Hubbard lands at SETI Hubbard lands at SETI (January 27, 2006)

NASA Ames center director pushed out, finds new job in Mountain View

By Molly Tanenbaum

Just a few days after announcing his resignation as director of NASA Ames Research Center, G. Scott Hubbard said he has accepted the Carl Sagan-endowed chair for the study of life in the universe at the SETI Institute in Mountain View. His first day will be Feb. 15.

"Now I can look forward to being in a situation where I can really focus on the research and not worry about 3,000 people as much," Hubbard said during a phone interview Monday.

"It's a real opportunity to do something that I really enjoy, away from the daily challenges of budget and work force."

Hubbard had worked at Ames since 1987 and served as the center director since 2002. However, with President Bush's appointment of Mike Griffin as the new NASA administrator last April, it looked like Hubbard's days were numbered.

Hubbard was not alone. Griffin has already replaced six of NASA's 10 center directors, as well as other top employees. The practice of bringing in new blood under a new administrator isn't particularly unusual, said NASA spokesman Mike Mewhinney.

"Every administrator likes to install his own leadership team," Mewhinney said. "It has nothing to do with the competency of the individuals."

Hubbard's replacement at Ames has not yet been named.

While Hubbard says it is bittersweet to leave his post at NASA, he believes his new role at SETI will fit in perfectly with his interest in astrobiology -- the study of life in the universe. (SETI stands for Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, although a SETI spokesperson said only a handful of the many scientists there study extraterrestrial intelligence.) He helped found NASA's Astrobiology Institute and was its first director.

"It goes to a couple of key questions, like 'Where did we come from?' and 'Are we alone?'" he explained. "It's something that's fascinated me since I was 10 or 12 years old."

As the holder of the Carl Sagan chair at SETI, Hubbard will help build more support for the field of astrobiology through educating the public, and he will guide scientists, helping them secure funding and create proposals for their research projects.

The Carl Sagan chair is a long-term position that was created in 1997 and has only been held by one other person.

While at NASA, Hubbard served as the sole NASA representative on the board that investigated the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, and is credited with spearheading the Mars Pathfinder mission. During the past year, Hubbard chaired a California task force on nanotechnology and recently addressed members of the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce on the importance of ensuring California's spot as a leader in the advancement of this technology.

E-mail Molly Tanenbaum at mtanenbaum@mv-voice.com

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