Dr. Daniel Evans
Director of Civil Space Policy, White House National Space Council; Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator for Research, NASA Science Mission Directorate
Daniel Evans is the Director of Civil Space Policy at the White House National Space Council. In this role, he advises the President and Vice President of the United States on civil space policy, guiding the development of multiple national space policies and coordinating cross-agency efforts to ensure U.S. leadership in space. Dr. Evans works closely with senior government officials, industry leaders, and international partners to advance the United States’ space agenda and drive innovation across the civil space sector.
Dr. Evans additionally serves the Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator for Research within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. In this role, Dr. Evans provides leadership and coordination of NASA’s science program; ensuring the quality and integrity of all research in the space sciences, addressing research misconduct issues, driving commercial innovation across NASA science, and increasing high-risk research within the broad space-science ecosystem. Dr. Evans is additionally responsible for leading numerous interagency coalitions, including the cross-government approach to understanding Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. Finally, Dr. Evans leads SMD’s national security and research security efforts, ensuring that SMD-sponsored research is protected from unauthorized access and exploitation.
Previously, Dr. Evans was the Lead for Astrophysics Research Programs at NASA Headquarters. Dr. Evans also served at the White House Office of Management and Budget as the Program Examiner for NASA Low Earth Orbit and Spaceflight Operations. Prior to joining NASA in 2015, Dr. Evans served as a Program Director in NSF’s Division of Astronomical Sciences. Two of his major roles included serving as Program Director for the International Gemini Observatory and Head of the NSF Astronomy Grants Programs.
Dr. Evans has been awarded the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, and the National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation. He is the recipient of numerous other NASA awards.
Dr. Evans held postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard University and MIT. He received his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of Bristol.
Dr. Evans can be contacted by email at: Daniel.A.Evans@nasa.gov