Mary F. Wadel

Mary F. Wadel serves as the acting director of Aeronautics at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. In this capacity, she is responsible for the project management, workforce planning, budget oversight, and executive leadership of Glenn’s aeronautics research and development activities in support of the agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.

Most recently, she served as director of Technology Integration and Partnerships at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. In this role, she was responsible for aligning the center’s early-stage technology investments with its long-term technology goals, strategic partnerships aligned with NASA’s mission, and the transfer of Glenn-developed technologies to private industry.

Previously, Wadel served as the deputy director of Aeronautics at NASA Glenn. In this capacity, she assisted in overseeing the center’s investments in research and development projects under the agency’s Advanced Air Vehicles, Integrated Aviation Systems, Airspace Operations and Safety, and Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Programs.  

Wadel completed a detail assignment as the deputy director of research at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. In this role, she supported research in developing technologies to revolutionize air and space travel in the areas of aerosciences, materials and structures, and integrated flight systems. 

She began her NASA career in 1988 performing experimental research in rocket propulsion. She transitioned to working in aeronautics in 1999 as the project manager for aircraft icing. She went on to hold several project management positions, including stints with the Advanced Air Transport Technology Project, Cryogenic Fluid Management Project, and Technology Investments in the Aeronautics Test Program. Wadel also spent eight years as the chief of Glenn’s Aircraft Icing Branch.   

The Ewa Beach, Hawaii, native is the recipient of several individual and group awards, including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and The Robert J. Collier Trophy as part of the Commercial Aviation Safety Team. She holds a bachelor’s in aerospace engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a master’s in aerospace and mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University.