Mark Sirangelo is joining the University of Colorado Boulder as an “entrepreneur in residence.” Sirangelo recently left Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) where he headed its Space Systems Division and the development of the Dream Chaser spaceplane.

He will join the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at CU Boulder. Bobby Braun, Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, said “Mark’s expertise and creativity are a perfect mix for this groundbreaking institution.”

Sirangelo will build an “entrepreneurial center of gravity for industry throughout the state,” Braun continued, and be a “force multiplier for our talented students and the entire campus community.”

In addition to his duties at SNC, Sirangelo served as Colorado’s chief innovation officer and as chairman of The Colorado Innovation Network (COIN). He is currently the governor’s appointee to the Colorado Energy Collaboratory.

He headed all of SNC’s space activities, but is best known for his work on Dream Chaser, a spaceplane that looks like a small space shuttle. SNC competed to win a commercial crew contract from NASA, but lost out to Boeing and SpaceX. However, it successfully entered Dream Chaser into the second commercial cargo solicitation (CRS-2). Dream Chaser will join Northrop Grumman’s (formerly Orbital ATK) Cygnus and SpaceX’s Dragon in delivering cargo to the International Space Station beginning in 2020.