August 28, 2023: Chris Englert
August 28, 2023
4:00 p.m.
Room: 2150 Torgersen Hall
Dr. Chris Englert, Superintendent, Space Science Division, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
Faculty Host: Dr. Scott England
"NRL Space Science Division- Overview and Selected Projects"
Abstract: The Space Science Division conducts a broad-spectrum of Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) in solar-terrestrial physics, astrophysics, upper/ middle atmospheric science, and astronomy. Instruments to be flown on satellites, sounding rockets and balloons, and ground-based facilities and mathematical models are conceived and developed. Researchers apply these and other capabilities to the study of the atmospheres of the Sun and Earth, including solar activity and its effects on the Earth’s ionosphere, upper atmosphere, and middle atmosphere; laboratory astrophysics; and the unique physics and properties of celestial sources. The research is relevant to orbital tracking, radio communications, and navigation that affect the operation of ships and aircraft, utilization of the near-space and space environment of the Earth, and the fundamental understanding of natural radiation and geophysical phenomena.
Bio: Dr. Englert is Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's Space Science Division. He directs the conception, planning, and execution of space science research and development programs in two major areas: theoretical, experimental and numerical research of geospace science and technology, solar and heliospheric physics, and the high-energy space environment; and conception, design, fabrication, integration, test, operation and experimentation with forefront space instrumentation flown on space and near-space platforms.
Englert entered the DON Senior Executive Service in May 2019. He joined the federal service at NRL’s Space Science Division in 2001 as staff research physicist, became Head of the Planetary Atmospheres Section in 2009, and Head of the Geospace Science and Technology Branch in 2012. During this time, he predominantly worked on high spectral resolution, remote sensing instrumentation and observations, covering the electromagnetic spectrum from the ultraviolet to the thermal infrared. He served as the Instrument Scientist of a Space Shuttle payload flown in 2002, the Principal Investigator (PI) of the first long duration, satellite borne Spatial Heterodyne Spectrometer, and the PI of a satellite payload to observe thermospheric wind and temperature. His roles included a broad range of responsibilities ranging from instrument conception to the analysis, interpretation and publication of the scientific results.
He holds a graduate degree in physics from the Technical University of Munich and a doctorate degree (summa cum laude) in physics from the University of Bremen. Englert is the recipient of a 2007 Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, a 2007 Department of the Navy Top Scientists and Engineers of the Year Award, two NASA Group Achievement Awards (2008/2021), a 2010 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Space Systems Award, and a 2014 Federal Technology Transfer Award. He holds six patents in the fields of space science and instrumentation.
Englert is a Senior Member of the Optical Society of America, a member of the American Geophysical Union, a member of Sigma Xi and a past President of its NRL chapter. He serves as the Focus Area Coordinator of Space Research & Space Technology in the NRL S&T Base Program and he serves as the chair of the Department of the Navy Space Experiment Review Board.