Dr. James A. Kenyon

Dr. James A. Kenyon is director of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. He is responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the activities required to accomplish the missions assigned to the center. Glenn has a staff of more than 3,200 civil servants and support service contractors and an annual budget of approximately $900 million. 

Kenyon is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He received a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. 

Prior to becoming Glenn’s director, Kenyon served as director of the Advanced Air Vehicles Program in the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) at NASA Headquarters in Washington. He was responsible for the overall planning, management, and oversight of the directorate’s efforts to develop innovative concepts, technologies, and capabilities to enable revolutionary advances for a wide range of air vehicles. He supported the mission directorate and the ARMD associate administrator in a broad range of activities, including strategic and program planning, budget development, program review and evaluation, and external coordination and outreach. 

Prior to joining NASA, Kenyon worked with Pratt & Whitney, where he held key leadership roles in business development, program management, and engineering, including serving as executive director of advanced programs and technology. Dr. Kenyon joined Pratt & Whitney after 17 years as a civilian in the Department of Defense (DoD), including six years in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he was responsible for strategic planning, policy guidance, and management oversight of DoD aerospace science and technology programs.