S. Pete Worden
S. Pete Worden is a globally recognized leader in space exploration, national security and international scientific partnerships with a career spanning the highest levels of military service, government agency leadership and private sector innovation.
Worden currently serves as chairman of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation and executive director of the Breakthrough Initiatives, a privately funded suite of space science programs to find life beyond earth and explore interstellar space.
Prior to his work in the private sector, Worden served nearly a decade as director of NASA’s Ames Research Center. From 2006 to 2015, he transformed the center into a hub for small satellite innovation, astrobiology and public-private partnerships, notably fostering the growth of the burgeoning "New Space" industry in Silicon Valley.
A retired Brigadier General in the United States Air Force, Worden’s 29-year military career was defined by strategic leadership in space operations. He served as the director of development and transformation for the Air Force Space Command and was a primary architect of the Strategic Defense Initiative. His influence on national space policy was further solidified during his two terms in the Executive Office of the President, where he advised the National Space Council on civil and commercial space priorities.
Worden earned his doctorate in astronomy from the University of Arizona and later returned as a research professor of astronomy, optical sciences, and planetary sciences. During his time as a faculty member, his research focused on the development of large space optics for national security and the study of near-earth asteroids – priorities that remain central to the university’s research mission today.
He has authored over 150 scientific papers and received the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal. Worden continues to advocate for the next generation of space exploration, bridging the gap between academic research and global strategic implementation. He was an advisor to the Luxembourg Space Agency and was knighted by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for his space services.