Dr. Richard Volpe

Richard Volpe is Manager of the Mobility and Robotic Systems Section (347) of the Autonomous Systems Division at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. The section is a team of over 80 robotics engineers doing research and spaceflight implementation of robotic systems for roving, digging, ballooning, drilling, and other modes of in-situ planetary exploration.  Additionally, Richard is a member of the JPL Science and Technology Management Committee, and has been a member of the 2007 Phoenix Mission Robotic Arm Team.

From 2001 through 2004, Richard served as the manager of Mars Regional Mobility and Subsurface Access in the JPL Space Exploration Technology Program Office. In addition to guiding technology development for future robotic exploration of Mars and the Moon, he has been actively involved in 2003 and 2011 rover mission development, and 2007 lander mission operations. This has included managing internal JPL rover technology development, as well as external university research funded by the Mars Technology Program.   Richard holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Carnegie Mellon University (1990).