James D. Wetherbee

James D. Wetherbee understands “Managing Risk in a Dangerous World” whether commanding a space shuttle or working at a refinery.

During his 20-year tenure with NASA, Wetherbee flew on six space flights and commanded five – the only American to have commanded five missions in space.

As guest speaker for American Institute of Chemical Engineers Regional Process Technology Conference, Wetherbee will share his experiences from the more than 1,500 hours in space including the docking to the International Space Station and the Russian Space Station Mir.

During Wetherbee’s career at NASA he served as Director of Flight Crew Operations, Technical Assistant to the Safety Director, and the Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston.  Wetherbee was a U.S. Naval Test Pilot, and has over 7,000 flight hours in 20 different types of air and space vehicles, and has logged 345 carrier arrested landings.

Today, Wetherbee serves as the Leadership and Culture leader at BP’s Texas City Refinery.  He was selected to improve the organizational and safety culture at the refinery. His goal is to help the dedicated BP employees work safely and create value for shareholders.  In his capacity, he also reports to the Vice President of US Refining, and assists with leadership and cultural enhancements at the other four BP refineries in the US.
 
Wetherbee, a retired U.S. Navy Captain, joined BP as an S&O Auditor in December 2006.  He has traveled to various BP facilities to help identify necessary corrective actions and opportunities for improvement.  In making recommendations, Wetherbee interacts with personnel at all levels in the various facilities.  His goal is to help BP employees work safely.

Wetherbee holds a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame; is a lifetime member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots; honorary member of Musicians’ Union, Local 47 and the American Federation of Musicians.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross; Navy Achievement Medal; two Meritorious Unit Commendations; six Space Flight Medals; two Outstanding Leadership Medals, and four Distinguished Service Medals.

Wetherbee was commissioned in the United States Navy in 1975 and was designated a naval aviator in December 1976.  After attending the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland, in 1981, he was assigned to the Systems Engineering Test Directorate.  He was a project officer and test pilot for the weapons delivery system and avionics integration for the F/A-18 aircraft.  Subsequently assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 132, he flew operationally in the F/A-18 from January 1984 until his selection for the astronaut candidate program.  He has logged more than 7,000 hours flying time in 20 different types of aircraft, including 345 carrier landings.  In May 1984, Wetherbee was selected by NASA and became an astronaut in June 1985.  On his first space flight in 1990, he piloted the space shuttle Columbia and then served as commander during flights in 1992 1995, 1997, 2001 and in 2002.  His flights included the first crew exchange mission to the permanently inhabited International Space Station.  Wetherbee served as Deputy Director of the Johnson Space Center from August 1995 to April 2000; Director of the Flight Crew Operations Directorate from April 2000-2002, and Technical Assistant to the Director of JSC’s Safety & Mission Assurance Directorate from April 2003 to June 2004.  Wetherbee left NASA in January 2005 to form Escape Trajectory LLC.  He started his career with BP in December 2006.