Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Dean for Entrepreneurial Programs, is a professor of Space Science and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. He has been at the University of Michigan for over 10 years.

Zurbuchen holds a PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Bern, Switzerland and was a recipient of a Swiss National Science Foundation award before coming to the University of Michigan. Since then, he has received numerous awards, including the prestigious U.S. Presidential Early Career Award, which represents the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers. A specialist in the robotic exploration of space, he served as team leader for the development of NASA’s Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer, an instrument aboard the Messenger spacecraft which made its first Mercury flyby in 2008. Professor Zurbuchen is also part of several committees of the National Academy of Sciences and NASA.

Professor Zurbuchen is passionate about teaching his students to apply their deep engineering and science knowledge toward the solution of problems and toward taking advantage of opportunities. His teaching focuses on Space Engineering, Entrepreneurship, and his students' hands-on involvement in research. He was the founding director of the Center for Entrepreneurship. Under his direction, the Center has rapidly grown in visibility and in impact across the entire student body. Key Center activities include strengthening academic curricula in entrepreneurship, venture acceleration, and outreach to the broader entrepreneurial community. All key Center activities are performed in partnership with students and, in particular, by the student organization MPowered Entrepreneurship.