Scott J. Bolton is an American theoretical and experimental space physicist. He is an associate vice president of the Southwest Research Institute Space Science and Engineering Division. His research area is planetary sciences with a focus on the giant planets and the origin of the solar system. Previously serving as a member of the Galileo and Cassini–Huygens missions, Bolton became the Principal Investigator of Juno, a New Frontiers program mission to Jupiter which began primary science in 2016.
Bolton is the principal investigator for Juno, a mission launched in 2011 to study Jupiter's origin, atmosphere, magnetosphere and interior structure, part of NASA's New Frontiers program to explore the outer planets of the solar system. Bolton previously served on the Galileo mission as a member of the plasma spectrometer team and plasma wave instrument team.
Dr. Bolton is a Co-Investigator on a number of NASA missions including experiments on the Cassini-Huygens mission. During the early phases of the Cassini mission, Dr. Bolton chaired the Titan observation planning group for the Cassini-Huygens mission and helped formulate of the scientific investigation of Saturn's moon Titan. Dr. Bolton has been a Principal Investigator with NASA on various research programs since 1988. His research includes the modeling of the Jovian and Saturnian radiation belts, atmospheric dynamics and composition, and the formation and evolution of the solar system. He has authored over 250 scientific papers, five book chapters, and consulted/appeared in five space science documentaries. He also received JPL Individual Awards for Exceptional Excellence in Leadership in 2002, 2001, and 1996, and Excellence in Management in 2000; and has received over twenty NASA Group Achievement Awards. Dr. Bolton maintains a relationship with JPL and the California Institute of Technology through a special appointment as a Senior Staff Scientist.
In 2018, Bolton was awarded Smithsonian Magazine's American Ingenuity Award in the Physical Sciences category.
