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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Michael Griffin, administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), talks to United Space Alliance advanced systems technician Richard Van Wart during a tour of Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1. From left are Van Wart, Space Shuttle Atlantis vehicle manager Scott Thurston, Center Director James Kennedy, and Griffin. Space Shuttle Atlantis is being processed for the second Return to Flight mission, STS-121, in the facility. This is Griffin's first official visit to Kennedy Space Center. Griffin is the 11th administrator of NASA, a role he assumed on April 14, 2005. Griffin was nominated to the position in March while serving as the Space Department head at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory in Baltimore. A registered professional engineer in Maryland and California, Griffin served as chief engineer at NASA earlier in his career. He holds numerous scientific and technical degrees including a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland.