Kerri Knotts '94

Kerri Knotts of Woodlands, Texas, is the Vice President of Commercial Spaceflight at Barrios. Barrios is a long-standing prime contractor for NASA, specializing in engineering and mission operations. Additionally, it collaborates directly with private and public commercial entities, leveraging four decades of expertise in human spaceflight. After graduating from WVU’s aerospace engineering program in 1994, Knotts spent 20 years at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. During her tenure, she held various technical and senior leadership positions, focusing on advancing human spaceflight. Her contributions ranged from the Shuttle Program to the planning, assembly, and operations of the International Space Station, as well as developing architectures for future lunar, Mars, and beyond exploration. Transitioning from government service, Knotts assumed the role of CEO at Houston-based startup PetroActive, a fuel additives company. Subsequently, she ventured into creating multiple startups catering to the oil and gas industry in the Appalachia region. In 2020, amidst the commercial aerospace boom, Knotts returned to her roots in the aerospace industry.