George T. Whitesides

CEO of Virgin Galactic
George Whitesides
Official portrait, 2009
Personal details
Born
George Thomas Whitesides

(1974-03-03) March 3, 1974 (age 50)
Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseLoretta Hidalgo
Children2
RelativesGeorge M. Whitesides (father)
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
King's College, Cambridge (MPhil)
AwardsNASA Distinguished Service Medal (2010)
WebsiteCampaign website

George Thomas Whitesides (born March 3, 1974)[1] is an American businessman and public official. He was CSO (Chief Space Officer)[2] and long time CEO of Virgin Galactic,[3] a firm developing commercial space vehicles at the Mojave Air and Space Port. He still serves as a member of the Virgin Galactic Advisory Board.[4] Whitesides was previously Chief of Staff of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Administrator Charles Bolden,[5] a position to which he was named after serving on the NASA transition team for the incoming Obama administration.[6] On February 22, 2023, he announced his candidacy for California's 27th congressional district in the 2024 election.

Early life and education

Whitesides studied in Newton North High School, graduating in 1992.[7] Afterward, he attended Princeton University, graduating from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1996.[1][8] He served for four years on Princeton's Board of Trustees upon graduation.[6] He later earned an MPhil in Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing from King's College, Cambridge.[5] He was also a Fulbright Scholar in Tunisia.[1][9]

Career

Whitesides speaking at the World Economic Forum in 2017

From 2004 to 2008, Whitesides served as the Executive Director of the National Space Society.[10] He is the co-creator of Yuri's Night, alongside his wife Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides.[11][1] In 2007, Whitesides was named Senior Advisor to Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's space tourism company.[12]

Whitesides worked on the presidential transition of Barack Obama.[13] After Obama took office, Whitesides was appointed as chief of staff of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, where he served until May 7, 2010.[1][6] Upon his departure, he was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the agency's highest award.[9][14]

After leaving NASA, Whitesides returned to Virgin Galactic, where he became the first person in the company to hold the CEO title and later its first CSO.[1]

Whitesides was the Chairman of the Reusable Launch Vehicle Working Group of COMSTAC, the advisory committee for the FAA's Commercial Space Transportation Division.[1] He was also a board member of Astronomers Without Borders and the Space Generation Foundation.[6][5]

In March 2021, Whitesides announced he would be leaving Virgin Galactic to pursue public service, but would still be in an advisory position to the publicly traded company.[15]

He has also served as a coach for Zero Gravity Corporation's parabolic flight service. In July 2021, as co-founder and project lead of the SciAccess Initiative's Mission: AstroAccess, opened applications for people with disabilities to partake in a ZERO-G parabolic flight, which was initially scheduled on October 17, 2021 in Long Beach, California.[16] Over a year later, on December 15, 2022, its first formal research parabolic flight was flown, with 14 disability ambassadors from 5 countries in the mission.[17]

2024 U.S. House campaign

On February 22, 2023, Whitesides announced he was running for California's 27th congressional district in the 2024 election as a Democrat.[18]

Personal life

George is married to Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, and they have two children.[1][5] His father is George M. Whitesides, a professor of chemistry at Harvard University.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Walz, Kent (May 18, 2019). "Face to Face with George T. Whitesides: Reaching for the stars". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  2. ^ "Virgin Galactic changing CEOs, bringing on Disney's Michael Colglazier". CNBC. July 15, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  3. ^ "Virgin Galactic Snags NASA Chief of Staff as CEO". socalTECH.com. May 17, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  4. ^ "Whitesides steps down from Virgin Galactic". Spacenews. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Dugdale, Addy (May 29, 2010). "Crib Sheet: George T. Whitesides, Top Dog (in Space) at Virgin Galactic". Fast Company. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "George T. Whitesides, NASA's Chief of Staff". NASA. May 1, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  7. ^ Abrams, Meredith (March 25, 2011). "Virgin Galactic CEO presents information on space tourism". The Newtonite. pp. 6–7. Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via Issuu.
  8. ^ Daugherty, Elisabeth H. (July 20, 2021). "July 20: George Whitesides '96 Brings People With Disabilities Into Space". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Princeton University Press. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Kane, Frank (December 27, 2018). "INTERVIEW: 'I have always dreamed of going into space' — George Whitesides, CEO Virgin Galactic". Arab News. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  10. ^ "George Whitesides". National Space Society. May 16, 2006. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  11. ^ Hidalgo-Whitesides, Loretta; Whitesides, G. "About : what is yuri's night?". Yuri's Night. Archived from the original on April 13, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  12. ^ Galactic, Virgin (June 21, 2007). "Virgin Galactic Appoints George Whitesides as Senior Advisor". NASASpaceflight. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2008.
  13. ^ "George Whitesides". Space For Humanity. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  14. ^ "Historical Awards Recipient List" (PDF). NASA. c. 2015. p. 233. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  15. ^ Foust, Jeff (March 5, 2021). "Whitesides steps down from Virgin Galactic". Space News. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  16. ^ "AstroAccess opens applications to disabled crew participants for space training on zero gravity flight". SpaceDaily. July 19, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  17. ^ Howell, Elizabeth (December 20, 2022). "Zero-G flight for disability ambassadors shows space is accessible for all". Space.com. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  18. ^ "Former Virgin Galactic CEO enters US House race north of LA". Associated Press News. February 22, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.

External links

  • Official website (Campaign website)
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