Dr. Lelia B. Vann has been selected as the director of the Science Directorate at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton. Va. In this position, she is responsible for formulating and developing research programs in support of the Agency's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, Washington.

Vann began her NASA career as an aerospace engineer performing ascent control system analyses for the space shuttle in 1980 at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. In 1991, she was detailed to NASA Headquarters to serve as deputy program manager of the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology's (OAST) Aeroassisted Flight Experiment. In 1993, she was named program manager for OAST's In-Space Technology Experiments program. She also served as program manager for Langley's Lidar In-Space Technology Experiment.

In 1995, Vann transferred to Langley Research Center to serve as the science manager for the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment. In 1999, she was selected as the assistant head of the Radiation and Aerosols Branch in Langley's Atmospheric Sciences Division. She was named deputy director of the Division in 2002.

In 2005, she was detailed to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., where she participated in science business planning as part of the Agency's Senior Executive Service Career Development Program.

Vann earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and engineering from Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Ala., and master's and doctoral degrees in atmospheric physics from the University of Arizona, Tucson. The recipient of numerous NASA awards, she received the prestigious NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 2002.

Born and raised in Huntsville, Ala., Vann resides in Hampton with her husband Gregory Reck.

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