Dean's Seminar Series Presents Gwynne Shotwell

The McCormick Dean’s Seminar Series welcomes Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 4 p.m. in the ITW room in the Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center.

Her lecture is titled, “The Future of Space.”

Shotwell joined SpaceX in 2002 as vice president of business development, developing SpaceX’s customer base and managing strategic relations. As president, Ms. Shotwell’s responsibilities include providing strategic direction to support company growth and development, as well as management of day-to-day operations at SpaceX. Her experience prior to SpaceX includes over ten years at the Aerospace Corporation where she held positions of increasing responsibility in Space Systems Engineering and Technology and Project Management.

Shotwell received her bachelor’s and master’s degree from Northwestern University in mechanical engineering and applied mathematics. She was elected statewide to the California Space Authority board of directors and also serves on its executive committee. She has also served as an officer of the Space Systems Technical Committee and the local chapter of the AIAA. She has authored papers in a wide variety of areas including standardizing spacecraft/payload interfaces, conceptual small spacecraft design, infrared signature target modeling, space shuttle integration, and reentry vehicle operational risks. Shotwell was recently appointed a member of the McCormick Advisory Council.