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Person · officer / director

Michael M Watkins

Former VP & Director, Jpl · California Institute of Technology

Former VP & Director, Jpl at California Institute of Technology. Listed as an officer, director, or key employee across 1 organization on the Form 990 record.

This is me
Organizations
1
Roles reported
1
Reported compensation
$312K

Who this is

Profile

The filed facts are verified from the IRS filings. The biography is compiled from public web sources and grounded to that filed record.

✓ Verified from filings
●
Reported as Former VP & Director, Jpl of California Institute of Technology, based in Pasadena, CA.
●
Received $312K in total reported compensation on the most recent Form 990 (Part VII).
Facts extracted directly from each organization's Form 990, Part VII.
Biography Web-sourced

Professor of Aerospace and Geophysics at Caltech; former Vice President of Caltech and 9th Director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (2016-2021); now Director of Keck Institute for Space Studies. Mission manager for Curiosity rover and project scientist for GRACE, GRAIL, and GRACE Follow-On satellite missions.

Compiled from public web sources (4 cited), grounded to the filed record.

Track record

Career & tenure

Real tenure, career, and education — from public web sources, what you need to vet a founder or leader beyond the filing window.

Tenure here
Current Professor at Caltech; Director Keck Institute for Space Studies as of 2025
Education
  • B.S. Aerospace Engineering · University of Texas at Austin1983
  • M.S. Aerospace Engineering · University of Texas at Austin1985
  • Ph.D. Aerospace Engineering · University of Texas at Austin1990

Affiliations

Organizations

California Institute of Technology Former VP & Director, Jpl · $3.5B revenue · Pasadena, CASEE SCHEDULE Opay $811K → $312KFiled FY2024, FY2023, FY2022 · Source: Form 990, Part VII
$312Kreported comp

Network

Serves alongside

Other officers, directors & key employees at this person's organizations, by latest reported compensation.

S
Chief Investment Officer · FY2021
$2.2M
T
President/Trustee · FY2021
$2.2M
L
VP & Director, Jpl Until 5/25 · FY2024
$1.4M
K
Former VP Admin & CFO · FY2023
$1.0M
C
VP & Chief Operating Officer · FY2024
$919K
D
VP Adv & Alumni Relations · FY2024
$914K
D
Provost · FY2024
$908K
P
Sr Mg Dir of Invst Until 9/22 · FY2022
$862K
P
Sr Mg Dir of Investments · FY2021
$852K
R
Astronomy Prof & Exec Dir, Tio · FY2024
$838K
D
See Schedule O for Title · FY2024
$780K
K
Sr Mg Director, Investment Ops · FY2021
$757K

Network

Recommendations

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Public data from IRS Form 990 e-file & the Business Master File. Individuals appear here because they were named as an officer, director, or key employee on a nonprofit's Form 990; people are grouped by name plus corroborating evidence (Schedule R, shared address, shared board members). · philanthropy.org