B
Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
CLAUDE M. BOLTON, JR., Co-Chair, became the executive-in-residence for the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) in January 2008. Mr. Bolton’s primary focus is assisting the DAU president achieve the congressional direction to recruit, retain, train, and educate the Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition workforce. Mr. Bolton is also a management consultant to defense and commercial companies and is a board member for several companies. Prior to becoming the DAU executive-in-residence, Mr. Bolton served as the assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology where he served as the Army acquisition executive, the senior procurement executive, and the science advisor to the secretary. Mr. Bolton oversaw the Elimination of Chemical Weapons Program and had oversight and executive authority over the Project and Contracting Office charged with Iraq reconstruction. Mr. Bolton was responsible for appointing, managing, and evaluating program executive officers as well as managing the Army Acquisition Corps and Army Acquisition Workforce. He retired as a major general in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) following a highly decorated career. Some highlights of Mr. Bolton’s Air Force service include serving as the commander, Air Force Security Assistance Center, where he managed foreign military sales programs with totals exceeding $90 billion that supported more than 80 foreign countries; serving as a test pilot for the F-4, F-111, and F-16; program executive officer for the Air Force Fighter and Bomber programs; and the first program manager for the Advance Tactical Fighter Technologies program, which evolved into the F-22 System Program Office. He is an experienced command pilot flying more than 40 different aircraft including Army helicopters; during the Vietnam War he flew 232 combat missions, 40 over North
Vietnam. Mr. Bolton served as commandant of the Defense Systems Management College and as inspector general and director of requirements at Air Force Materiel Command headquarters. Mr. Bolton holds an M.S. in management from Troy State University and an M.A. in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. In 2006, he was awarded a D.Sc. (honoris causa) from Cranfield University. In 2007, he was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, his alma mater. Mr. Bolton is a member of the National Research Council’s (NRC’s) Air Force Studies Board and is a past member of the NRC Committee on Evaluation of U.S. Air Force Preacquisition Technology Development and Committee on Optimizing U.S. Air Force and Department of Defense Review of Air Force Acquisition Programs.
PAUL G. KAMINSKI, Co-Chair, is chairman and CEO of Technovation Inc., a consulting company dedicated to fostering innovation and the development and application of advanced technology. He is a former undersecretary of defense (acquisition and technology) and was responsible for all DoD research, development, and acquisition programs. During his Air Force career, he served as director for low observables technology, with responsibility for overseeing the development, production and fielding of major “stealth” systems (e.g., F-117, B-2). He also led the initial development of a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) space system and related sensor technology. His government advisory memberships have included the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Technical Advisory Board, the Defense Science Board (chairman two times), the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, the director of National Intelligence’s Senior Advisory Group, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director’s Advisory Board. He is a fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He has authored publications dealing with inertial and terminal guidance system performance, simulation techniques, and Kalman filtering and numerical techniques applied to estimation problems. He received a bachelor of science from the Air Force Academy, master of science degrees in both aeronautics and astronautics and in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University. Dr. Kaminski has received the following awards: National Medal of Technology, Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service (four awards), Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Director of Central Intelligence Director’s Award, Defense Intelligence Agency Director’s Award, Air Force Academy 2002 Distinguished Graduate Award, the Ronald Reagan Award for Missile Defense, the Reed Award for Aeronautics, the International Strategic Studies Association Possony Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Strategic Progress
through Science and Technology, the SPIE Lifetime Achievement award, and the Air Force Systems Command Scientific Achievement Award.
FRANCIS J. (BUD) BAKER is professor of management at Wright State University, where he leads Wright State University’s M.B.A. in project management. Dr. Baker spent more than two decades as a USAF officer, serving as a navigator, missile crew commander, Strategic Air Command staff officer, and U.S. Air Force Academy professor. His final Air Force assignment was with the B-2 “Stealth Bomber” program at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (AFB), where he was, at various times, B-2 production program manager, chief of program integration, and executive officer to the program director. Upon retirement from the Air Force in 1991, Dr. Baker became the founding director of the Project Management MBA program at Wright State University, through which the university serves the program management needs of Wright-Patterson AFB. During his tenure at Wright State, he has published more than 100 articles, most dealing with project management and Air Force history, and has received numerous teaching honors, including Wright State’s Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching. Dr. Baker received a Ph.D. and M.A. from the Peter F. Drucker Center of the Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, California, and an MBA from University of North Dakota. Dr. Baker previously served as a member of the NRC Committee on Evaluation of U.S. Air Force Preacquisition Technology Development.
