Indian American AC Charania named NASA’s chief technologist

Indian American aerospace industry expert AC Charania is named as NASA’s new chief technologist. He'll be serving as principal advisor to Administrator Bill Nelson on technology policy and programs at the agency’s Headquarters in Washington. He will lead technology innovation.

The chief technologist aligns NASA’s agencywide technology investments with mission needs across six mission directorates and oversees technology collaboration with other federal agencies, the private sector, and external stakeholders.

“AC is an experienced leader in managing large, rapidly shifting technology portfolios. I am eager for him to apply his knowledge and enthusiasm at NASA,” said Bhavya Lal, NASA associate administrator for technology, policy, and strategy.

Before joining NASA, Charania served as vice president of product strategy at Reliable Robotics, a firm that is working to bring certified autonomous vehicles to commercial aviation.

“The rate of advancement we seek in the 21st century is dependent upon selecting and maturing a portfolio of technologies into systems to execute our missions,” said Charania.

“With this in mind, there are incredible opportunities in partnerships within and outside of NASA. I now look forward to the opportunity to work with the entire community to increase the rate of space and aviation progress.”

Charania led the formation of the FastForward industry group focused on high-speed point-to-point transportation, was a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts fellow, and served on the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group Commercial Advisory Board.