Jill Prince

Jill Prince currently serves as the acting Director of the Research Directorate at NASA Langley Research Center. This organization provides premier research and technology capabilities in aerosciences, intelligent flight systems, structures, and materials to NASA missions. Ms. Princejoined NASA Langley Research Center in 2001 where she made significant contributions to several of NASA’s Mars missions and other planetary systems analyses. She served in mission development and operations roles for the Langley 2001 Mars Odyssey Aerobraking team, the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) team, the 2005 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Aerobraking team, and the 2007 Mars Phoenix EDL team. She served Langley as the Branch Head of the Engineering Directorate’s Structural and Thermal Systems Branch in 2012 before joining the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) in 2013 as the NESC Chief Engineer at Langley.  She became a member of the Senior Executive Service when she was selected as the Manager of the NESC Integration Office in 2015.

Ms. Prince is the recipient of several honors and awards, including a NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal in 2006, the 2010 Women in Aerospace Achievement Award, an NESC Leadership Award in 2012, and a Meritorious Presidential Rank Award in 2022 by President Biden. She has authored or co-authored 40+ technical papers and was recognized as an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Associate Fellow in 2021, as an International Women’s Forum Fellow in 2022, and a member of the International Academy of Astronautics in 2023.  She earned a B.A. degree in Physics and Astronomy from Northwestern University and a M.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from The George Washington University.