Dr. Charles Lundquist

Dr. Charles A. Lundquist received his B.S. in Engineering Physics from South Dakota State University in 1949 and his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Kansas in 1954. From 1953-1954, he briefly served as an Assistant Professor of Engineering Research at the Pennsylvania State University. In 1954, he joined the army and was assigned to the Technical Feasibility Study Office at the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. From there, Dr. Lundquist became Chief of the Physics and Astrophysics Branch in the Research Projects Division of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. During his time at the ABMA, he was involved in the planning and launch of the first US satellite, Explorer 1, as well as other early US satellites. In 1960, his position was transferred to the Marshall Space Flight Center where he remained until 1962. From 1962-1973, Dr. Lundquist served as the Assistant Director for Science at the Astrophysical Observatory of the Smithsonian Institution, as a Research Associate at the Harvard College Observatory, as well as Manager of the Celescope Project for the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory. During this time, he was also part of the NASA Group for Lunar Exploration Planning (GLEP) during the Apollo program and was co-editor of the 1966 Smithsonian Standard Earth. In 1973, Dr. Lundquist returned to the Marshall Space Flight Center to become Director of the Space Sciences Laboratory in the Science & Engineering Directorate where he worked on the Skylab project and preliminary work for the Space Shuttle. Currently, Dr. Lundquist serves as the Director of the Interactive Projects Office, Research Institute at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a position he has held since 1999. Other positions at UAH include Director of the Consortium for Materials Development in Space (1985-1999), Associate Vice President for Research (1990-1996), Director of Research (1982-1990), and Visiting Professor of Physics (1981-1982). Dr. Lundquist was also honored with the AIAA Herman Oberth Award in 1978 and the NASA Medal for Scientific Achievement in 1971.