Dr. Jih-Fen Lei, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is Director of the Research and Technology Directorate at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s John H. Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio. In this position, Dr. Lei has the responsibility for planning, advocating, coordinating, organizing, directing and supervising all phases of Directorate research and business activities. The Directorate consists of more than 470 civil service employee and ~260 on-site support service contractors conducting advanced research in propulsion, power, communication, high-temperature materials and structures, microgravity research, instrumentation and controls, nanotechnology and biotechnology to meet NASA mission commitments.
Prior to her recent appointment, Dr. Lei was Deputy Director of Glenn’s Research and Technology Directorate, Chief of Instrumentation and Controls Division, Project Manager of the Nanotechnology Project under NASA’s Propulsion and Power Base Program, and Chief of Glenn’s Sensor and Electronics Technology Branch. Prior to joining NASA, Dr. Lei conducted basic and applied research with the Army Research Laboratory, NYMA, Inc., and Sverdrup Corporation, Inc.
Dr. Lei earned her bachelor’s degree in physics from National Tsing-Hwa University, Taiwan, and her doctorate in material science and engineering from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. Dr. Lei is a graduate of the U.S. government’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program during which she worked at the Office of the Chief Scientist and the Office of Biological and Physical Research at NASA Headquarters, as well as the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Additionally, she is a graduate of the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government Senior Managers in Government Executive Program; the Brookings Institution “Executive Leadership in a Changing Environment” Public Policy Program, and the Stanford University Leading Change and Organizational Renewal Executive Program.
Dr. Lei is an accomplished researcher, has authored or co-authored over 95 publications, and given over 60 talks at various national and international technical conferences. She is the recipient of three prestigious R&D 100 Awards, the NASA Honor Medal for Exceptional Public Service, the NASA Honor Medal for Equal Employment Opportunity, and Army Research Laboratory Honor Medal for Technical Achievement. In 2007, Dr. Lei was honored with the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award, the highest award reserved for civil servants. She was also inducted into the 2008 Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame.