ROBERT F. BEHLER is the chief operating officer and deputy director of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), a federally funded research and development center operated by Carnegie Mellon University. Before joining SEI, Mr. Behler was president and CEO of SRC, a not-for profit research and development corporation with a for-profit manufacturing subsidiary. Prior to his work with SRC, he was the general manager and senior vice president of the MITRE Corporation where he provided leadership to more than 2,500 technical staff in 65 worldwide locations. He joined MITRE from Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) where he supervised more than 350 scientists and engineers as they made significant contributions to critical DoD challenges. During this time, Mr. Behler helped to take new and emerging technologies and turn them into transformational operational capabilities. He retired as a major general from the Air Force in 2003, after 31 years of service. During his military career, he was the principal C2ISR advisor to secretary and chief of staff of the USAF and the deputy commander for Joint Headquarters North, NATO in Norway. He was an experimental test pilot and flew more than 65 aircraft types including the SR-71 Blackbird and U-2. Mr. Behler is an associate fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and a member of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association and Air Force Association. He is an associate fellow of the AIAA.
W. PETER CHERRY is an independent consultant who retired in 2010 as the chief analyst on the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems Program at Science Applications International Corporation. He was responsible for analytic support to requirements analysis, performance assessment, and design trades. Previously, Dr. Cherry was leader of the Integrated Simulation and Test Integrated Program Team, focusing on test and evaluation planning, the development of associated models and simulations, and the development of the Future Combat System of Systems Integration Laboratory. He was a participant in the Future Combat Systems program from its inception, leading analysis and evaluation of concepts as a member of the Full Spectrum Team during the contract activities which preceded concept and technology development. Since the completion of his studies at the University of Michigan he has focused on the development and application of operations research in the national security domain, primarily in the field of land combat. He contributed to the development and fielding of many of the major systems employed by the Army, ranging from the Patriot Missile System to the Apache helicopter, as well as command control and intelligence systems such as ASAS and AFATDS. In addition, he contributed to the creation of the Army’s Manpower Personnel and Training Program and to the Army’s Embedded Training Initiative. His recent research interests include peacekeeping operations and the development of transformational organizations and materiel. Dr. Cherry was a member of the Army Science Board and served as chair of the Board’s Logistics Subpanel. In addition he has participated over the past 10 years in independent reviews of the Army’s Science and Technology programs and on NRC studies addressing a variety of defense issues. Dr. Cherry received a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from the University of Michigan. He is currently a member of the Board on Army Science and Technology, a fellow of INFORMS, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
KEITH A. COLEMAN is currently assigned as the chief engineer for Boeing’s Cruise Missile Systems within Boeing Global Strike Systems. This organization has a charter to design, build, and test current and new development cruise missiles and support systems. He has worked in Boeing Military Aircraft production and Phantom Works advanced design organizations for over 28 years working production and prototype fighter aircraft and weapon systems. Mr. Coleman’s last assignment was in the Boeing Special Pursuits Cell (SPC) working on special application unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designs. Due to his numerous endeavors he is well versed in the latest advanced technologies, including advanced composite, 3D printing, and production, and prototype design and build practices. He has also worked in the Advanced Weapons division working as the Program Manager for the successful Office of the Secretary of Defense Counter Electronics High Powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project (CHAMP) Joint Concept Technology Demonstration resulting in the world’s first successful air launched high-power
microwave cruise missile in 2012. Before the CHAMP program, Mr. Coleman led the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s UAV-based Beyond-Line-of-Site Biological Combat Assessment System (BCAS) prototype Advanced Technology Demonstration. This shipboard system successfully intercepted a biological cloud, captured it autonomously, and returned it for analysis. Mr. Coleman has led and worked on numerous other aircraft and missile proprietary, competitive design efforts. Mr. Coleman’s other efforts were, in chronological order from the latest: the Boeing X-45A DARPA/Air Force efforts on Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV); the Boeing X-32 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF); numerous Proprietary aircraft and missile efforts, Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23A Advanced Tactical Fighter, and the Boeing F-15E and F/A-18 programs. Mr. Coleman has worked in new and production configuration design, manufacturing and testing, and management and is well versed in ongoing and past aircraft and missile acquisitions and recent competitive programs. He was a member of the NRC Planning Committee for a Workshop on Assessment to Enhance Air Force and Department of Defense Prototyping for the New Defense Strategy.
