Dr. Mark Whorton

Biography

Mark Whorton is an Adjunct Professor of Practice in the School of Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he also serves as the Chief Technology Officer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). He earned his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech, focusing on the dynamics and control of flexible space structures. Whorton has a rich history in the aerospace sector, having previously worked as the Chief Technologist at Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville, Alabama, where he led the development of MUSES, a groundbreaking platform for commercial earth imaging from the International Space Station. With 20 years as a civil servant at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, he was responsible for leading the guidance, navigation, and control design analysis for the Ares-1 Launch Vehicle. Whorton has also served as the Principal Investigator for several space flight projects, including g-LIMIT, a microgravity vibration isolation system, and Nanosail-D, which demonstrated NASA’s solar sail technology mission. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), recognized for his contributions to the field.

Research Interests