Washington, D.C. - Congressman Ken Calvert praised the nomination of Dr. Michael D. Griffin as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) administrator today.

"I want to congratulate Dr. Griffin on his appointment as administrator of NASA.  President Bush could not have made a better selection.  His background in academia, technical research, government service and the private sector is just what NASA needs as we move forward with the President's Vision, commercial human spaceflight, unmanned robotic space exploration and returning the shuttle to flight.  I have every confidence that he is the right leader for the right time in NASA's future," Said  Calvert, who recently became the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics which oversees NASA.

Dr. Griffin currently heads the Space Department at the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.  He has extensive Space experience in both the public and private sector.  He holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering as well as Master's degrees in Aerospace Science, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Civil Engineering and Business Administration.