the University Design Institute, the Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes, and others.

She is a former Bren Professor of Geochemistry and Planetary Science at Caltech and a co-investigator for two instruments on NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover.

From 2022 to 2025, she served as Director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL), where she guided major missions in Earth science, planetary exploration, and astrophysics, and she continues.

Prior to leading NASA JPL, Prof. Leshin held a number of senior positions at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, including Director of Science, Deputy Director of Science and Technology, and Deputy Associate Administrator of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, overseeing future human spaceflight.

She has also served as President of Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Dean of the School of Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Her honors include NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal and Distinguished Public Service Medal.

The International Astronomical Union named asteroid 4922 Leshin to recognize her contribution to planetary science.