MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
Contact: Jane Platt (818) 354-0880
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 1999
ELACHI AND SQUIBB ELECTED TO ASTRONAUTICS ACADEMY
When the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) inducts
new members on Oct. 3 in Amsterdam, two veteran JPL employees
will be among those welcomed to the organization.
Dr. Charles Elachi and Gael Squibb were elected to the
academy in recognition of their work in astronautics. Elachi was
chosen for his work in basic sciences, while Squibb was selected
for his work in engineering sciences.
The academy's goals include fostering development of
astronautics for peaceful purposes and recognizing individuals
who have distinguished themselves in a related branch of science
or technology. Its roster includes 1,100 members and
corresponding members from 60 countries.
Elachi, a senior research scientist at JPL, is director for
space and Earth science programs. He is responsible for defining
and developing flight missions for solar system exploration,
NASA's Origins program, Earth observation and astrophysics. His
varied accomplishments over the past 28 years at JPL include
leading the development of the field of spaceborne imaging radar.
A native of Lebanon, Elachi received undergraduate
engineering degrees from the University of Grenoble and the
Polytechnic Institute, Grenoble, France. He earned his master's
degree and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology
(Caltech), Pasadena, in 1971. He lives in Altadena.
Squibb, the director for telecommunications and mission
operations at JPL, is responsible for scientific return from the
Cassini, Galileo, Voyager, Ulysses, and Space Very Long Baseline
Interferometer missions. Squibb is also responsible for NASA's
Deep Space Network and such mission control services as
navigation, sequencing and telemetry. Squibb has worked at JPL
for 35 years, except between 1991 and 1993 when he managed the
Advanced X-ray Astrophysical Facility (since renamed Chandra) for
the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA. His
accomplishments span the areas of mission operations (Surveyor,
Mars Venus Mercury '73 and the Infrared Astronomical Satellite
(IRAS), science processing (IRAS and the Infrared Space
Observatory), and space data standards.
Squibb received his Bachelor of Science degree in physics
from Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA, in 1961, and his
master's degree in systems management from the University of
Southern California, Los Angeles. He is a longtime resident of
Pasadena.
JPL is operated for NASA by Caltech.
#####
9/15/99 JP
#99-082