Short professional biography of Stephen S Holt
Steve Holt is currently Emeritus Professor of Physics at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering. He was formerly Director of Space Sciences at the Goddard Space Flight Center.
He was born and raised in New York City, where he attended the Bronx High School of Science and New York University, from which he received a BS in Engineering Physics (with honors) in 1961 and a PhD in Physics in 1966.
He began his career at the Goddard Space Flight Center in August, 1966. He became Chief of its Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics in October, 1983, and Director of Space Sciences in May, 1990. He retired from this position, and the federal service, in September, 2000, in order to become a member of the founding faculty of the Franklin W Olin College of Engineering and the Director of Natural Sciences at Babson College.
Dr. Holt's primary area of research was X-ray astrophysics. He has been a Principal Investigator on five NASA X-ray programs, and Project Scientist on eight occasions, including the Einstein Observatory (the first X-ray telescope) and international collaborative missions with the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Russia. He has authored more than 250 professional publications in books and refereed journals.
He has served two one-year part-time tours of duty at NASA Headquarters, where the proximity to the Goddard Space Flight Center allowed him to continue to participate in active research. He served as Acting Chief of the HQ High Energy Astrophysics Branch, and was chosen to be a Charter Member (and Chief Scientist) of the NASA Space Station Task Force during its earliest planning activities.
Dr. Holt has been elected Fellow of the American Physical Society and both Councilor and Chair of its Astrophysics Division, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, member of the International Academy of Astronautics, Chair of the Astrophysics commission of COSPAR, and Chair of the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society. He was the permanent chair of the October Astrophysics Conference series at the University of Maryland, and an Associate Editor of the professional journal Experimental Astronomy. He received the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement on two separate occasions, the NASA Medal for Outstanding Leadership on two separate occasions, the NASA Medal for Exceptional Achievement, the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive, the John C. Lindsay Memorial Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement, and was the first American scientist to receive the COSPAR Medal for International Scientific Cooperation. Upon his retirement from the federal service he was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a civilian NASA employee.