The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announced that AE Professor Robert D. (Bobby) Braun has been chosen to serve as the next editor-in-chief of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, succeeding E. Vincent Zoby.

An AIAA Fellow and member of the NAE, Braun is the director of AE’s Space Systems Design Lab (SSDL) and the founding director of Georgia Tech’s Center for Space Technology and Research (C-STAR). He co-founded and serves as chief technology officer for Terminal Velocity Aerospace LLC, a private company which provides atmospheric reentry services to increase the utilization and enhance the safety of spaceflight.

In 2010 and 2011, Braun served as NASA’s chief technologist. From 1989 to 2003, he served as a member of the technical staff of the NASA Langley Research Center. Braun has authored or co-authored more than 250 technical papers in the fields of atmospheric flight dynamics, planetary exploration, multidisciplinary design optimization, and systems engineering, including more than 50 papers in the JSR.

“I am honored and proud to welcome Bobby as editor-in-chief of the JSR,” said AE Chair Vigor Yang, who also serves as AIAA Vice President for Publications.

“Bobby is eminently qualified for this position. He has extensive experience in our nation’s space program, is a respected scholar and a wonderful author and is an advocate for his field. He consistently brings excellence to whatever he does and I know that the JSR will benefit greatly from his leadership. I look forward to seeing what the JSR will accomplish with Bobby at the helm.”

The Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets is devoted to reporting advancements in the science and technology associated with spacecraft and tactical and strategic missile systems, including subsystems, applications, missions, environmental interactions, and space sciences. Braun’s work in space systems includes serving on the Mars Pathfinder entry, descent and landing team from 1992 to 1997. He has also served on the Mars Microprobe, Mars Sample Return and Mars Surveyor 2001 flight projects.

"I am honored to be selected for this assignment," said Braun, who has been reading JSR since his undergraduate days at Penn State. "As editor-in-chief, I plan to focus on increasing the quality, relevance, reach, and impact of this seminal publication, ensuring that the JSR continues to document the rapid pace of innovation in the space sector. Space systems engineering remains an exciting field in which new theories, analytical and experimental breakthroughs, innovations, and discoveries are regularly achieved. The AIAA JSR is the place where these advancements are best described and shared."

Since 2005, Braun has advanced on wide variety of entry, descent and landing technologies, including guidance strategies, inflatable aerodynamic decelerators,, and supersonic retropropulsion. Braun’s editorial contributions include serving as an associate editor for the JSR from 2009 to 2010, as well as serving as a peer reviewer for the JSR, the Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, and the AAS Journal of Astronautical Sciences.

Braun’s previous AIAA service includes membership on AIAA’s Space Systems Technical Committee, the Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Technical Committee and the Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Technical Committee. He is presently a member of the Executive Steering Committee for the AIAA Science and Technology Forum.Braun’s past honors include the 2012 Alvin Seiff Memorial Award, the 1999 Lawrence Sperry Award and the 2011 von Karman Lectureship in Astronautics.

AIAA is the largest aerospace professional society in the world, serving a diverse range of more than 35,000 individual members from 80 countries, and 100 corporate members. AIAA members help make the world safe, more connected, more accessible, and more prosperous.