A member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the International Academy of Astronautics, Kennel has served on many national and international boards and committees, including the Pew Oceans Commission. He was a member of the NASA Advisory Council from 1998 to 2006, and its Chair from 2001 to 2005. He presently chairs the California Council on Science and Technology and the Space Studies Board of the US National Academy of Sciences.