Will Pomerantz

Pomerantz speaks on space travel at TEDxPCC in 2013

Alma mater| Harvard University
International Space University
NASA Academy
Employer| X Prize Foundation
Virgin Galactic
Virgin Orbit
Organization| Brooke Owens Fellowship
Spouse(s)|

Diana Trujillo (m. 2009)

Children| 2

William Pomerantz is Vice President of Special Projects at Virgin Orbit. He was part of the team that created Virgin Orbit while working at Virgin Galactic. He is the co-founder of the Brooke Owens Fellowship and a trustee of the United States Students for the Exploration and Development of Space organisation.

## Contents

* 1 Early life and education
* 2 Career
* 2.1 Public service and advocacy
* 3 References

## Early life and education

Pomerantz was born in 1980 in Buffalo, New York. His parents are Sandra Pomerantz, a social worker and lawyer, and James Pomerantz, a cognitive psychologist.[1][2] His step-mother is Mary McIntire, Dean of Continuing Studies at Rice University.[1] Pomerantz studied Earth and planetary sciences at Harvard University. During his undergraduate degree he studied at the NASA Academy.[3] He completed a master's degree at the International Space University, working in the Information, Communication and Space Technology group at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.[1] Pomerantz co-founded the website SpaceAlumni with Nicholas Skytland in 2004, a social media platform for young space professionals, acting as chief editor until 2007.[3][4] He worked at Brown University as a planetary scientist, identifying surface features on Mars.[5]

## Career

After graduate school Pomerantz joined Futron, an aerospace consultancy that eventually became acquired by Avascent.[6]

In 2005 Pomerantz joined X Prize Foundation, acting as Director of Space Prizes.[3] He was promoted to Senior Director of Space Projects and helped to create both the Google Lunar X Prize and Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge.[7] In 2010, Pomerantz contributed a chapter to the textbook Space Commerce.[8] He joined Virgin Galactic in 2011 and was appointed vice president.[9][10] He was determined to use the SpaceShipTwo to support educational and research payloads as well as space tourism.[10][11]

He spoke at the 2013 TEDxPCC at the Expanding Horizons of Understanding event, where he discussed why humans explore space.[12] Pomerantz led the effort to launch the LauncherOne, which allows people to launch small satellites from an air-launched system.[13] He was the first employee of Virgin Orbit, which will 3D print rockets and engines for satellite launches.[14]

In 2024 he was selected as a Karman Fellow for his work in space exploration.[15] His wife is the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Diana Trujillo.[3]

### Public service and advocacy

He has advised the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and Federal Aviation Administration.[3][16] He was a judge at the inaugural Mayor of Los Angeles Cup, an entrepreneurship challenge to improve Los Abgeles for citizens.[17] He has written for HuffPost.[18] Pomerantz is the chair of the Board of Advisors for the American organisation Students for the Exploration and Development of Space and on the advisory board for the Waypaver Foundation.[19] He is on the editorial board of Room, the space journal.[20]

In 2016, Pomerantz established the Brooke Owens Fellowship, a mentoring scheme which champions women in aerospace. The fellowships offer undergraduate women positions in the space sector and assigns them a personal mentor working in industry.[21] He co-founded the fellowship with Lori Garver and Cassie Kloberdanz Lee.[22]