JILL P. DAHLBURG has been superintendent of the Space Science Division (SSD) at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and a member of the U.S. Navy Senior Executive Service since December 2007. In this position, Dr. Dahlburg leads conception, planning, and execution of space science research and development programs with instruments to be flown on satellites, sounding rockets, and balloons; ground-based facilities; and mathematical models. She served as NRL senior scientist for science applications from June 2003 to December 2007. Her duties included facilitating/ expediting the accomplishments of the scientific missions of organizations within NRL, with emphasis on interdisciplinary areas of opportunity and distributed autonomous systems. From 2001 to mid-2003, Dr. Dahlburg left NRL to work for General Atomics in San Diego as the director of the Division of Inertial Fusion Technology and co-director of the Theory and Computing Center. In 2000, she served as head of the NRL Tactical Electronic Warfare Division’s Distributed Sensor Technology Office, where she co-proposed and was co-principal investigator for the first year of development of the small, expendable, unmanned aerial vehicle Dragon Eye, which saw active duty in Iraq. Dr. Dahlburg began her federal career at NRL in 1985 working as a research physicist. As a member of the NRL Nike KrF Laser Program from its inception through 1999, she contributed to laser matter interaction research, implosion and coronal hydrodynamics, and laser beam imprinting. Her work included spearheading the development of the first three-dimensional multi-group radiation transport hydro-code appropriate for laser-plasma modeling. She is chair of the American Physical Society (APS) Mid-Atlantic Section (2014), chair of the Navy Space Experiments Review Board (2007-present), and a member of the Committee for Space Weather (2007-present). Her previous profes-
sional service includes serving as 2005 chair of the APS/Division of Plasma Physics, 2011-2012 chair of the APS Panel on Public Affairs, and member of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Defense and Nuclear Technologies Director’s Review Committee (2001-2006). Her honors include six NRL Allan Berman Awards for scientific publication excellence and a Department of Energy (DOE) Appreciation Award presented by Under Secretary for Science Raymond L. Orbach for outstanding service as the chair of the DOE Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee. Dr. Dahlburg is a fellow of the APS. She was a member of the NRC Committee on Quality of the Management of S&E at the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration Laboratories (Phase-I and Phase-II) and the NRC Planning Committee for a Workshop on Assessment to Enhance Air Force and DoD Prototyping for the New Defense Strategy. Dr. Dahlburg holds a Ph.D. in theoretical plasma physics from the College of William & Mary.
BRENDAN GODFREY is a visiting senior research scientist at the University of Maryland, where he conducts studies on numerical simulation of plasmas and served as advisor to the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for research. Dr. Godfrey is also an affiliate of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Previously, he was director of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, responsible for its nearly half billion dollar basic research program. He was an Air Force officer at Kirtland AFB from 1970 to 1972, performing plasma research. He began his civilian career at Los Alamos National Laboratory, establishing its intense particle beam research program. Dr. Godfrey then managed and conducted intense microwave and particle beam research at Mission Research Corporation, becoming vice president and regional manager. In 1989, he returned to the Air Force as civilian chief scientist of the Weapons Laboratory. Later responsibilities included service as director of Phillips Laboratory’s high-power microwave research; director of the 1,500-person Armstrong Laboratory; director of plans at the Air Force Research Laboratory, and deputy director of Brooks City-Base. Known for his contributions to computational plasma theory and applications, Dr. Godfrey is author of more than 200 publications and reports. He also has served on numerous professional and civic committees and is a fellow of IEEE and of the APS. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University.
