Peter Kurzhals

Dr. Peter R. Kurzhals (born August 20, 1937) is a retired aerospace engineer and executive, whose career spans 52 years of manned spaceflight at NASA and Boeing from 1959 to 2011 (1). During that time, he produced some 90 papers, reports, and presentations (2) and edited a book on the Integrity of Electronic Flight Controls for AGARD (3). While at NASA, he became a charter member of the Senior Executive Service (4) and served as Director, Space Technology in the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology of NASA Headquarters, where he managed an annual budget of $100M/yr and 1,000 employees at nine NASA Centers. At Boeing, he held several Director-level positions and managed the $800M Spares budget for the International Space Station.

Early life

Kurzhals graduated from Hampton High School in Hampton, Virginia, in 1955. He received a BS degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Virginia Tech in 1960, an MS degree in Aerospace Engineering in 1962, and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering in 1966. He had joined D Squadron in the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets as a co-op student and was elected to Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Gamma Tau, Kappa Theta Epsilon, and Sigma Xi honorary societies. His Corps experiences, although interrupted by his work assignments at NACA and NASA, provided him with essential leadership and organizational skills that were key to his future successes in challenging tasks.

Government Career

Upon graduation from Virginia Tech in 1960, Kurzhals joined the Pilotless Research Division (PARD) at NASA's Langley Research Center and worked closely with the Space Task Group, which spearheaded the transition from NACA to NASA's manned space flight program. In his early career as branch manager, Kurzhals oversaw advanced guidance and control research for manned space stations, and designed and built the prototype Control Moment Gyro (5) system, which was later adopted as the attitude control system for both Skylab (6) and the current International Space Station (7).

In 1969, Kurzhals transferred to NASA HQ in Washington, DC, where he was Manager of the Guidance and Control Branch, and oversaw the successful test of the Space Shuttle prototype Digital Fly By Wire (DFBW) System (8) on an F-8 experimental aircraft…the first successful flight of an all fly-by-wire system in the world, a technology which was later adopted by virtually all commercial and military aircraft. In 1973, the year NASA selected him as one of two agency managers to attend the Program for Management Development (PMD 26) (9) at Harvard Business School, Kurzhals was promoted to Director of the Electronics Division (10) in the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) of NASA HQ. Here, he managed all advanced electronics technology ($60M/yr and 500 employees) at ten NASA Centers, including the recently established NASA Electronics Research Center in Cambridge, MA. Some of the projects he initiated included NASA's Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Program (11) and NASA's Artificial Intelligence and Robotics program (12), which developed the precursors to today's planetary rovers. Kurzhals also introduced and managed NASA's Control Configured Vehicle (CCV) program (13), which demonstrated major aircraft performance improvements, and developed a 25-year technology roadmap for NASA.

In 1979, Kurzhals was appointed as a charter member of the USA Senior Executive Service (14), and as Director of the Space Division of OAST with responsibility for all NASA advanced space technology efforts ($100M/yr and 1,000 employees at ten NASA Centers. He developed an integrated technology approach for all NASA space systems research, and was selected for listing in Who's Who in the World, in America, in the East, in the South, in the West, in Government, in Aeronautics, in Space and in Technology Today.

From 1981 to 1984, Kurzhals worked at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) as Assistant Director of Mission Operations. He managed the upgrade of the GSFC Mission Control Center to permit more autonomous support and oversaw the transition of Mission Operations to add an online information capability, which significantly reduced operational costs. He was also listed in Men of Achievement, in Leaders in Electronics, and in American Men and Women in Science. In addition, he served as AIAA Technical Director for Space and Information Systems, and as a Council Member for the AIAA National Capital Section, where he introduced a unique Lunch and Learn program with local aerospace companies.

Industry Career

In late 1984, Kurzhals retired from NASA, and served a short stint as a Senior Consultant with Booz Allen (14), where he developed a plan for a fully automated Management Information System (15), an early version of today's Outlook, for NASA before taking a job at McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Corporaton (MDAC) as Director, Utilization and Operations, for the Space Station Freedom (SSF) competition. His Mission Optimization Program (MOP), which maximized mission return with limited SSF resources, was one of the key factors in MDAC's subsequent win of Work Package 2. His team developed many of the original utilization and operations processes for SSF, and also led the international integration and coordination efforts for SSF. In 1990, he transferred from Houston, Texas, to Huntington Beach (HB), California, as Director of SSF subcontracts to manage a 200-person team overseeing MDAC subcontracts for SSF ($400M/yr), and to oversee the transition of those subcontracts to the ISS. That task completed, he took on a new assignment as Director of Advanced Space Flight Programs for MDAC, and managed associated technology programs and initiatives, such as the Centrifuge Program. He also led the MDAC proposal team for the Space Flight Operations Contract.

