Chris Orwoll

Originally from Downey, California, Mr. Orwoll graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1986 and immediately proceeded to pipeline training for the Nuclear Submarine Program. He served as Division Officer on USS OHIO (SSBN 726), Navigator and Operations Officer on USS TUCSON (SSN 770), and his last seagoing tour in the Navy was as Executive Officer onboard USS DOLPHIN (AGSS 555), the “World’s Deepest Diving Submarine” and U.S. Navy’s last Diesel-Electric submarine. During his time ashore, he served as Associate Professor at Cornell University teaching Engineering and Weapons Systems, volunteered as a Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician, served in the Intelligence Directorate of the Navy’s European and African Headquarters in London, England, earned his Masters Degree in Strategic Studies from the Air War College, and served as the Professor of Naval Science at the University of Kansas. Following retirement in 2007, he was selected to be President and CEO of the Smithsonian-Affiliated Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, KS. During his tenure there, the Cosmosphere hosted over 625,000 guests from around the world, created the exhibits for the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, co-produced the international exhibition “NASA, A Human Adventure,” and developed several award-winning space exhibitions. In 2012, he and his wife Linda along with their nine children moved to New Mexico where he took over as Executive Director of the Smithsonian-Affiliated New Mexico Museum of Space History.