JOHN GRIFFIN is president of Griffin Consulting, providing systems engineering and program management services to large and mid-sized aerospace firms. He provides strategy planning initiatives for corporations, reviews ongoing programs to assess progress and recommend corrective actions, and participates with industry and government in developing program strategy and implementation tactics. During his civilian career with the Air Force, Mr. Griffin served in a diverse spectrum of capacities of assignments and special duties. He served on numerous
special panels, two of which formed the structure of Air Force Materiel Command. Mr. Griffin was on the development team for ground-breaking technology revolutions in weapon systems, including stealth, unmanned vehicles, hypersonics, and cruise missiles. He retired from the Air Force in 1997. Mr. Griffin holds a B.S. in aeronautical engineering from the University of Detroit, and an MSEE from the Air Force Institute of Technology.
ROBERT J. HERMANN is a private consultant. Previously he served as a senior partner at Global Technology Partners, LLC. He is a former director of DoD’s NRO and a former senior official at the National Security Agency. Dr. Hermann served as a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board during the Clinton Administration (1993-2001). In 1998, he retired from United Technologies Corporation (UTC) where he held the position of senior vice president of science and technology. In this role, he was responsible for assuring the development of technical resources and the full exploitation of science and technology by the corporation. He was also responsible for the United Technologies Research Center. Dr. Hermann joined the company in 1982 as vice president of systems technology in the electronics sector and later served in a series of assignments in the defense and space systems groups prior to being named vice president of science and technology. A member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) board of directors since 2003, Dr. Hermann concluded a 2-year term as immediate past chairman in 2002, he also served as chairman in 1999 and 2000. Prior to joining UTC, he served 20 years with the National Security Agency with assignments in research and development, operations, and NATO. In 1977, he was appointed principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for communications, command, control and intelligence. In 1979, he was named assistant secretary of the Air Force for research, development, and logistics and, in parallel, was director of the NRO. Dr. Hermann is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Iowa State University.
LESTER L. LYLES is currently an independent consultant. He retired as commander of the Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB. General Lyles entered the Air Force in 1968 as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force ROTC program. He has served in various command assignments, including director of the Medium-Launch Vehicles Program and Space-Launch Systems offices; vice commander of Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill AFB. He served as commander of the center until 1994, then was assigned to command the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB until 1996. General Lyles became the director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization in 1996. In May 1999, he was assigned as vice chief of staff at USAF Headquarters and commander of the Air Force Materiel Command in 2000. General Lyles received an M.S. in mechanical/nuclear engineering from New
Mexico State University. He has received honorary doctors of law from New Mexico State University and Urbana University. He is chair of the NRC’s Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board and is a member of the NRC’s Air Force Studies Board. He also serves as a member of the Secretary of State’s International Security Advisory Board, and previously served on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board in the White House.
WILLIAM L. MELVIN is director of the Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, a University System of Georgia Regents’ Researcher, and an adjunct professor in Georgia Tech’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. His research interests include all aspects of radio frequency and acoustic sensor development. He has authored more than 180 publications in his areas of research interest and holds three U.S. patents on sensor technology. Among his distinctions, Dr. Melvin is the recipient of the 2006 IEEE AESS Young Engineer of the Year Award, the 2003 U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Reservist of the Year Award, and the 2002 U.S. Air Force Materiel Command Engineering and Technical Management Reservist of the Year Award. He was chosen as an IEEE fellow for his contributions to adaptive radar technology and is also a fellow of the Military Sensing Symposium. Also, he is a member of the NRC Board on Army Science and Technology. Dr. Melvin received the Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Lehigh University.
DAVID J. NICHOLLS is currently the director of the Cost Analysis and Research Division at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA). This division analyzes the economic aspects of DoD decisions, estimates the full life-cycle costs of acquiring and operating forces, systems, and components, and advises on resource-based decision making. Prior to this, he was the senior advisor for root cause analyses in OSD’s Office of Performance Assessments and Root Cause Analyses and had worked at IDA as a research staff member. Before civilian life, he served in the USAF for 26 years. His Air Force assignments included the following: vice commander and director of information operations of the Air Force Information Warfare Center; branch chief in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition; operations research/systems analyst in OSD; and development engineer for the Air Force Materials Laboratory. In between these assignments, he served twice as an associate professor and director of the Applied Mechanics Laboratory at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He holds a Ph.D. in materials science from the University of Oxford.
