Dr. Jonathan Ransom is the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) Deputy Director for Structures and Materials in the Research Directorate Office. The mission of the structures and materials technology area is to innovate new materials and structural concepts that enable future aviation and space exploration, and develop the foundational technologies essential for manufacturing, design, validation and sustainment of aerospace vehicles. Jonathan has over 35 years of experience at NASA Langley. He is recognized for his research in computational structural mechanics, damage mechanics, finite element methods development, and high performance computing methods to enable multi-disciplinary design and analysis of advanced materials and structures for aerospace applications. Prior to his current role, he served as the Research Directorate Chief Engineer for Structures and Materials, where he was responsible for promoting technical excellence to ensure delivery of high quality research and technology. Prior to serving as Chief Engineer, Jonathan served for over 13 years as the Branch Head of the Durability, Damage Tolerance and Reliability Branch (DDTRB) where he directed engineers and scientists conducting a broad-based research and technology program that quantifies behavior, durability, and damage tolerance of structural materials; develops efficient, physics-based analytical and computational methods; develops new innovative test methods; and validates performance of advanced materials and structures for aerospace applications. In addition to serving as Branch Head, in 2004, he served on a detail assignment as the Associate Director for the Structures and Materials Competency. Jonathan earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics from Virginia State University, and a Master of Science Degree in Engineering Mechanics and Doctoral Degree (PhD) in Aerospace Engineering, both from Old Dominion University.
