Staff

Board of Regents

Donovan

The Honorable Matthew P. Donovan is vice president of Requirements & Capabilities for Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a business of Raytheon Technologies.

Before this position, he served as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.  In this role, he led the Department of Defense’s response to the COVID-19 global pandemic and published the first 10-year vision and strategy to align DOD personnel and readiness policies to national defense strategy imperatives. 

Previously, Hon. Donovan also served as Under Secretary of the Air Force, Acting Secretary of the Air Force, and as policy director and professional staff member for the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services.  He retired from the U.S. Air Force as a colonel after 31 years of enlisted and officer active duty service and with more than 2,900 flight hours in the F-15C Eagle and F-5E Tiger II. 

Hon. Donovan holds a bachelor’s degree in technical management from Regis University, and master’s degrees in management from Webster University, airpower art and science from the U.S. Air Force School of Advanced Airpower Studies, and military arts and sciences from the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies.  He has also earned the Secretary of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Aerial Achievement Medal, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

BShirleyBrian Shirley is a senior executive and advisor with over 34 years of broad-based experience in the semiconductor industry, including fourteen years as an executive officer of Micron Technology, a US-based Fortune 500 leader in semiconductor memory, as well as several years of senior consulting to the US Government on topics related to the Semiconductor Industry and US National Security.

Mr. Shirley began his career in 1988 as a product engineer on Micron’s first product, a 64K DRAM. Over the next 18 years, Mr. Shirley held a number of technical positions of increasing responsibility, leading multiple DRAM design projects and overseeing Micron’s worldwide design operations for a nine-year period. He is listed as an inventor on 82 US patents, and helped drive Micron’s expansion into specialized memory for servers, mobile and networking solutions, in addition to maintaining a focus on cost leadership and power reduction.

In early 2006, he became an officer of the company, leading multiple functions over the next 14 years including the memory business units with full P&L responsibility, as well as Micron’s worldwide engineering teams responsible for product design and development. During this time he drove further DRAM diversification, Micron’s product expansions in NAND solid-state memory and related SSD product lines, and productization of multiple emerging memory technologies. In addition, he oversaw the engineering and business integration of numerous acquisitions including Micron’s purchase of Texas Instruments’ memory operations, Elpida Memory, Lexar Memory, Numonyx Memory, and Tidal Systems. He served on the boards of numerous joint ventures and industry organizations, including Inotera Memory, Micron’s development partnership with Intel in non-volatile memory, and the Global Semiconductor Association. He has keynoted numerous industry events, presenting on a variety of technical and memory industry topics. Through these years, Micron grew from $300M of annual revenue with approximately 1500 employees all in Boise, Idaho, to its current size of over 37,000 employees worldwide with annual revenue of over $30B. Mr. Shirley retired from Micron in December 2019.

In early 2020, Mr. Shirley joined CTC Aero and began direct consulting with multiple departments of the US Government, including OSD, Commerce, and ODNI, in the areas of supply chain resilience, semiconductor geopolitical landscape, and US National Security. In addition, he is serving as a senior advisor and board member to multiple semiconductor startups.

Mr. Shirley attended Stanford University where he graduated with distinction in 1992 with a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering.

MThornberryAfter serving in Congress for 26 years, Mac Thornberry continues to work at the intersection of technology and national security. A former chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, he was also a member of the House Intelligence Committee for more than a decade.

The Almanac of American Politics 2020 called Mac “one of Congress’ brainiest and most thoughtful members on national and domestic security issues.” Widely respected across the political spectrum as an innovator and a strategic thinker, Mac has led on strategic nuclear issues, homeland security, cyber and space issues, as well as enhancing innovation and improving acquisition to benefit the men and women who serve and the nation.

In December 2021, Mac received the Peace Through Strength Award from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. He is also the recipient of Distinguished Service Medals from the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, as well as awards and recognitions from a number of other organizations. On a bipartisan basis, Congress named the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act for him.

Prior to his election to Congress, Mac served in the State Department during the Reagan Administration, as staff on Capitol Hill, and practiced law. Raised on the family ranch in Donley County, Texas, Mac graduated from Texas Tech University and received a law degree from the University of Texas. He and his wife, Sally, have two children.

PBythrowDr. Pete Bythrow was appointed Chief Scientist of the Central Measurement and Signature Intelligence Organization (CMO, later renamed the National MASINT Office) in October 2000. He retired from government service in January 2016 and is now CEO Bougainvillea Breeze LLC a DC based consulting firm.

