2002 AAE Distinguished Engineering Alumnus

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Mark K. Craig

Acting Director
Stennis Space Center
B.S.A.E. '71

For his outstanding accomplishments in a career dedicated to the exploration of space, the Schools of Engineering are proud to present the Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award to Mark K. Craig.

Mr. Craig is acting director of Stennis Space Center, NASA s lead center for rocket propulsion testing and remote sensing applications. He graduated from Purdue in 1971 with a bachelor s degree in aeronautical engineering.

Mr. Craig’s NASA career began when he was a 19-year-old co-op student at the height of the Apollo program. Over the years, he has served our nation’s space program through his technical expertise, outstanding management skills, and strategic planning. Mr. Craig led negotiations that brought Europe, Japan, and Canada into the Space Station. He was the creator of NASA’s strategic enterprise concept and led President Bush’s Space Exploration Initiative to integrate robotic and human exploration.

Mr. Craig was named the Federal Engineer of the Year Award in 1991 and received the NASA Medal for Outstanding Leadership in 1992. He was the keynote speaker in 1999 at the 3rd United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Mr. Craig is a two-time recipient of the President’s Meritorious Executive Award and was named an Outstanding Aerospace Engineer by Purdue in the year 2000.