Takeoff Technologies LLC: Who we are

JOAN HORVATH

Picture of Joan Horvath

Joan Horvath is a management consultant. Before her consulting career (initially as Takeoff Technologies LLC and now under her own name) she had a 16 year career as a "rocket scientist" at JPL, the NASA center for the exploration of the solar system. She has a Bachelor of Science (SB) in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT, and an MS in Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering from UCLA. At JPL she calculated how fluids would flow in space and developed ideas for advanced computers. She played key roles on various spacecraft, particularly with the Magellan spacecraft to Venus and the TOPEX/Poseidon earth orbiting spacecraft.

She created a program at JPL which fostered relationships between JPL and toy companies, merchandisers, and science fiction producers. This program grew to include many companies, and generated significant print and television exposure for Mattel's first-of-its-kind relationship to make toy Mars Rovers.

She is the author of many technical papersand of the 2008 release "What Scientists Actually Do." She is coauthor of the coffeetable book "Saturn: A New View". Horvath has taught science at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena , California. She has also taught strategy, technology planning, mathematics and critical thinking at the Southern California campus of the University of Phoenix.

Horvath a featured reviewer for Reviews.com