THOMAS E. ROMESSER is an independent consultant. Dr. Romesser was chief technology officer for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems until the start of 2012 and sector vice president of Aerospace Systems. In these roles, he provided
senior leadership representation with customers, universities, industry, and the rest of the corporation. He also was responsible for technology development to support future programs while maintaining close linkage to legacy programs. Prior to this assignment, Dr. Romesser was sector vice president and general manager of the Technology and Emerging Systems Division for Northrop Grumman’s former Space Technology sector. In this role, he was responsible for the development and execution of space technology’s strategy to support both near- and long-term business objectives, system enhancements, and technology leverage for new business pursuits. He oversaw activities of the Directed Energy Systems and Advanced Concepts organizations as well as the Space Technology Research Laboratories. Previously, Dr. Romesser was vice president of technology development where he was responsible for the identification, development, and acquisition of Space Technology’s strategic technologies and managed discretionary investments in technology and product development. Dr. Romesser joined Northrop Grumman via the acquisition of TRW in 2002. A vice president since 1998, he previously served as vice president and deputy of the Space and Electronics Engineering organization. Prior to that, he was vice president and general manager of TRW’s Space and Technology Division where he was responsible for spacecraft hardware and software engineering; manufacturing, testing, and space vehicle production; as well as chemical and solid-state laser design and development; sensor systems, space and tactical propulsion systems; and research in the physical, chemical, and engineering sciences. Since joining the company in 1975, he has been involved in the development and management of a broad range of high technology capabilities that have established and maintained Northrop Grumman’s reputation and enabled technological differentiation in the marketplace. Dr. Romesser earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Manhattan College and master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Iowa. He is also a graduate of the USC Executive Management Program. He was elected a fellow of the Directed Energy Professional Society in 2002 and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
SONYA F. SEPAHBAN serves as senior vice president of engineering development and technology at General Dynamics Land Systems. Her role includes the complete portfolio of GD military ground systems for the U.S. DoD and worldwide customers. Throughout her career, Sonya has held leadership positions across a broad spectrum of general management, engineering, production, quality, and technology. She is an expert in U.S. and international industrial and government-led development of aircraft, manned spacecraft, satellite systems, and ground vehicles. Previously, Ms. Sepahban served as the sector vice president of mission excellence at Northrop Grumman Space Technology from 2006 to 2009. Earlier she was vice president of system engineering, where she was responsible for developing and implementing the overall system engineering strategy which included
the improvement and control of system-engineering processes across all of the sector’s programs and business and technology-development initiatives. Prior to that, Ms. Sepahban served as vice president and deputy of technology development, where she was responsible for identifying, developing, and acquiring the space technology sector’s broad base of strategic technologies, including those involved in space exploration initiatives. Prior to that position, Ms. Sepahban served as vice president and deputy general manager of engineering. She joined Northrop Grumman in 1997 from NASA’s Johnson Space Center, where she worked on programs such as the space shuttle, the International Space Station, and the Crew Rescue Vehicle during a 10-year career there. Ms. Sepahban earned a B.S. from Cornell University, an M.S. in chemical engineering from Rice University, and an MBA from the University of Houston.
DAVID VAN WIE is the Precision Strike Mission Area Executive at JHU/APL, addressing science and technology challenges in the areas of fluid dynamics; structural sciences; detection system information fusion; signal and information processing; guidance, navigation, and control; command and control instrumentation and analysis; and radio frequency technologies. His responsibilities involve leading diverse research and development teams addressing asymmetric multi-domain system concepts for use in permissive and anti-access/area-denial environments including detection and targeting systems, kinetic engagement systems, and electronic attack. Dr. Van Wie holds a research faculty position in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at JHU. He served on NRC committees addressing conventional prompt global strike, civil aeronautics, future Air Force needs for survivability, boost-phase missile defense, and reusable booster systems. Dr. Van Wie also served as a member of the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board conducting studies on hypersonic systems, small precision weapons, virtual training technologies, future launch vehicles, and munitions for the 2025+ environment, and he served as the vice chair and chair for the 2010 and 2011 Air Force Research Laboratory Science and Technology reviews, respectively. Dr. Van Wie is a fellow of the AIAA, an active member of the U.S. science and technology community, and has published extensively in the fields of high-temperature fluid dynamics, plasma aerodynamics, and hypersonic airbreathing propulsion systems.
