Teresa Vanhooser Named Co-Deputy Director of Engineering at NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center

Teresa Vanhooser has been appointed co-deputy director of the Engineering
Directorate at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Vanhooser will help lead an organization responsible for the design, test,
evaluation and operation of hardware and software associated with space
transportation, spacecraft systems, and science instruments and payloads
being developed at the Marshall Center.

The directorate also manages the operation of scientific research aboard the
International Space Station.

“It’s an exciting challenge to step into my new role in the Engineering
Directorate,” said Vanhooser. “This directorate is going to play a major
role in the space program, with such a talented workforce. It will be very
exciting to watch the great things we are going to accomplish through the
Vision for Space Exploration.”

The Vision for Space Exploration calls for NASA to return humans to the
Moon, then travel to Mars — and beyond.

As a deputy director of Engineering, Vanhooser will share responsibility
with co-deputy Chris Singer for several major NASA programs.

Vanhooser most recently served as deputy director of the Flight Projects
Directorate, responsible for project management, design, development,
integration, testing, and operations of ground and flight systems for the
International Space Station, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and other
programs. Previously she managed the Payload Operations and Integration
Department, overseeing all Space Station science research experiment
operations, payload training and safety programs for the Station crew and
ground support personnel.

During her 24 years at NASA, Vanhooser has held a variety of positions,
including mission manager of the second ATLAS mission – the Space
Shuttle-borne, remote-sensing laboratory that studied the Earth’s atmosphere
and the Sun’s influence on it and our climate system; mission manager of the
Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 – where 29 experiments were performed in a
pressurized Spacelab module onboard the Space Shuttle in 1997; and manager
of the Space Station Utilization Office, responsible for the Space Station
ExPRESS rack and pallet development and integration, as well as the Space
Station payload operations.

Vanhooser is a native of Johnson City, Tenn., where her parents, Denny and
Dolores Bowman, still reside. She graduated from University High School in
Johnson City in 1976, and earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial
engineering from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville in 1980.

In 1986, she earned a master’s in Administrative Science and Project
Management from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She has since
completed numerous executive and management-level training courses.

Vanhooser has received numerous NASA awards, including the NASA Exceptional
Achievement Medal for her management of the ATLAS-2 mission. She was
presented a Silver Snoopy award by the Astronaut Corps for her contributions
to the success of human space flight missions for her support – specifically
her support of the ATLAS-1 mission. In 2000, she was presented the
Distinguished Alumnus Award by Tennessee Technological University’s
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.

In 2000, Vanhooser was selected as a member of the Senior Executive Service-
an elite corps of men and women who administer public programs at top levels
of the federal government.

Vanhooser, her husband Mike, and two daughters, Heather and Holly, reside in
Madison, Alabama.