Paul W. Chodas

Paul Chodas is Director of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he has worked for over 40 years. In the early ‘90s Paul designed and developed core components of JPL’s small-body orbit software such as orbit determination, close approach detection, calculation of impact probabilities, and prediction of impact times and locations. Over the last decade, he has developed a dozen hypothetical asteroid impact scenarios for use as learning exercises by the planetary defense community. Paul has a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics and Masters and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering.