MEET ALAN JOHNS: WEBB TELESCOPE GROUND SEGMENT AND OPERTIONS MANAGER

Alan Johns is the Ground Segment and Operations Manager for the James Webb Space Telescope Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. Alan joined NASA in 1984 after receiving a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Tennessee. Prior to his work on the Webb Telescope, he was the Mission Systems Manager for the Earth Science Data Information Systems Project, and he also managed the development of control centers in support of the following missions: COBE, GRO, UARS, EUVE and ISTP Wind/Polar missions.

As the Webb Telescope Ground Segment and Operations Manager, Alan is responsible for the development and operations of the control center systems, data processing systems, ground stations and networks that will be used to support the Webb telescope mission.

Alan is a 1997 recipent of the Goddard Honor Award for Exceptional Achievement for his work on EOSDIS. Alan lives in Eldersburg, MD, with his wife Stephanie and son Andrew. Outside of NASA, Alan enjoys attending his son's music performances and tennis matches.