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "James R. Pomerantz". http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~pomeran/JRP/Bio.html. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
2. ↑ "Miscellaneous pictures, information". Will Pomerantz. http://www.pomerantz.org/miscellaneous.htm. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "NewSpace 2010 Space Conference". Space Frontier Foundation. http://newspace2010.spacefrontier.org/speakers.php?id=45. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
4. ↑ "SpaceAlumni.com Launches Social Networking Website for Space Industry". http://spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=21464. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
\- "William Pomerantz". Science Policy Conference 2013. https://spc.agu.org/2013/speaker-library/speaker/william-pomerantz/. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
5. ↑ W J Pomerantz, Data; Head, James (10 July 2018). ﻿Thumbprint Terrain and Sinuous Troughs with Medial Ridges in the Northern Lowlands of Mars: Assessment of the Glacial Hypothesis Using New Spacecraft …﻿ (Report). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228590191.
6. ↑ "WILL POMERANTZ - Waypaver Foundation". Waypaver Foundation. http://waypaverfoundation.org/news/team-member/will-pomerantz/. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
7. ↑ "Will Pomerantz talks Google Lunar X Prize Landing Details". Mahalodotcom. 26 August 2008. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGzR0Njnsz8. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
\- "Wikinews interviews William Pomerantz, Senior Director of Space Prizes at the X PRIZE Foundation". Wikinews. 28 August 2010. https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews_interviews_William_Pomerantz,_Senior_Director_of_Space_Prizes_at_the_X_PRIZE_Foundation. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
8. ↑ Morris, Langdon (2010). "SPACE COMMERCE: The Inside Story". http://iisc.im/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/SPACE-COMM-FRONT-MATTER.pdf. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
9. ↑ "A thought about the X PRIZE Foundation as Pomerantz exits". Evadot. 16 February 2011. https://evadot.com/2011/02/16/a-thought-about-the-x-prize-foundation-as-pomerantz-exits/. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
\- "Will Pomerantz: A Final Q&A". Google Lunar XPRIZE. 21 February 2011. https://lunar.xprize.org/blog/will-pomerantz-final-qa. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
\- "NewSpace 2011 Space Conference". http://newspace2011.spacefrontier.org/speakers/102/. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "How Virgin Galactic Private SpaceShipTwo Will Launch Science Flights". Space.com. https://www.space.com/23237-virgin-galactic-spaceshiptwo-science-flights.html. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
11. ↑ "Will Pomerantz « Dent:Space". http://space.dentthefuture.com/speakers/will-pomerantz/. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
12. ↑ "Event: TEDx PCC: "Expanding Horizons of Understanding"". Southern California Public Radio. 23 November 2013. https://www.scpr.org/events/2013/11/23/1243/tedx-pcc/. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
\- "Will Pomerantz TEDx Talk: Why We Go to Space". 4 February 2014. http://www.parabolicarc.com/2014/02/04/pomerantz-tedx-talk/. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
\- "TEDxPCC". https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/7790. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
\- "Why We Go -- Leaving Our Beautiful Home and Exploring Outer Space: Will Pomerantz at TEDxPCC". 31 January 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ueGFLVFi80. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
13. ↑ "Meet Will Pomerantz, Virgin Galactic's LauncherOne Point Man". SpaceNews.com. 2015-02-17. http://spacenews.com/meet-will-pomerantz-virgin-galactics-launcherone-point-man/. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
14. ↑ "With a simple and cheap rocket, Virgin Orbit aims for the extraordinary". Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/06/with-an-airplane-and-now-a-rocket-virgin-orbit-readies-for-prime-time/. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
15. ↑ "Will Pomerantz Head of Space Ventures & Co-founder AeroVironment & Brooke Owens and Patti Grace Smith Fellowships | The Karman Project". https://www.karmanproject.org/members/will-pomerantz/.
16. ↑ "William Pomerantz – Vice President, Special Projects Virgin Galactic". Federal Aviation Administration. https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/advisory_committee/membership/pomerantz/. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
17. ↑ Cup, Mayor Garcetti announces winner of 2016 Mayor’s (9 December 2016). "Mayor Garcetti announces winner of 2016 Mayor's Cup". Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. https://www.lamayor.org/mayor-garcetti-announces-winner-2016-mayor’s-cup. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
18. ↑ "William Pomerantz". https://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/william-pomerantz. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
19. ↑ "SEDS Space Talks featuring William Pomerantz". SEDS USA. 27 March 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD4GpyUNaqg. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
\- "Advisors". SEDS. http://seds.org/advisors/. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
20. ↑ "Board". https://room.eu.com/board. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
21. ↑ "Brooke Owens Fellowships will boost women in aerospace (and we're helping)". GeekWire. 8 October 2016. https://www.geekwire.com/2016/brooke-owens-fellowships-women-aerospace/. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
22. ↑ "Cassie Kloberdanz Lee". World Science Festival. https://www.worldsciencefestival.com/participants/cassie-kloberdanz-lee/. Retrieved 10 July 2018.

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