Alan Johns – Project Manager, NASA

Alan Johns is the Ground Segment and Operations Manager for the James Webb Space Telescope Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. Johns joined NASA in 1984 after receiving a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Tennessee. Prior to his work on the Webb Telescope, he was the Mission Systems Manager for the Earth Science Data Information Systems Project, and he also managed the development of control centers in support of the following missions: Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), Compton Gamma-ray Observatory (CGRO), Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE), and International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) Wind/Polar missions.

As the Webb Telescope Ground Segment and Operations Manager, Johns is responsible for the development and operations of the control center systems, data processing systems, ground stations and networks that will be used to support the Webb telescope mission.

Johns is a 1997 recipient of the Goddard Honor Award for Exceptional Achievement for his work on the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS).