Dr. Stephen Whitmore, Director of Propulsion Research Lab

Dr. Stephen A. Whitmore, Emeritus Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Director of the PRL-USU, has more than 35 years of academic, technical, and program management experience in the aerospace industry. He joined USU in 2005 after more than 25 years as a civil servant for NASA. Dr. Whitmore served multiple roles within NASA including those of principal investigator, chief engineer, branch chief, and program manager. He was fortunate to have worked on 7 different "X-planes." He received his PhD in Aerospace Engineering from UCLA in 1988. Dr. Whitmore is also a Licensed Private Pilot with more than 250 hours as pilot in command and has earned more than 40 hours as second in command and flight engineer in Military-Class Jet aircraft. He was a finalist for the Astronaut Class of 2002.