David K. Baumann

David K. Baumann started his NASA career as a cooperative education student from 1994 to 1997. After earning a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Valparaiso University, he became a full-time employee in the Human Health and Performance Directorate, developing life science hardware and experiments for the International Space Station’s Human Research Facility. He subsequently worked in the International Space Station Program’s Scientist Office and the Space Medicine Division before joining NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) in 2007 as a manager for three separate elements over the following decade: Exploration Medical Capability, Human Health and Countermeasures, and Space Radiation.

Baumann served as acting deputy director of the Division of Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications at NASA Headquarters in 2018. He worked as the chief health and performance officer for the Human Landing System Program from 2019 to 2020.

Baumann currently serves as director of HRP. The program is responsible for ensuring the health and performance of crew members aboard spaceflight exploration missions. HRP’s work is distributed across five NASA centers and carried out by researchers in laboratories throughout the nation, aboard the space station, and in specialized spaceflight analog facilities around the globe.