NASA’s program director for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Gregory Robinson, has been named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2022.
Robinson, who leads the JWST mission, joined NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) in 2018 and is now recognized alongside other honorees, such as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Oprah Winfrey.
“Greg has demonstrated remarkable leadership on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, through both the challenges and incredible successes of this historic mission,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Congratulations, Greg, and thank you for your incredible service on behalf of NASA and all of humanity.”
NASA astrophysicist and Nobel laureate John Mather submitted Robinson’s entry on the list, praising him for his accomplishments.
“Our teams orbit around Greg, because we trust him to ask questions and understand our concerns and respect our opinions,” he wrote. “He makes it look easy, but I can barely imagine how he does it, and I admire him tremendously for it.”
Congratulations to our program director Gregory Robinson for being named to the #TIME100! More: https://t.co/AVSUIkgcEs
— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) May 23, 2022
“Our teams orbit around Greg, because we trust him to ask questions and understand our concerns.” -Webb senior project scientist & Nobel laureate John Mather pic.twitter.com/4OaQjzMGMi
Robinson joined NASA in 1989, serving in multiple leadership roles during his career, including for many spaceflight and space shuttle missions. Robinson, a Virginia Union and Howard University graduate, has amassed more than 30 years of engineering, program, and project management, and senior executive leadership during his tenure at the agency.
“I am thrilled and honored to be recognized as part of the TIME100,” Robinson said in a statement. “I certainly want to acknowledge an incredible team of NASA engineers, scientists, technicians; our contractor and academia base; and partners across the globe, who have demonstrated amazing resiliency on the Webb mission through design, development, testing, launch, and now commissioning.”
“We watched an extraordinary moment when Webb launched on Christmas Day—a gift to the world. As we approach the end of the science instrument and observatory commissioning process, we have broken new ground and overcome many challenges to deliver breathtaking views of our early universe this summer and for many years to come.”
