John W. Boyd was a scientist, educator, and administrator for over 50 years In 2010 he was serving as Senior Advisor to the Ames Research Center Director, the Senior Advisor for History, and the Center Ombuds. He started at Ames in 1947, when it was still the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, and worked as an aeronautical research engineer conducting wind tunnel studies of the supersonic and subsonic characteristics of fighter/bomber aircraft. He later pioneered early research on the design of unmanned planetary probes to explore Mars and Venus, and helped develop early configurations for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo capsules, as well as the space shuttle design. He is a graduate of George Washington High School in Danville, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Stanford University.

Mr. Boyd has served as Executive Assistant to the Ames Center Director, Deputy Director of Dryden Flight Research Center, Deputy and Associate Director of Ames Research Center, and Associate Administrator for Management at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters. Additionally, he was also chancellor for Research for The University of Texas System. He has also been an adjunct professor at the University of Texas (Austin, El Paso, and Pan American Campuses) teaching courses in aerodynamics, introduction to engineering, and the history of space flight.

Mr. Boyd is the recipient of many awards including The Stanford Sloan Fellowship, The NASA Exceptional Service Award, The NASA Outstanding Leadership Award, The NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal, Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive, The NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and The Army Command Medal. He is also a Fellow of The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is a member of the Academy of Engineering at Virginia Tech.

Mr. Boyd has been married to Winifred Graham since June of 1950, and has five children and nine grandchildren.