Announcement of the retirement of Jim Oschmann, vice president and general manager of Ball Aerospace's Civil Space strategic business unit, then reveals the person who will be replacing Mr. Oschmann.

Ball Aerospace announced that Jim Oschmann, vice president and general manager of the company's Civil Space strategic business unit, plans to retire from the company, effective Friday, August 10.

Dr. Makenzie Lystrup, currently senior director, Civil Space Advanced Systems and Business Development, will succeed Oschmann as the vice president and general manager of the Civil Space strategic business unit.  

Dr. Makenzie Lystrup

Rob Strain, president, Ball Aerospace offered his thanks to Jim for his leadership and many contributions to Ball, where he has been an advocate of the science community and helped foster long-lasting relationships with their NASA, NOAA and civil customer base. He is pleased to welcome Makenzie into her new role, where her strong business acumen, unique blend of science and technical expertise, inspiring support of employee development, and passion for building diverse and inclusive teams will be an asset to our Civil Space business unit, in addition to the continued growth of Ball.

Since joining Ball in 2004, Oschmann has held several key leadership positions. He served as the vice president and general manager of the Tactical Solutions strategic business unit, director of Program Execution for the Advanced Technologies and Products business area, director of Program Management Tools and Processes, and chief engineer.

Jim is well-known in the industry, and he plans to balance retirement and family with his current role as the SPIE (international society for optics and photonics) president-elect, and as the society's president in 2019. He will also continue some of his current engagements on several industry advisory boards.

Prior to her current role, Dr. Lystrup served as director for Space Sciences, Strategic Operations, based in Ball's Washington, D.C. office. Previously, she worked in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Congressional Science and Technology Policy Fellow. During her time working in Congress, she managed an issue portfolio ranging from technology and privacy to national defense to nuclear energy and nonproliferation. 

As a planetary scientist and astronomer, Dr. Lystrup's scientific work has been in understanding the relationships between a planet's atmosphere and its surrounding space environment. Dr. Lystrup was a National Science Foundation Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Research Fellow and earned her PhD in astrophysics at University College London. Prior to graduate school, she was a full-time AmeriCorps volunteer focusing on STEM education.

Dr. Lystrup is actively engaged in the science and space communities and currently serves on various boards and committees for organizations including SPIE, the American Astronomical Society, AURA and CO-LABS.