Deputy Center Director, NASA Ames Research Center
B.S. ASE 1986, Pennsylvania State University
M.S. ASE 1988, The University of Texas at Austin
Ph.D. ASE 1991, The University of Texas at Austin
M.S. Management 2002 and Sloan Fellow, Stanford University Graduate School of Business
David Korsmeyer is the deputy center director at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
He is responsible for the overall scope and direction of the center's operations, facilities, NASA research and development projects, and the external research collaborations with industry and academia.
Korsmeyer leads the Center's overall efforts in research, science, and engineering developments that support NASA's missions in aeronautics, science, exploration, and technology. A key achievement is the successful development of NASA’s next lunar rover - the VIPER or Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover. He was the director of engineering for six years and led a broad range of spacecraft projects, proposals, and core engineering support of technology demos, wind tunnels, and science experiments. Notably, he led the center’s expansion into small satellites and nanosats, including NASA’s numerous space biology instrumentation missions on the International Space Station (ISS).
Korsmeyer started his senior management service as the chief of Ames' Intelligent Systems Division, NASA's premier research and development organization for artificial intelligence, robotics, and adaptive software supporting aeronautics and space missions. Autonomy and advanced mission software was developed for the ISS, and for the Mars Exploration Rovers (Spirit, and Opportunity) and every following Mars rover mission. At Ames since 1991, Korsmeyer has been instrumental in the formation and management of many projects and NASA-wide technology programs in his career. After receiving his Senior Executive Service certification in 2006, he supported key government initiatives including the 2009 Presidential Review of Human Spaceflight, and the 2020 Artemis Program Status Assessment. Korsmeyer regularly supports agency-level technology and engineering teams across NASA’s portfolio. He received a Meritorious Presidential Rank Award in 2011, and a Distinguished Presidential Rank Award in 2021.
Korsmeyer earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania, and both his master’s and doctorate in aerospace engineering from The University of Texas in Austin. He is a Sloan Fellow with a master’s degree in management from the Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and is active in the International Astronautical Federation, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.
