Dunnington named new NASA CIO

NASA named Patricia Dunnington the new chief information officer, officials announced March 24.

Dunnington, the agency's deputy CIO since August 2002, takes over the position from Paul Strassmann, NASA's special assistant to the administrator for information management and acting CIO.

Dunnington "has an intimate knowledge of the agency, and she will be a key leader, planner and manager as we continue to apply cutting edge information technology to NASA," NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said in a statement.

Prior to her position as deputy CIO, Dunnington completed a Senior Executive Service candidate development program assignment with Cisco Systems Inc. and served as CIO of NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

Dunnington joined NASA in 1982 as a presidential management intern in the Office of Aerospace Technology and has served as the CIO for the enterprise office and the acting deputy CIO in 1996. She received a bachelor's degree from Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and a master's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Strassmann joined NASA last spring to develop an information technology strategy and architecture. He plans to retire, officials said.