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.

Oschmann has held several key leadership positions at Ball Aerospace. He served as the vice president and general manager of the Tactical Solutions strategic business unit. He 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, Oschmann served in technical and managerial positions in the science community, and in commercial and aerospace industries. These include leadership positions at the Gemini and the National Solar Observatories, Phase Shift Technology, Sensis Corporation, Hughes Aircraft and TRW.

Oschmann, a fellow and lifetime member of SPIE, is the society’s 2017 vice president and has previously served on the board. He has also served and chaired numerous SPIE committees. Oschmann serves on various NASA, National Science Foundation (NSF) and Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) review and advisory boards, such as the NASA advisory council subcommittee for technology, innovation and engineering. He has chaired or participated in a wide variety of reviews in science for U.S., European and International projects. He has served on university advisory councils for the University of Colorado – Boulder, and is currently on the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences advisory board.

Oschmann was honored with the University of Arizona, College of Optical Sciences Alumnus of the Year in 2014. He received the SPIE Director’s Award for service to SPIE, Astronomy, and the Optics Community in 2015. With his election as 2017 vice president, Oschmann joins the SPIE presidential chain and will serve as president-elect in 2018, and as the society’s president in 2019. Oschmann is a Senior Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and a member of the American Astronautical Society (AAS). He holds two patents and has 25 publications.

Oschmann holds a Bachelor of Science in Optics from the University of Rochester and Master of Science in Optical Sciences and Business Administration from the University of Arizona.