Dr. Paul Hertz, Chief Scientist

Paul Hertz is the Chief Scientist in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA. He serves as senior science advisor to the Associate Administrator of Science, as liaison between the Science Directorate and the Earth and space science communities in implementing the NASA Strategic Plan, and is responsible for Directorate level science activities including the solicitation, evaluation, and selection process for SMD, the SMD Science Management Council, SMD's research policies and procedures, and SMD's education and public outreach programs. He is also the Directorate lead for Agency-wide science activities including grants activities, peer review services, and postdoctoral and graduate student fellowship programs. He has served as Assitant Assocaite Administrator, Senior Advisor, or Chief Scientist for SMD since 2004, serving four Associate Administrators.

Dr. Hertz joined the NASA Office of Space Science as a Senior Scientist in 2000. In 2001-2004 he served as Theme Scientist for the Structure and Evolution of the Universe Theme as well as Senior Scientist in the Astronomy and Physics Division. During that period, he led the formulation of the Beyond Einstein Initiative which was proposed by the President in January 2003 and approved by Congress in January 2004. He also served as Program Executive for the Chandra X-ray Observatory and moderated several Space Science Updates including the announcement in 2003 of a black hole powering the lowest note ever detected in the universe (57 octaves below Middle C) and in 2004 of a star being ripped apart by a supermassive black hole. In 2000-2001 Dr. Hertz served as Senior Scientist for Space Science Research in the Research Program Management Division where he managed the mission operations and data anlysis program for the Office of Space Science. As Program Executive for Solar System Exploration missions, he conducted the first Senior Review for Solar System Exploration missions. He also served as SOFIA Program Scientist and as Discovery Program Scientist. In 1997-1999, Dr. Hertz served a two year detail at NASA Headquarters.

Dr. Hertz served as the Explorer Program Scientist for 6 years (1998-2004). During that period, he issued 4 Explorer Announcements of Opportunity, received 163 proposals, conducted 21 site visits, and presided over the selection of 8 Explorers and 3 Missions of Opportunity for flight (of which 5 have been launched successfully, 1 has been launched unsuccessfully, and 3 have been terminated as of June 2009). Developing cost-capped space missions is a tough business.

Dr. Hertz received both a BS in Physics and a BS in Mathematics from MIT in 1977. He received a MA in Astronomy in 1978, and a PhD in Astronomy in 1983, both from Harvard University. After a two year National Research Council fellowship, he joined the staff of the Naval Research Laboratory in 1985 as an astrophysicist, a position he held until 2000. Dr. Hertz's research concentrated on x-ray emission from galactic neutron stars, black holes, and globular clusters. He authored or co-authored over 100 papers, including observational papers in every band of the electromagnetic spectrum from radio to gamma ray as well as theory and computation papers. From 1993-2001 he was Associate Professor of Computational Sciences and Space Sciences at George Mason University. He has served as an adjunct lecturer at Northern Virginia Community College and at Prince George's Community College. Dr. Hertz is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, the American Astronomical Society, the International Astronomical Union, and the Society for American Baseball Research. He is a recipient of the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award, the Robert J. Trumpler Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the Alan Berman Research Publication Award of the Naval Research Laboratory (twice), 3 NASA Group Achievement Awards, and 3rd place in the Naval Research Laboratory's Science as Art contest.

Dr. Hertz is married with three children. He has a passion for baseball which he exercises by leading his coworkers on annual treks to attend games at Nationals Park. In 2004, Dr. Hertz met the Orioles Bird when he was honored by the Baltimore Orioles as a "Heavy Hitter." In 2006, he made his Broadway debut as Contestant #28 in "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." He made his Hollywood debut as a Nationals fan in the James L. Brooks film "How Do You Know," in production for release in 2010.