February 10, 2026
GRAA Luncheon
American Legion Post #136
6900 Greenbelt Road
Greenbelt, MD 20771
The Swiftly Mission: SWIFT Lift in a Year
Dr. Brad Cenko, Principal Investigator of the Neils Gehrels Swift Observatory, NASA Goddard
Dr. Brad Cenko has been a Research Astrophysicist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center since 2013, and he currently serves as the Principal Investigator of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. His research interests are centered in time-domain astronomy, utilizing the dynamic universe – including gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, and tidal disruption events – to create physical conditions that cannot be replicated in terrestrial laboratories. He received his A.B. in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Harvard University in 2002, and a Ph.D. in Physics from the California Institute of Technology in 2008. In addition to his work with Swift, he is also a co-Investigator for the upcoming UltraViolet EXplorer (UVEX) mission, and a Participating Scientist for the joint Israeli-NASA ULTRASAT mission.
Dr. Russell Carpenter, Deputy Project Manager/Technical, Space Science Mission Operations, NASA Goddard
Dr. Russell Carpenter has been with NASA since 1987, spending most of his career focused on development of onboard navigation systems as a Navigator at the Johnson Space Center and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. He currently serves as the Deputy Project Manager/Technical for Space Science Mission Operations (SSMO) at Goddard. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society (AAS), and a 2025 inductee into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni of the University of Texas at Austin Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. Main belt asteroid 12248 Russellcarpenter (formerly 1988 RX12) is named in his honor, for contributions to the Lucy and OSIRIS-REx missions. He attended The University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering.
March 10, 2026
The March 10, 2026 speaker will be Dr. Keith Gendreau who will present “The Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER)”
Dr. Keith Gendreau, NASA Goddard, Principal Investigator for NICER Mission
Dr. Keith Gendreau is the Principal Investigator for the NICER (Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer) Mission of Opportunity on the International Space Station. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1995 for work with the X-ray CCDs on the ASCA (Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics) mission by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). Since 1995, he has been at NASA Goddard in the X-ray Astrophysics Branch where he develops technologies for X-ray sources, optics, and detectors as well as astrophysics mission concepts. His awards include the Robert H. Goddard Award of Merit (2024), High Energy Astrophysics Division of American Astronomical Society (AAS) Rossi Prize (2022), Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (2020), NASA Invention of the Year (2019), and John C. Lindsay Memorial Award for Space Science (2019).