14 Facts About Kwatsi Alibaruho

Kwatsi Alibaruho was born on May 6,1972 and is a Flight Director for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Kwatsi Alibaruho is a mukiga and the first black NASA Flight Director.

The Flight Director class of 2005, of which Alibaruho is a member, is the second largest ever appointed and the most diverse.

Kwatsi Alibaruho's mother is a retired university professor of social sciences, and his father is a retired economist.

From his early beginnings, Kwatsi Alibaruho's parents encouraged his interest in mathematics and science by exposing him to printed material about rockets and about NASA as well as by exposing him to science fiction media of the time.

Kwatsi Alibaruho earned a Bachelor of Science in Avionics in 1994 from the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Kwatsi Alibaruho started with NASA in 1993 as a Cooperative Education student serving in the Mission Operations Directorate's ISS Life Support Systems Group.

In May 2001, Kwatsi Alibaruho was selected as the Manager of the ISS Life Support Systems Group where he managed and trained a team of approximately 25 Flight Controllers.

Kwatsi Alibaruho served in this capacity for just over three years until he was selected as a Flight Director in February 2005.

Shortly after, Kwatsi Alibaruho completed training as a Space Shuttle Flight Director, now qualified to manage operations on both spacecraft.

Senior Management of Mission Operations Directorate selected Alibaruho to serve as the Lead Space Shuttle Flight Director for this historic mission alongside Lead ISS Flight Director, J Chris Edelen.

Kwatsi Alibaruho was later promoted to establish UTCs first Program Management Office.

Kwatsi Alibaruho later took on a new role at Eaton Corporation as Vice President of Program Management for Aerospace Systems, Electric Vehicles, and Industrial Sector.

Kwatsi Alibaruho currently serves as Senior VP of Eatons Industrial sector.