E
Biographies of Committee Members and Staff
Antonio L. Elias (Co-Chair) is executive vice president and general manager for advanced programs at Orbital Sciences Corporation. He had served as Orbital’s chief technical officer from 1996 to 1997, as the company’s corporate senior vice president from 1992 to 1996, and as its first vice president for engineering from 1989 to 1992. From 1987 to 1991, he led the technical team that designed and built the Pegasus air-launched booster, flying as a launch vehicle operator on the carrier aircraft for the rocket’s first and fourth flights. He also led the design teams of Orbital’s Advanced Photovoltaic and Electronic Experiments (APEX) and SeaStar satellites and X-34 hypersonic research vehicle. Dr. Elias went to Orbital from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he held various teaching and research positions, including the Boeing Chair in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). His awards include the AIAA Engineer of the Year for 1991, the AIAA Aircraft Design Award, and the American Astronautical Society Brouwer Award. He is also a corecipient of the National Medal of Technology and the National Air and Space Museum Trophy. Dr. Elias is a member of the National Research Council’s (NRC’s) Naval Studies Board.
William D. Smith (Admiral, USN, Ret.) (Co-Chair) retired in 1993 after 38 years of active duty service. At present Admiral Smith is a senior fellow at the National Defense University with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Capstone Program. His background is in Navy planning, programming, budgeting, and operational issues, principally within the submarine force. His last assignment was as U.S. military representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organ-
ization’s Military Committee in Brussels, Belgium. In addition, he served in a number of high-ranking capacities for the Chief of Naval Operations, such as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Logistics and Navy Program Planning from 1987 to 1991 and as director, Fiscal Management Division/Comptroller of the Navy from 1985 to 1987. His decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal with Gold Star, the Legion of Merit with Three Gold Stars, the Meritorious Service Medal with Gold Star, and the Navy Commendation Medal. Admiral Smith has served on numerous scientific boards and advisory committees, including as chair of the recent Naval Space Panel Review for the Undersecretary of the Navy. He is a member of the NRC’s Naval Studies Board.
Alan Berman is a part-time employee at the Applied Research Laboratory of Pennsylvania State University (ARL/PSU) and at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA). At ARL/PSU, Dr. Berman provides general management support and program appraisal. At CNA, he assists with analyses of Navy research and development investments, space operations capabilities, information operations, and command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) programs. His previous positions include serving as dean of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami, where he was responsible for the graduate programs in physical oceanography, marine biology, geology, geophysics, applied ocean science, and underwater acoustics; and as director of research at the Naval Research Laboratory, where he administered broad programs in basic and applied research. Dr. Berman has served on numerous scientific boards and advisory committees, including as a member of the Free Electron Laser Oversight Board that advises the Department of Energy’s Jefferson National Laboratory.
E. Ann Berman is founder and president of Tri-Space, Inc., a remote-sensing and software engineering company serving a broad range of environmental and security areas. Her research interests include remote sensing, hydrogeologic modeling, geographic information systems development, and the development of software for environmental management and surveillance. (Her remote-sensing work covers the spectral range from visible through thermal infrared, but includes working knowledge of the radio-frequency spectrum.) From 1984 to 1988, Dr. Berman served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, and Space. She has served on numerous scientific boards and advisory committees, including the NRC Committee on Environmental Information for Naval Use. Dr. Berman is a member of the recent Naval Space Panel Review for the Undersecretary of the Navy.
Thomas C. Betterton (Rear Admiral, USN, Ret.) is a visiting professor and space technology chair at the Naval Postgraduate School. Admiral Betterton retired after 35 years in the U.S. Navy, having served as a naval aviator and aerospace engineering duty officer, in addition to duties at the National Reconnaissance Office. He holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of
Notre Dame and S.M. and E.A.A. degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT. He has served on numerous scientific and advisory committees for the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), including as vice chair of the International Space Station Management and Cost Evaluation Task Force. Admiral Betterton is a fellow of the AIAA.
