Joseph Minafra

Joseph Minafra serves as Lead of Innovation and Technical Partnerships for the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) at NASA Ames Research Center. Joe has an extremely diverse background that includes developing technical systems for collaborative research, meteoritic studies, biology, project management, software development including user interface design, scientific illustration, and even a few years as a professional chef. With his varied background, Joe has been responsible for a broad set of technical tasks for the NASA Ames Center Director as well as the Space and BioSciences Divisions. Currently, he oversees technology innovation to enable collaboration and communication between competitively selected science and research teams across not only the United States, but internationally as well. Joe has a long history of integrating government work with commercial enterprises and bringing that message to the public through the education and public outreach sectors.