From 1995 to 2000, Kurzhals was Director of Product Support for ISS and managed the $800M ISS Spares Program and related Logistics and Operations Departments at three Boeing sites. During this time, he also served on the Space Station Committee of the International Astronautical Federation and participated in numerous International Space Congresses all over the world. In 1991, he was selected as Director of Systems Engineering/Support for the newly formed NASA Systems organization of Boeing. Here he managed all HB Systems Engineering, Configuration Management and Operations and Utilization efforts for ISS and the Space Shuttle. Kurzhals also served as President of the HB Management Association, as President of its successor, the Boeing Leadership Chapter (BALC) of the National Management Association (NMA), and as a Trustee and Chairman of the Resource Development Committee for the International Space University (ISU) in Strasbourg, France. In 2002, he added Software Engineering to his team, now designated as the Systems and Software department of Boeing NASA Systems. In 2003, he was elected as an AIAA Fellow and as an NMA Silver Knight of Management Awardee; and, in 2004, he was elected as Orange County Engineer of the Year. During this time, he also served as President of the NMA Southern California Area Council and as NMA Chairman of the Pacific South Area.

From 2005 to 2011, Kurzhals led Systems and Software for Boeing Space Exploration, which replaced Boeing Space Systems. He holds a Certified Manager designation and has served on the NMA Executive Committee as Chairman of the NMA Professional Development (PD) Committee for four years. In this role, he developed several highly acclaimed leadership training tools, such as the Leadership Evaluation and Development System (LEADS), the Career Counseling Catalog, and the One-Stop PD Shop, which have helped thousands worldwide to improve their leadership skills. Kurzhals received the NMA Gold Knight of Management Award and several NMA Chairman's Awards, as well as the BALC Manager of the Year Award, for his related contributions. In addition, he served as President of the Orange County Engineering Council from 2007 to 2009.

Working with Harvard Business School (HBS) executives, Kurzhals put together a three-year fundraiser for THE PMD SCHOLARSHIP, which would use donations from Program for Leadership Development (PLD) candidates, who would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend HBS. He kicked off this fund with a $50,000 donation to this fund, and hopes that other Program for Management Development (PMD) graduates will join him in establishing a lasting legacy to their PMD participation at HBS.

He also established a $150,000 Emerging Leader Scholarship fund at Virginia Tech to help deserving Air Force ROTC cadets. In 2013, Kurzhals was elected to the Virginia Tech Academy of Engineering Excellence for his lifetime contributions to aerospace. In 2014, he was selected for induction into the Virginia Tech Aviation Wall of Fame for outstanding advances in the design and development of space vehicles, including the Space Shuttle and Space Station, and for significant contributions to civil and military aircraft. In 2016, he was selected as a charter member of the Virginia Tech Academy of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Excellence.

Over the years, Kurzhals has published some 90 technical papers, articles, and reports on spacecraft control, electronics technology, information systems, space operations, and leadership, and has served as an AGARD publications editor. He holds two patents on spacecraft pointing systems and is a frequent speaker on leadership and innovation.

Kurzhals currently serves as the President of the Sigma Xi Orange County Chapter, where he chairs bi-monthly dinner meetings with challenging lectures on advances in science and engineering.

Honors and Awards

1. Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (2003).

2. AIAA Sustained Service Award (2011)

3. Virginia Tech Wall of Fame.(2014) https://liberalarts.vt.edu/rotc/airforce/history-of-the-aviation-wall-of-fame.html

4. Virginia Tech Academy of Engineering (2013) https://eng.vt.edu/about/distinguished-alumni/academy-of-engineering-excellence/peter-r-kurzhals.html

5. Virginia Tech Academy of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Excellence (2016) https://www.aoe.vt.edu/people/academy/2016/kurzhals.html

6. Marquis Who's Who Top Engineers https://marquistopengineers.com/2021/01/05/peter-kurzhals/

7. Marquis Who's Who Top Executives https://marquistopexecutives.com/2020/12/11/peter-r-kurzhals/

8. Marquis Who's Who Albert Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/477219/dr-peter-r-kurzhals-presented-with-the-albert-nelson-marquis-lifetime-achievement-award-by-marquis-whos-who

9. Fellow of Sigma Xi awarded posthumously (2024) in Washington, D.C.

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