"The Kepler Mission, in Search of Exoplanets”
William Borucki

Mr. Borucki earned a graduate and undergraduate studies in Physics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and an MS, Meteorology, California State University, San Jose.  In 1962, he joined the Hypersonic Free Flight Branch at the NASA Ames Research Center.

From 1962 through 1972, Mr. Borucki conducted laboratory and theoretical studies of the radiation and plasma environments of entry vehicles.  In 1972, after the successful Moon landings, he transferred to the Theoretical Studies Branch where he developed mathematical models of the Earth’s stratosphere to predict the effects of nitric oxides and chlorofluoromethanes on the ozone layer.

In 1984, he began advocating the development of a space mission that could detect Earth-size planets and determine the frequency of Earth-size planets in the habitable zone of Sun-like stars.  His proposal to the NASA Discovery Program for the Kepler Mission was selected for funding in 2001 and he was appointed its Principal Investigator.

Mr. Borucki retired in 2015 from the NASA Ames Research Center.  He continues his research as an Ames Associate.

Mr. Borucki has received many awards, the most recent few are;
2017 Election to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
2016 Elected Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science
2016 Bower Award; Achievement in science-exoplanets, Franklin Institute
2015 Frank Drake Award, SETI Institute (10/15/2015)
2015 Shaw Prize for conceiving and leading the Kepler Mission

His memberships include:
American Astronomical Society
American Association for the Advancement of Science
International Astronomical Union