Kartik Sheth – Former Deputy Program Scientist, NASA

Dr. Kartik Sheth is NASA’s Associate Chief Scientist.  In this role Dr. Sheth helps to amplify and communicate the incredible NASA science happening across the Agency, provides independent advice and analysis on the on-going science activities and helps ensures that the role of science is central to and aligned with NASA’s strategic vision.  A key aspect of his work in the office is to increase collaborations and engagement across the agency, across agencies and with national and international partners.  Dr. Sheth is a world-renowned observational astrophysicist whose scientific research has primarily been in the areas of galaxy formation and evolution, star formation and the interstellar medium.  His somewhat non-traditional career has spanned government, academia, nonprofits and the White House.  He recently finished his second tour of duty at the White House where he serves as the Program Examiner in the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President.  In this role he is responsible for oversight and management of the $8.5B budget for the expansive DOE Office of Science covering everything from Advanced Scientific Computing to Nuclear and High Energy Physics to Fusion Science, to Basic Energy Science, and Biological and Environmental Research.  

Previously in 2020-2021, Dr. Sheth was appointed as the Assistant Director for Research Infrastructures and Science Equity at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy.  In that role his work spanned a wide range of topics in science and technology from physical sciences and research infrastructures to advanced manufacturing, satellite constellations and space policy, to clean energy / climate change policy and equity and environmental justice policy. 

Before coming to the White House, Dr. Sheth was a Program Scientist in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. He oversaw the SphereX, Spitzer, James Webb Telescope missions, the Origins Space Telescope Mission Concept Study, the Low Energy Astrophysics Research and Analysis portfolio, the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program, and the Cosmic Origins Program. He has also worked in the Earth Science Division in the Applied Science Program where he managed a cooperative grant with a non-profit group of economists to asses the socio economic benefits of Earth observations, and worked on UN Sustainable Development Goals 11, 14 and 15.

He is also the founder and CEO of Empowered Earth Alliance, a non-profit organization that catalyzes sustainable solutions to climate change by enabling  local leaders to use practical scientific, technical, and business skills and knowledge to develop and own solutions.  

Before joining NASA HQ in 2015, Kartik was a tenured astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) where his research focused on the assembly and evolution of galaxies.  At NRAO, he was also the Commissioning and Science Verification Liaison for the Atacama Large Millimeter Submillimeter Array in Chile, and Dr. Sheth is a pioneer in improving inclusion, diversity and equity over the last twenty five years.  He was the recipient of the NASA 2021 Medal for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 

Dr. Sheth is a pioneer in improving inclusion, diversity and equity over the last twenty five years.  He was the recipient of the NASA 2021 Medal for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 

While at NRAO, he was also the Director for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in Charlottesville, VA.  He founded and led the National Astronomy Consortium (NAC) – a partnership between 17 HBCUs, 7 majority institutions and 3 centers to increase the number of students from under-represented groups into STEM careers.  He also founded the National International Exchange partnership between US institutions and South African institutions to train the next generation of scientists and engineers to lead science and technology on the African continent.

After emigrating from Mumbai, India in his teens, Kartik earned a BA in Physics from Grinnell College in Iowa, a MSc in Physics (with a thesis on Physics Education) at the University of Minnesota, and then a MSc and PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Maryland in College Park.  He was a postdoctoral fellow and later a permanent staff member at Caltech.  He has 180+ refereed papers with over 25000 citations.  Outside of academia, he has been actively involved in many volunteer activities, including sexual harassment prevention and violence prevention initiatives and community organizing activities.  In his leisure time, Dr. Sheth enjoys traveling, golfing, gardening, and cooking new vegan dishes.