NASA selects senior IT adviser

Paul Strassmann begins work May 1 as a senior information technology adviser to NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe.

O'Keefe named Strassmann as special assistant to the administrator for information management April 29. The two men previously served together at the Defense Department and at Syracuse University in upstate New York.

"Paul's work has attracted worldwide attention and acclaim," O'Keefe said in a news release. "His experience in advancing next-generation technologies and information management concepts will be vital as the agency explores a comprehensive IT strategy."

The position is a new one for the space agency. The administrator is "just looking to bring in the best possible advice on how we structure our IT," said Brian Dunbar, a NASA spokesman.

Strassmann will assess NASA's information management operations and will help develop and implement an agencywide vision for IT.

He also will collaborate with the special assistant to the administrator for financial management on the delivery of an integrated financial management program. The system, which is in the deployment stages, is expected to provide an IT core for the agency, which has a history of decentralization across its 10 centers.

Strassmann, president of the Information Economics Press, comes to NASA with a hefty background in information management.

He is on the board of visitors at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse. O'Keefe taught in Syracuse's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs before joining the Bush administration.

At the Pentagon, Strassmann was adviser to the DOD deputy secretary and, later, director of Defense information.

On the industry front, Strassmann has held high-ranking positions at Xerox Corp. and has been a senior adviser to Science Applications International Corp.

"Paul has been a key contributor in shaping business and information technology systems for both private industry and government," O'Keefe said. "I look forward to his innovative contributions as we move to update and upgrade NASA's IT infrastructure."