Suggested Searches

Dr. John Christian – NESC Academy Biography

Dr. John Christian is an aerospace engineer with expertise in spacecraft navigation and space systems.  He is presently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia University (WVU).

At WVU, he directs a research program focused on spacecraft relative navigation, attitude estimation, and spacecraft design.  Prior to joining the faculty at WVU, Dr. Christian worked as an engineer in the Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Autonomous Flight Systems Branch at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.

He has experience with navigation system design, flight tests of relative navigation sensor hardware (STORRM experiment on STS-134), parachute drop tests, Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) data processing, system requirements definition, and space systems analysis.

He holds a BS and MS in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.