Griffin would replace Sean O'Keefe, who resigned as administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in mid-December.

Before his work at Johns Hopkins, Griffin was president and chief operating officer of In-Q-Tel, and also served in several positions within Orbital Sciences Corporation, including chief executive officer of Magellan Systems.

Earlier in his career, Griffin served as chief engineer at NASA and as deputy for technology at the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization.

He received a bachelors degree in physics from Johns Hopkins University; a masters degree in Aerospace Science from Catholic University of America; a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland.

He also has masters degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California; in Applied Physics from Johns Hopkins University; in Business Administration from Loyola College; and in Civil Engineering from The George Washington University.

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