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Smead Program Director Lewis Groswald

As part of this spring’s of naming of the Ann and H.J. Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences department, two new positions were created to help grow the educational and research reach of the program.

���񱦵�'s dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, Bobby Braun, will serve as the Smead Endowed Chair of Space Technology. This newly created position recognizes leadership, creativity, and technical excellence in space systems. The endowment will provide continuing support for Braun and his PhD students to pursue new research avenues while honoring the legacy of the Smead family’s commitment to excellence in aerospace education.

“I’m honored to serve as the first Smead Endowed Chair of Space Technology,” Braun said. “Joining this community was one of the major reasons for my move to Colorado. I am excited to help take this program to even greater heights.”

Dean Braun is an internationally recognized leader in the design of advanced flight systems and technologies for planetary exploration. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, an AIAA Fellow, and an author or co-author of over 300 technical publications in the fields of atmospheric flight dynamics, planetary exploration, design optimization, and systems engineering. His first exposure to the Smead Program was in 2015 when he served as the keynote speaker for the annual spring symposium.

The department is also pleased to announce that Lewis Groswald will serve as the Smead Program Director effective June 2017. In this new position, Groswald will advise the Smead Aerospace department chair, develop program strategy and partners, and lead the recruitment and selection efforts of future Smead Scholars. Groswald was previously at New York University, serving as the chief communications officer for the Institute for the Study of Decision Making. Prior to joining NYU, Lewis was staff assistant for the United States Senate Subcommittee on Science and Space and before joining the Senate, he was an associate program officer at the Space Studies Board of The National Academy of Sciences, where he directed studies advising the federal government on the nation’s space program.

“In this new, exciting and critical role, Lewis will work to grow the department's reputation as a leader in aerospace education and research,” said Penny Axelrad, chair of Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences. “With his work in aerospace policy in Washington, D.C., combined with his academic experience at NYU, he is the perfect fit to help develop the next-generation of world-class aerospace engineering students.”

“I’m very excited to join the Smead team and work with the brightest minds in aerospace to help grow this program,” Groswald said. “Boulder is not just an amazing city, but one of the premiere destinations for aerospace scholars in the world, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Groswald is a graduate of The George Washington University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in international affairs, with a double concentration in conflict and security and Europe and Eurasia, and a master’s degree in international science and technology policy.

Dan Scheeres, Seebass Endowed Chair, has led the Smead Scholar program since its inception in 2008.

“With Lewis' background, expertise and connections, he can grow the Smead Scholar program in its impact and give it the national visibility it deserves,” Scheeres said. “As the inaugural Smead Director he will help shape both the Smead Scholar Program and the Smead department as a whole. We all look forward to working with him.”