1987-2007

J. Dan Bates is named president in November 1997. By 2000, SwRI ushers in its first major space mission, the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE), paving the way for more NASA projects. Revenue reaches $270 million in 1997 and continues to grow during Bates’ tenure to $592 million in 2014, the same year Bates retires after serving 17 years as president. SwRI rapidly expands work on robotics, intelligent systems, machinery dynamics, intelligent transportation systems, and space science.