Laurie Leshin, the Tempe-born planetary scientist and former director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is coming home in a big way. She has returned to Arizona State University to help shape the school’s space strategy, stepping in earlier this month as the University Professor for Space Futures. In that role, she will advise campus leaders on research, partnerships, and education tied to space exploration, a move that signals ASU’s intent to lean harder into mission-led research and industry collaboration across Arizona.
Leshin's role and responsibilities
In her new post, Leshin will work directly with ASU President Michael Crow, Provost Nancy Gonzales, and Executive Vice President Sally Morton. She will also team up with the School of Earth and Space Exploration, the University Design Institute, and the Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes to map out the university’s space priorities. Calling out the region’s long-running ties to the cosmos, she told university officials that the “state of Arizona has so much history and capability in space exploration” and that ASU should be “working every day to position all our capabilities for the future,” according to ASU News.
Her track record at JPL and beyond
Leshin led JPL from 2022 until she stepped down in mid-2025, and she remained on the Caltech faculty as a Bren Professor, as the lab announced. During her tenure at JPL, she oversaw a slate of earth-science and planetary missions. Before that, she served as president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute and held senior science leadership posts at NASA Goddard and NASA headquarters. The transition was outlined in a Jet Propulsion Laboratory news release, Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Why Arizona cares
ASU runs more than two dozen active space missions and hosts a growing set of industry-connected programs to train the workforce behind them, according to ASU News. The Phoenix Business Journal framed Leshin's hiring as a clear sign that ASU is positioning itself to capture more private investment and deepen statewide partnerships between universities, observatories and industry.
For students and industry partners, Leshin’s arrival immediately raises questions about what new programs, internships and mission collaborations might follow. ASU says more specifics will be announced as plans develop. For Arizona, the move brings a high-profile advocate to a university that already houses much of the state's space expertise and could speed up cross-sector deals that turn research into local jobs and contracts.
