Kimberly W. Krome

As of August 14, 2023, Ms. Krome serves as the Deputy Program Manager for Centennial Challenges at the Marshall Space Flight Center. She returned to NASA after working in education for six years. For the 2022-2023 school year, Ms. Krome served as the Physics Instruction Lead at the Alabama School for Cyber Technology and Engineering (ASCTE), a state magnet school. She was responsible for the development, documentation, coordination, and administration of college-level calculus-based Physics courses and advised school administration on recommended changes based on student need. She has also taught Introduction to Systems Engineering for Calhoun Community College where she assisted in the development of a new curriculum centered around Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE). Previously, she served in similar instructional roles in the Madison City Schools and was named the Bob Jones Teacher of the Year in 2021.

Prior to her career in education, Ms. Krome worked for Manufacturing Technical Solutions (MTS) as a project coordinator for two technology development programs at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. In her role supporting the Centennial Challenges Program, she was responsible for the technical management of a portfolio of engineering projects associated with technology development competitions. She interfaced with organizations internal and external to NASA to maintain schedules, assist in risk assessment, and manage resources to keep competitors on a path to prototype demonstration. She contributed to the development of new challenges designed to meet the technology needs of the agency. She engaged in multiple outreach activities representing NASA to the general public and encouraging participation in upcoming challenges. In her role as a project coordinator with Technology Demonstration Missions, Ms. Krome had similar responsibilities. She tracked the progress of key components of multiple concurrent missions, including risk assessment, schedule maintenance, and resource management. She reported on this progress weekly to the Program Manager, highlighting significant areas of concern.

Ms. Krome joined NASA in 1991, working in Turbomachinery and Combustion Devices on the Space Shuttle Main Engine Alternate Turbopump Development project, where she participated in test and data analysis of developing hardware. After professional intern rotations into structures and computational fluid dynamics, she moved to the Operations Control branch serving as lead for the Operations Control team on multiple Spacelab missions, responsible for the successful integration and real-time operations of on-orbit science experiments in the Spacelab environment. During flight, she led the 24×7 execution of the planned timeline and provided inputs to replanned operations that came as a result of off-nominal situations. Ms. Krome’s experience as an Operations Controller led to her selection as a Payload Operations Lead for the United States Microgravity Payload-4. In this role, she served as the team lead for all console personnel in the Payload Operations Control Center, overseeing the execution of real-time operations as well as timeline replanning and data management. She served as the primary payload interface to Mission Control at Johnson Space Center and negotiated for Space Shuttle resources in support of science requirements.

Ms. Krome has a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering (B.A.E.) from Auburn University (1990), where she graduated summa cum laude and was selected as Outstanding Aerospace Engineering Student of the Year. She has also completed all coursework required to teach secondary science and is a National Geographic certified educator. She has successfully completed all 4 components of National Board Certification.