David J. Smith

About David J. Smith

David J. Smith is a scientist in the Planetary Science Division (PSD) at NASA Headquarters. He is the Program Scientist for the OSIRIS-REx (O-REx), Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and Mars Odyssey missions, Planetary Protection Research (PPR), and PSD’s Internal Scientist Funding Model (ISFM) at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Ames Research Center, Johnson Space Center, and Marshall Space Flight Center.David came to Headquarters in 2022 following a 15-year civil servant career as a NASA microbiologist, in addition to serving as Chief of the Space Biosciences Division (20••••22) and Chief of the Space Biosciences Research Branch (20••••20) at Ames Research Center. He began his NASA career at Kennedy Space Center in 2007, gaining ground- and spaceflight-based project experience with hardware flown on the space shuttle and International Space Station. Later moving to Ames in 2015, David founded the Aerobiology Laboratory where he led the design, construction, and validation of payloads carrying microbiology experiments with the NASA Balloon Program, as well as the use of a bioaerosol collector on NASA’s C-20A aircraft.David received a B.A. in Ecological & Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University in 2007 and a Ph.D. in Biology & Astrobiology from the University of Washington in 2012.David is the recipient of NASA’s Early Career Achievement Medal (2016) and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2019).

Experience

1. Program Scientist

   NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

   Oct 2022 — Present

   Program Scientist, NASA Headquarters, Science Mission Directorate, Planetary Science Division

Education

• Princeton University

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

• University of Washington

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Biology, General

  2008 — 2012