Thomas Statler

Dr. Thomas Statler is Lead Scientist for Solar System Small Bodies in the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters, and Program Scientist for multiple missions, including the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART, now completed), the Lucy mission to the Trojan asteroids, the OSIRIS-APEX mission to the asteroid Apophis, and JAXA’s MMX mission to the moons of Mars.

He earned his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Princeton University in 1986, and for nearly 20 years was on the faculty of Ohio University, where he was founding director of the university’s Astrophysical Institute.

Dr. Statler’s research has spanned a range of topics in astrophysics and planetary science, from the collisions of multiple universes, to the structure and dynamics galaxies, to the spins and orbits of near-Earth asteroids. An enthusiastic communicator, he has given countless public presentations, including talks, radio shows, webcasts, videos, telescope nights, and stargazing hikes. Asteroid 9536 Statler is named in his honor.