on clean energy policy. He earned an MPA in June 2004, and was selected as a Fellow at the Center for Business and Government (a policy institute or think tank) at the Kennedy School. Following Harvard, Loria served as the Deputy Chief Engineer for the Constellation Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. During the fall of 2004, Loria's injuries were deemed inoperable and resulted in his being medically disqualified from future space flight exploration missions. Loria requested assignment back to the operational forces of the Marine Corps. He became a member of the Senior Executive Service and serves as the Director of the Earth Resources Observation and Science center (EROS), with the U.S. Geological Survey in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Awards and honors NASA Fellow Harvard Kennedy School Fellow NASA Certificate of Appreciation 2010 NASA Acquisition Improvement Award NASA Group Achievement Award Defense Superior Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal (three) Navy Commendation Medals (two, one with "V") Air Medals (two, both with "V") Strike Flight Air Medals (four) Navy Achievement Medal Naval Test Wing Atlantic Test Pilot of the Year 1995–1996 Who's Who in the World 1995 Who's Who in the American West 1994 Commodore's List with Distinction US Naval Academy Distinguished Hispanic Graduate US Naval Academy Notable Graduate Organizations Society of Experimental Test Pilots, U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association, Marine Corps Aviation Association, National Rifle Association. See also List of Hispanic astronauts Hispanics in the United States Marine Corps Hispanics in the United States Naval Academy References Spacefacts biography of Christopher Loria 1960 births Living people American astronauts United States Marine Corps colonels Harvard Kennedy School alumni United States Naval Academy alumni U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School alumni Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Belmont High School (Massachusetts) alumni Hispanic and Latino American scientists