Ball
Ball

Jim Oschmann

Vice President and General Manager
Civil Space


Jim OschmannJim Oschmann is vice president and general manager of the Civil Space strategic business unit. He is responsible for acquisition and execution of programs for civil customers that address operational weather, science and technology development objectives.

Jim has held several key leadership positions at Ball Aerospace. Most recently, he served as the vice president and general manager of Tactical Solutions. He has also served as director of Program Execution for the Advanced Technologies & Products business area, Director of Program Management Tools & Processes, and Chief Engineer.

Prior to joining Ball Aerospace in July of 2004, Jim served in technical and managerial positions across industry and the science community, including leadership positions at the Gemini Observatory and the National Solar Observatory. Earlier in his career, he worked in commercial and aerospace industries at Phase Shift Technology, Sensis Corporation, Hughes Aircraft and TRW.

Jim holds a Bachelor’s degree in Optics from the University of Rochester and Master’s degrees in Optical Sciences and Business Administration from the University of Arizona. He is originally from upstate New York.

Jim, a Fellow and Lifetime member of SPIE, is the 2017 SPIE Vice President and has previously served on its Board of Directors. He has served and chaired numerous SPIE committees. He serves on various NASA, NSF and Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy review and advisory boards such as the NASA Advisory Council subcommittee for Technology, Innovation, and Engineering. Previous reviews he has chaired or participated in include a wide variety of reviews in science for US, European and international projects. He has served on university advisory councils, previously for the University of Colorado - Boulder and is currently on the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences Development Board. Jim holds two patents and has 25 publications. He is also a Senior Member of AIAA and a member of the AAS.

Jim was the University of Arizona, College of Optical Sciences Alumnus of the Year in 2014.
He was given the SPIE Director’s Award for service to SPIE, Astronomy, and the Optics Community in 2015. With his election as 2017 Vice President, Jim joins the SPIE presidential chain and will serve as President-Elect in 2018 and as the society’s President in 2019.