A faculty member from the University of Central Florida could reach the stars with a pending nomination.Â
On March 24, President Donald Trump nominated UCF’s Greg Autry to serve as the Chief Financial Officer of NASA. Autry is the Associate Provost for Space Commercialization and Strategy at UCF. Commonly known as UCF’s “space czar,” Autry has earned national recognition for his accomplishments in space research, entrepreneurship, and teaching.Â
If the U.S. Senate approves Autry’s nomination, he will oversee all budgeting and financial responsibilities at NASA, taking over for acting CFO Stephen A. Shinn.Â
In a statement declaring Autry’s nomination, NASA’s acting Administrator, Janet Petro, explained the scope of the CFO’s financial influence, noting the duty of “executing more than $25 billion in agency funding across a variety of missions, including the Moon and Mars, for the benefit of humanity.”
Autry worked in Trump’s previous administration as a NASA agency review team member and White House liaison for NASA operations. This is Autry’s second nomination for NASA’s CFO position, having been nominated by Trump in 2020 but not receiving confirmation.Â
“Our space agency has a long history of excellence in financial management, and I am looking forward to joining the incredible team at NASA,” Autry said in a press release with UCF.Â
Autry’s History and Experience
Before joining UCF in the fall of 2024, Autry worked as the director and clinical professor of Space Leadership, Policy, and Business at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University. He has also served as an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship and economics at the University of California, Irvine, Chapman University, and the University of Southern California. Alongside his work with UCF, Autry is a visiting professor at Imperial College London.Â
Outside of academics, Autry is Vice President of the National Space Society and a board member of Elevated Materials. He previously worked on the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee.Â
Much of Autry’s research centers around criticisms of China’s Communist Party. His books, Red Moon Rising and Death by China, argue China and America’s space-focused Cold War and China’s historical “abuses” of American history, respectively. Autry is a board member of the Committee on the Present Danger, an American anti-communist group with a mission of informing Americans of China’s misrule under communism.Â
UCF and NASA
Established in 1963, UCF has worked alongside NASA and the Kennedy Space Center for over 60 years. Often called “America’s Space University,” UCF employs esteemed researchers and scientists as professors for the university’s engineering and technological programs.Â
In his short time at UCF, Autry has worked with the College of Business to create executive and MBA programs in Space Commercialization. Currently, more than 35 space-related degrees are offered at UCF, with more than a quarter of Florida’s engineering graduates coming from the university.Â
With his nomination, Autry hopes to expand possibilities for UCF students interested in career paths in space.Â
“It won’t be long before careers are available for anyone like me who always wanted to be involved in space but couldn’t get into an astronaut program,” Autry said to UCF Today. “This is where the preparation will happen, at UCF, to enter an industry with unlimited potential.”
Even if the Senate does not approve Autry’s nomination, UCF’s space program has received national recognition from his nomination. Only time will tell if UCF Knights will Charge On even further into our galaxy.