The University of Texas at Austin
College of Engineering
Byron D. Tapley, P.E.

Professor
Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Clare Cockrell Williams Centennial Chair in Engineering
Director, Center for Space Research

Education: Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin

Office Location: Center for Space Research
MCC - Room 2.6062 , Mail Code R1000

Phone: (512) 471-5573

Email: tapley@csr.utexas.edu

Research Interests:

  • Orbital Mechanics
  • Satellite Orbit Determination
  • Earth Satellite Applications

Dr. Tapley's research focuses on the application of satellite remote-sensed observations and numerical computation approaches to contemporary problems in oceanography, geodesy and navigation. He has served on the Cockrell School of Engineering faculty since 1960 and served as departmental chair from 1966 to 1977. He has two years of industrial experience and has published more than 100 technical articles. Dr. Tapley is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and has received numerous national medals and awards. In 1998, he received the  Doctor Honoris Causa from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Currently, he is the Principal Investigator responsible for the Gravity Research and Climate Experiment (GRACE); the first NASA Earth System Pathfinder mission to become operational.

His assistant is Ileene Pickett and she can be reached at (512) 471-7932, pickett@csr.utexas.edu.