Prof. John M. Horack, PhD, continues his significant contributions to our nation’s heritage in space flight and exploration as the inaugural Neil A. Armstrong Chair in Aerospace Policy in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Ohio State University. The Neil Armstrong Chair in Aerospace Policy supports intellectual thought and political leadership in the area of aerospace policy, and pioneers preeminent research and student learning in this field. Dr. Horack plays a critical integrating role in connecting the aerospace engineering expertise in the College of Engineering with the policy expertise of the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.

After graduating from Northwestern University with a degree in physics and astronomy, John Horack began his career at NASA in 1987 as a key contributor to NASA's Compton Gamma Ray Observatory to study gamma ray bursts. He directed final instrument preparations at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., prior to the observatory's launch on Space Shuttle Atlantis. From 1991 until the Compton Observatory was deorbited in 2000, it scanned the sky for gamma ray bursts, providing NASA with unprecedented insight into the origins and behavior of these unique cosmic events.

Dr. Horack was assistant mission scientist for the Astro-2 science payload, which flew to space on Space Shuttle Endeavour in March 1995. The Astro-2 science payload, the second of NASA's Spacelab missions dedicated to ultraviolet astronomy, made the highest-quality space-based astronomical observations ever recorded in the ultraviolet spectral regions, and successfully detected the presence of intergalactic helium -- a test of the "Big Bang" theory of the formation of the universe.

As a Marshall Center gamma ray astrophysics research scientist from 1991-1998, Dr. Horack conducted original experiments and theoretical studies in the field of high-energy astrophysics. He was instrumental in groundbreaking research into gamma ray bursts -- violent star "hypernovas" that can emit as much energy in 10 seconds as our sun will release in its lifetime.

Dr. Horack was a 1998 finalist in NASA's Astronaut Candidate selection class.

From 1996-2000, Dr. Horack was assistant director for science communications in the Space Sciences Laboratory at the Marshall Center, where he developed new strategies and processes for communicating technical scientific research to non-scientific audiences. He next was assistant manager of the Science and Mission Systems Office, handling day-to-day oversight of the organization and its more than 250 civil service and contract employees

Later at NASA, John Horack was appointed to the Senior Executive Service -- the government personnel system covering top managerial positions across some 75 federal agencies -- and was named manager of the Science and Mission Systems Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Commenting on his position at the Ohio State University, Dr. Horack said: “Ohio State's comprehensive aerospace, science, public policy, and other assets make it a unique environment in which to lead the pursuit and realization of a more relevant and more productive set of global space activities, across the civil, commercial, and security domains.”

Professor Horack currently serves as the vice president of the International Astronautical Federation, was vice president for research at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, achieved the level of senior executive at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, and most recently served as vice president of Teledyne Brown Engineering’s Space Systems group. At TBE he had responsibility for overseeing all government and commercial space programs, including science, International Space Station payload operations, test support, flight hardware, launch vehicle and component development, and Earth imaging.

Dr. Horack is also a widely published scientist in the field of gamma ray bursts, having authored or co-authored more than 100 papers and conference presentations.

Dr. Horack, is a native of St. Louis, Mo. In addition to his bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy from Northwestern University, he earned a master's degree in physics in 1992 and a doctorate in that field in 1993 from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.