Kenneth Wright

Mr. Kenneth Wright is the Chief Operating Officer of the Research Directorate (RD) at NASA Langley Research. In this role he is responsible for working with the Director and Directorate management team to develop the Integrated RD Strategy. He also manages technical actions for RD Executives. In addition, Mr. Wright leads university, DoD laboratory and international collaborations and he oversees the Integrated Technical Services (ITS) team including Safety Engineers, Contracting Officer Representatives, External Agreements Managers, Metrology/Calibration Engineers, IT Security Manager, as well as the Facility Projects Lead. Mr. Wright is also the liaison to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer and the Office of Human Capital Management and leads the development of RD budgets and coordinates the development of Directorate workforce strategy. Formerly, Mr. Wright served in numerous leadership positions in the RD including Associate Director for Program Implementation, Associated Director for Resource Management, and Branch Head of the Advanced Sensing and Optical Measurement Branch. He also served as the Deputy Director for NASA Langley’s Science Directorate.

Mr. Wright led Center and Agency teams such as the Agency’s Technical Capability Assessment Team for Remote Sensing, and the Source Evaluation Board and Procurement Development Team of the Largest Engineering Services Contract on NASA Langley Research Center - the TEAMS 2 contract. His leadership has been recognized by the Agency through numerous group achievement and performance awards, NASA Superior Accomplishment Awards, an Exceptional Service Medal and NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal.

Mr. Wright has approximately 23 technical publications in the areas of ground-based acoustic measurement systems, sensors, and advanced wind tunnel diagnostic techniques and holds a patent for a high density, digital data storage systems. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Old Dominion University and his Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Mr. Wright and his wife Joan, are community broadcasters and they have been recognized for their contributions in the community through awards such as the Urban League of Hampton Roads volunteer of the year award. Mr. Wright is also the proud father of three beautiful daughters, Virginia, Kendyl and Keanna.

Chief Operating Officer, Research Directorate National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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