JPL Director Transition

To: The Caltech Community
From: Thomas F. Rosenbaum, Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair and Professor of Physics

I write to announce that for personal reasons Dr. Laurie Leshin has made the decision to step down from her position as Caltech vice president and director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, effective June 1, 2025. She will remain on Caltech's faculty as Bren Professor of Geochemistry and Planetary Science. To build on JPL's strength and momentum, David Gallagher, a 36-year veteran of JPL and currently associate director for strategic integration, will serve as the next Caltech vice president and director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Laurie, a highly respected scientist, is a strategic leader and passionate advocate for NASA, science, and the Lab. She has brought a disciplined focus to JPL's mission, invigorating and mobilizing teams across the Lab to energize their efforts and advance the cutting-edge technologies and innovations that drive U.S. leadership in planetary and space science.

This leadership transition follows a series of recent successes. The launches of Europa Clipper and SPHEREx and the upcoming launch of NISAR serve as capstone achievements in Laurie's celebrated tenure as JPL Director. These feats were accomplished in the face of significant challenges, including the devastating fires that destroyed the homes of hundreds of campus and Lab community members and displaced thousands. Throughout both the successes and challenges, Laurie and Dave and the full leadership team at JPL have worked together closely, and with campus and NASA, to stay focused on JPL's missions and people, fostering a community where brilliant people pull together to achieve the impossible.

David Gallagher will take the helm as Laurie steps back. Dave brings to the role a depth of experience, operational expertise, savvy, and demonstrated leadership abilities. He has served as the director for, and deputy director for, astronomy, physics, and space technology and manager of the advanced optical systems program office; as project manager for the Space Interferometry Mission, the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Starlight project, the Pressure Modulator Infrared Radiometer instrument, and Drop Physics Module reflight. Previously, Dave served as the integration and test manager for the Wide-Field/Planetary Camera 2 instrument, which corrected the spherical aberration for the Hubble Space Telescope.

While we respect Laurie's decision to step away from her leadership position at JPL, we will miss her drive, compassion, and dedication. At the same time, the Caltech Board of Trustees and I are grateful to Dave for his devotion to JPL and his continuing leadership and partnership going forward. Dave's experience working across multiple government and private sector entities will help secure ongoing support for America's agenda in space, with JPL continuing to play an essential role. Please join me in wishing Laurie well and congratulating Dave on his appointment as JPL's 11th Director.