Thriving Earth Exchange Advisory Board Chair
President, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Dr. Laurie Leshin was recently appointed the 16th President of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, MA. Prior to joining WPI, Dr. Leshin served as the Dean of the School of Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where she lead the scientific academic and research enterprise at the nation’s first technological University. Prior to joining Rensselaer, Dr. Leshin served as the Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate where she played a leading role NASA’s future human spaceflight endeavors. In this role, she oversaw the planning and execution of the next generation of human exploration systems, as well as the research, robotic and future capabilities development activities that support them. She was also engaged in initiating the development of commercial human spaceflight capabilities to low earth orbit. Prior to her work in NASA Exploration, Dr. Leshin served as Director of Science and Deputy Center Director for Science and Technology at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, where she oversaw Earth and Space science activities at NASA’s largest science Center. Dr. Leshin received her B.S. in Chemistry in 1987 from Arizona State University, and her Ph. D. in Geochemistry in 1994 from California Institute of Technology.