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Asrar Named Associate Administrator for Earth Science

Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC                   February 2, 1998
(Phone:  202/358-1753)

RELEASE: 98-19

ASRAR NAMED ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR EARTH SCIENCE

     Dr. Ghassem Asrar has been selected as the new NASA Associate 
Administrator for Earth Science, Administrator Daniel S. Goldin 
announced today.

     Asrar currently serves as the chief scientist for the Earth 
Observing System in the Office of Earth Science at NASA 
Headquarters.  In this position, he has led an international team 
developing the scientific priorities and measurements to be 
obtained from a series of advanced Earth-orbiting satellites that 
promise fundamental new insights into the connections between 
Earth's land, oceans, atmosphere, ice and life.

     "Dr. Asrar brings first-class interdisciplinary research 
skills and the respect of the scientific community to this 
challenging position," Goldin said.  "Our Earth Science program is 
poised to enter a new era with the launch of the first Earth 
Observing System mission this summer.  This is an ideal time for 
Dr. Asrar to assume the leadership of this key NASA enterprise."  
Asrar's appointment is effective immediately.
     
     Asrar has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed scientific 
papers, primarily in the fields of land surface studies and 
biosphere/atmosphere interactions, and has edited several remote-
sensing reference books.  He conducted research and trained 
undergraduate and post-graduate students for nine years in 
academia prior to joining NASA as a senior scientist in 1987.  He 
has continued his interest in developing the next generation of 
Earth scientists by establishing the NASA Earth System Science 
Fellowship Program, which has trained more than 400 young 
scientists to date.  Prior to his research career, he earned 
graduate degrees in civil engineering and environmental physics 
from Michigan State University, East Lansing.  

     Asrar is an active member of several professional societies, 
including the American Geophysical Union, the American 
Meteorological Society, and the Geoscience and Remote Sensing 
Society.  He has received numerous awards and honors, including 
the Distinguished Visiting Senior Scientist Award from NASA's Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory in 1991 and a NASA Exceptional Performance 
Award in 1997.

     He and his wife Naimeh Razzaghi-Asrar live in Montgomery 
County, MD, and have one child.

                       -end-