Charles F. Bolden, Jr. (Major General, USMC, Ret.) is an independent consultant and former senior vice president at TechTrans International, Inc. He retired from the U.S. Marine Corps after 34 years of service. As a naval aviator, General Bolden flew more than 100 missions into North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. In 1981, he became an astronaut and later flew the space shuttle on four flights. He was appointed assistant deputy administrator for NASA from 1992 to 1993 and subsequently served for a year as Deputy Commandant of the U.S. Naval Academy. General Bolden’s command positions include that of Deputy Commanding General, First Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF); Commanding General, I MEF (Forward) in support of Operation Desert Thunder in Kuwait; Deputy Commander, U.S. Forces, Japan; and his final tour as Commanding General, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
John F. Egan is an independent consultant, having retired in 1998 as vice president for corporate development at Lockheed Martin Corporation. During his tenure at Lockheed, Dr. Egan was responsible for providing support to three successive chief executives in defining and implementing strategic plans to consolidate the defense industry. These included the merger of the Lockheed Corporation with the Martin Marietta Corporation and the acquisition of the defense segment of the Loral Corporation. During these mergers, Dr. Egan provided leadership throughout the entire transaction cycle involving industry and market analysis, deal negotiations, antitrust filings, and transition planning and execution. He has a broad understanding of Navy programs, business and strategic planning, and acquisition and policy. An electrical engineer by training, Dr. Egan is a former chief scientist for the Chief of Naval Operations and has extensive experience with electronic and information warfare. He has served on numerous scientific boards and advisory committees, including as a member of the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel.
Brig “Chip” Elliott is principal engineer at BBN Technologies, where he has led the design and successful implementation of a number of secure, mission-critical networks based on novel Internet technology for the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom (NTDR, Iris, Bowman) and has acted as senior adviser on a number of national and commercial networks, including three low-Earth-orbit satellite constellations (Discoverer II, Space-Based Infrared Systems-Low, and Celestri/Teledesic) and Boeing’s Connexion system. Mr. Elliott has particular expertise in wireless Internet technology, mobile ad hoc networks, quality-of-service issues, and novel routing techniques. He is currently leading the design and build-out of a very highly secure network protected by quantum
cryptography. He holds some 70 patents pending or issued on network technology and has served on numerous scientific boards and advisory committees such as the Army Science Board and Defense Science Board. Mr. Elliott is a member of the NRC’s Naval Studies Board.
Richard Fleeter founded AeroAstro, Inc., in 1988 and has been its chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors since the company’s inception. A leading proponent of spacecraft miniaturization, he has led the development of several miniature satellites and subsystems. Over the past nearly 15 years, he has authored books on ways to reduce costs in space so significantly that many applications never before even considered are now practical. As an example, NASA can now fly microgravity missions in space for the price of a sounding rocket payload, and companies can monitor their remote assets via the World Wide Web for the cost of a set of Global Positioning System receivers. Prior to founding AeroAstro, Dr. Fleeter was a senior scientist at the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a project engineer at TRW, where he received a commendation for his contribution to the successful rescue of the communications satellite Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-1.
Lee M. Hammarstrom is special assistant for space and information technology to the director at the Applied Research Laboratory/Pennsylvania State University (ARL/PSU). Previously, Mr. Hammarstrom was the first chief scientist at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and chief scientist at the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence. In addition, he held various positions at the Naval Research Laboratory in remote sensing, reconnaissance, and intelligence leading to the creation of the Space System Engineering Division. Mr. Hammarstrom was named NRO Pioneer in 2002 for his 40 years of contributions to national reconnaissance.
Donald G. Hard (Major General, USAF, Ret.) is an independent consultant and sole proprietor of Hard Enterprise. General Hard’s 33-year Air Force career focused on the development of space systems, culminating in his service as director of Space and Strategic Defense Initiative Programs, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. In this position he provided program management direction for the development and procurement of Air Force surveillance, communications, navigation and weather satellites, space launch vehicles, antisatellite weapons, and ground-based and airborne strategic radars, communications, and command centers. After retiring from the Air Force in 1993, General Hard held several senior positions in defense-related companies, including Aerospace Corporation, Logicon/Northrop Grumman, and bd Systems, Inc. General Hard has served on numerous advisory committees related to the civilian and military development of space, including the NRC Committee on Space Facilities.
