James W. Plummer (January 29, 1920 – January 16, 2013) was an engineer who served as the fifth

Director of the National Reconnaissance Office The Director of the National Reconnaissance Office (DNRO) of the United States is responsible to the Secretary of Defense (through the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence) and the Director of National Intelligence for all national space and ...

. Plummer was the first Director NRO to come from the private industry. He previously served as the

Lockheed Corporation The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but ot ...

program manager for the

CORONA Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...

and

LANYARD A lanyard is a cord, length of webbing, or strap that may serve any of various functions, which include a means of attachment, restraint, retrieval, and activation and deactivation. A lanyard is also a piece of rigging used to secure or lower ...

imaging systems. Plummer focused on developing the second generation of U.S. satellites – the electro-optical systems. He earned a master's degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

in 1953. In 2005 he received the

Charles Stark Draper Prize The U.S. National Academy of Engineering annually awards the Draper Prize, which is given for the advancement of engineering and the education of the public about engineering. It is one of three prizes that constitute the "Nobel Prizes of Enginee ...

for his contributions to the CORONA project. Previous Recipients of the Charles Stark Draper Prize

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

, retrieved February 15, 2010. He died at Medford, Oregon in 2013. He was 92.

References

External links

National Reconnaissance Office: Directors List
Directors of the National Reconnaissance Office Nixon administration personnel Ford administration personnel University of Maryland, College Park alumni 1920 births 2013 deaths Draper Prize winners American aerospace engineers People from Idaho Springs, Colorado Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering {{US-gov-bio-stub