Dennis Andrucyk has been selected as deputy associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) in Washington, effective Jan. 17. Currently serving as NASA’s acting chief technologist and as deputy associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), he will divide his responsibilities between SMD and STMD prior to his official start date.

Andrucyk will be responsible for assisting Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen with executive leadership, overall planning, direction and management of NASA science programs. In addition, his duties will involve coordination and integration of science programs within the directorate and ensuring programs and projects adhere to national, agency and directorate policies, guidelines and processes. He also will collaborate with other senior NASA officials in the development of overall NASA program objectives.

“Dennis brings to this position a wealth of organizational and leadership experience within NASA,” said Zurbuchen. “His deep technical knowledge and innovative forward thinking will further enhance our ability to build successful and new missions that help answer some of the most fundamental science questions of our time, including the search for life beyond Earth.”

As acting chief technologist, Andrucyk chairs the NASA Technology Executive Council, advising the NASA Administrator on strategic technology investment approaches and developing technology roadmaps for the agency. After joining NASA Headquarters in April 2015 as the deputy associate administrator for STMD, he has managed the day-to-day operations of the directorate, which is charged with developing cross-cutting, high- payoff technologies. Prior to that, Andrucyk held numerous management positions at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 

Andrucyk also has played a key role on several national and international space partnership teams, including the U.S.-based Space Technology Alliance. He was one of three voting members on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Sensors and Electronics Technology panel. He currently serves as NASA co-lead on the Interagency Space Science and Technology Partnership Forum, along with members of the Air Force Space Command and the National Reconnaissance Office. 

Before joining NASA in 1988, Andrucyk worked at the Department of Defense as both a contractor and a civil servant. He also served with the National Security Agency, the Naval Research Laboratory, Westinghouse, General Electric and Northrop Grumman.