Benjamin Cichy is the Software Architect and lead Flight Software (FSW) engineer for NASA's next mission to Mars, the Mars Science Laboratory. Ben received Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Computer Science from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, and a Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA. He joined JPL in 2002 and has made significant contributions to a number of key flight missions and technology demonstrations at the laboratory, including the 2007 Mars Phoenix Lander, for which he was awarded NASA's Exceptional Achievement Medal.