Robert E. Lindberg is president and executive director of the National Institute of Aerospace at Langley Research Center. (This institute for research and graduate education was created to carry out cutting-edge aerospace and atmo-
spheric research, develop new technologies for the nation, and help inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.) Dr. Lindberg’s research interests include the development of rockets and satellites and the conceptual design of experimental spacecraft. Prior to his current position, he was employed at Orbital Sciences Corporation, where he led the industry/government team that developed the X-34 reusable launch vehicle testbed, led the development of the APEX satellite for the Air Force, and earlier contributed to the design of the Pegasus launch vehicle. His earlier career positions include service as research scientist and branch head in the Naval Center for Space Technology at the Naval Research Laboratory. Dr. Lindberg is a fellow and current president of the American Astronautical Society.
George O. Nossaman is director of space communications and electronics at BAE Systems, where he manages programs that develop and deliver radiation-hardened technology, computers, and subsystems for U.S. space programs. Prior to his current position, he served as director for technical operations and strategic planning at Lockheed Martin Federal Systems, where he directed technology in submarine combat systems, acoustic surveillance systems, space systems, and radiation-hardened electronics and space components. Earlier in his career, he served as senior program manager at IBM-Federal Systems, where he was responsible for their NASA-Johnson Space Station Control Center, the Space Shuttle Mission Control Center, and the Space Shuttle Mission Simulator programs.
C. Kumar N. Patel is chairman of the board of Pranalytica, Inc., and professor of physics and former vice chancellor of research at the University of California at Los Angeles. Until 1993, Dr. Patel served as executive director of the Research, Materials Science, Engineering, and Academic Affairs Division at AT&T Bell Laboratories. A member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences, he has an extensive background in several fields, including materials, lasers, and electro-optical devices. During his career at AT&T, which began in 1961, he made numerous seminal contributions in several fields, including gas lasers, nonlinear optics, molecular spectroscopy, pollution detection, and laser surgery. Dr. Patel has served on many government and scientific advisory boards. He is past president of Sigma Xi and the American Physical Society. He has received numerous honors, including the National Medal of Science, for his invention of the carbon dioxide laser.
Gene H. Porter is an independent consultant in matters relating to national security planning and weapons systems development. His current clients include the Center for Naval Analyses and the Institute of Defense Analyses, for which he works on research and development matters. Most recently, Mr. Porter has been supporting the Office of the Secretary of Defense in defining the detailed defense planning scenarios that are intended to guide the development of U.S. military force posture and modernization programs through the end of the decade. This analytic work has involved an all-source examination of potential
threats, including space-based threats, and potential U.S. responses to them. Before assuming this work, Mr. Porter served as director of Acquisition Policy and Program Integration for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, where he was responsible for long-range planning, programming, and budgeting matters on new military warfare systems. His earlier career included various staff and line management positions at Sanders Corporation in the development and manufacture of military and commercial electronics systems, including mine and undersea warfare systems. Mr. Porter has served on numerous scientific and advisory committees and was chair of the NRC Committee for Mine Warfare Assessment.
Joseph B. Reagan is retired vice president and general manager of research and development at Lockheed Martin Missile and Space and retired vice president and corporate officer of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. Dr. Reagan joined Lockheed as a scientist in 1959, where he led the Space Instrumentation Group for 10 years and was responsible for the development and on-orbit deployment of more than 20 scientific payloads for NASA and the DOD. His research interests included the areas of space sensors, radiation belt and solar particles, nuclear weapons effects, and the effects of radiation particles on spacecraft systems. Later, as general manager of the Research and Development Division at Lockheed, he led more than 750 scientists and engineers in the development of advanced technologies in the fields of optics, electro-optics, information software, cryogenics, guidance and controls, electronics, and materials. Today Dr. Reagan is a director of Southwall Technologies, Inc., a company that manufactures energy-selective thin films for the automotive, electronics, and architectural industries. Dr. Reagan is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the AIAA, and vice chair of the NRC’s Naval Studies Board.
Dwight C. Streit is vice president of science and technology for Northrop Grumman Space Technology. He is responsible for the development of the foundation technology required for advanced space systems, including high-performance electronics, antennas, propulsion, and structures. His prior research interests include semiconductor materials, devices and circuits for applications up to 220 gigahertz, infrared sensors, optical communications systems, and phased-array radar products. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a member of the NAE.
H. Gregory Tornatore recently retired as special assistant to the department head for business development information and manager of special security at the Applied Physics Laboratory/Johns Hopkins University (APL/JHU). Previously he had served in a number of managerial positions, including that of program area manager for Defense Communications Systems. His research interests include strategic and tactical command, control, and communications (C3); over-the-horizon targeting systems; wide-area surveillance and reconnaissance; C3 systems vulnerability assessment; test and evaluation of major communications systems; satellite communications systems and architectures; command and control
information processing; information operations; and communications networks. Mr. Tornatore has served on numerous scientific boards and advisory committees, including the NRC Committee to Review Department of Defense C4I Plans and Programs.
David A. Whelan is vice president and general manager of Boeing’s Phantom Works Division. Before joining Boeing in 2001, Dr. Whelan was director of the Tactical Technology Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), where he led the development of enabling technologies, such as unmanned vehicles and space-based moving target indicator radar systems. Before serving with DARPA, Dr. Whelan held several positions of increasing responsibility with Hughes Aircraft. His high-technology development experience also includes roles as a research physicist for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, as well as being one of four lead engineers assigned to the design and development of the B-2 Stealth Bomber Program at Northrop Grumman. Dr. Whelan has served on numerous scientific boards and advisory committees, including the NRC Committee on Autonomous Vehicles in Support of Naval Operations.
Dell P. Williams III is an independent consultant in space systems and satellite communications. He recently retired as senior technical advisor to the president and chief executive officer of Teledesic Corporation, where he was responsible for technical oversight of the development of the Teledesic Network, involving a constellation of nongeostationary satellites providing worldwide access to broadband telecommunications services. Mr. Williams’s background is in commercial satellite communications, space systems, space technology, and information assurance. Before joining Teledesic, he served as vice president of Deskin Research Group for Systems Engineering; vice president for Electronic Defense Systems at ARGOSystems, a wholly owned Boeing subsidiary; director of Advanced Programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Company; and director of Space Systems at NASA Headquarters.
Staff
Charles F. Draper is acting director at the National Research Council’s Naval Studies Board. He joined the National Research Council in 1997 as program officer, then senior program officer, with the Naval Studies Board and in 2003 became associate director. During his tenure with the Naval Studies Board, Dr. Draper has served as the responsible staff officer on a wide range of topics aimed at helping the Department of the Navy with its scientific, technical, and strategic planning. His recent efforts include topics on network-centric operations, theater missile defense, mine warfare, and nonlethal weapons. Prior to joining the Naval Studies Board, he was the lead mechanical engineer at Sensytech, Inc. (formerly S.T. Research Corporation), where he provided technical and program management support for satellite Earth station and small-satellite de-
sign. He received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Vanderbilt University in 1995; his doctoral research was conducted at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), where he used an atomic force microscope to measure the nano-mechanical properties of thin-film materials. In parallel with his graduate student duties, Dr. Draper was a mechanical engineer with Geo-Centers, Inc., working on-site at NRL on the development of an underwater x-ray backscattering tomography system used for the nondestructive evaluation of U.S. Navy sonar domes on surface ships.
Michael L. Wilson was a program officer at the Naval Studies Board of the National Research Council from 2002 to August 27, 2004. From 1998 to 2002, Dr. Wilson was an assistant professor of physics at the University of Tulsa, where his research focused on granular dynamics under microgravity. From 1996 to 1998, Dr. Wilson was a visiting assistant professor of physics at Clemson University, where he helped establish a laboratory to study novel thermoelectric materials. Prior to working at Clemson, Dr. Wilson was a National Research Council associate at the Naval Research Laboratory, where he worked on ceramic magnetic materials synthesis and characterization as well as studies of superconductivity in thin metal films. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from Michigan State University and a B.A. in physics from Grinnell College.