As CMO’s Chief Scientist, he oversaw the advanced R&D conducted to maintain a viable and responsive Research and Development program focused on the needs of the intelligence community. He also led the National Consortium for MASINT Research, a congressionally directed program to leverage, promote, and conduct research at universities applicable to the MASINT discipline.

As Chief Scientist for the National MASINT Office, Dr. Bythrow guided and oversaw the development of Intelligence Community  MASINT technology development from legacy systems such as sea-based RADAR to cutting edge technologies such as antineutrino detection. The range of technology projects within his purview spans scientific disciplines from Hypersonic Glide Vehicles to Space Sensor Systems to MEMS based biological sensors.

From 2009 to 2016 Dr. Bythrow was MASINT lead on domestic Hypersonic Glide Vehicle testing working with DARPA, and with the Space and Missile Defense Center in Huntsville Alabama, as well as with the US Navy Dahlgren.

Peter was born in Quincy Massachusetts and received a BS (Physics) from Lowell Technological Institute in 1970; he served as a pilot in the USAF in Viet Nam until 1975. He received an MS and Ph.D. in Space-Physics from The University of Texas, Dallas. Dr. Bythrow spent the following 19 years at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory where his research spanned disciplines from the Space Plasmas to Hyperspectral remote sensing.

Dr. Bythrow is the author of scientific papers that range in topics from “The Spokes in Saturn’s Rings” to “Rapid Visible Wavelength Detection and Identification of missile Launch”.

He is a member of the AGU, and AAAS and has served on space related panels and studies for DOD, MDA, DARPA, NASA and the US House and Senate.
Peter is married to Lisa M. Janssen and resides in Columbia MD. He has three children and eight grandchildren.

RWaltzman21Dr. Waltzman has 39 years of experience performing and managing research in Artificial Intelligence applied to domains including social media and cognitive security in the information environment. He is formerly Deputy Chief Technology Officer and a Senior Information Scientist at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, CA. Prior to joining RAND, he was the acting Chief Technology Officer of the Software Engineering Institute (Washington, DC) of Carnegie Mellon University. Before that he did a five-year tour as a Program Manager in the Information Innovation Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) where he created and managed the Social Media in Strategic Communications (SMISC) program and the Anomaly Detection at Multiple Scales (ADAMS) insider threat detection program. Dr. Waltzman joined DARPA from Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories (LM-ATL), where he served as Chief Scientist for the Applied Sciences Laboratory that specializes in advanced software techniques and the computational physics of materials. Prior to LM-ATL he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, where he taught and performed research in applications of Artificial Intelligence technology to a variety of problem areas including digital entertainment, automated reasoning and decision support and cyber threat detection. Before his professorship he served as a DARPA Program Manager focusing on Artificial Intelligence and Image Understanding. Dr. Waltzman has also held research positions at the University of Maryland, Teknowledge Corporation (the first commercial Artificial Intelligence company in the world where he started in 1983), and the Applied Physics Laboratory of the University of Washington.

Lt. Gen. Keith Stalder, USMC, Retired founded KSA Integration, LLC in 2010. Building on his 40 years of success and leadership in the Marine Corps and Department of Homeland Security, he brings a broad and deep appreciation for, and understanding of, the fundamental challenges of organizations and businesses, both in government and the private sectors. He is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies (PIPS), and the Global Resilience Institute (GRI). He served as the National Commander of the Marine Corps Aviation Association for five and a half years and is a member of the Golden Eagles.

While on active duty he was the Commanding General of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific and before that Commanding General of II Marine Expeditionary Force.

He has served as the Commanding General of seven separate organizations and is one of the military's most experienced operational commanders. As the senior Marine Military Representative to the U.S. Pacific Command, he was instrumental in negotiating international accords on the basing of U.S. forces in Japan and strengthening international alliances to preserve peace in East Asia and the Pacific.

Lieutenant General Stalder served as the Commanding General, Training and Education Command; Commanding General, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in Iraq; and the Deputy Commanding General, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, in Operation Iraqi Freedom I. He commanded Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 531 and Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One and was the Deputy Director for Plans and Policy, United States Central Command during Operation Enduring Freedom.

He was born in Venezuela and grew up in Alaska. A graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, he holds a Masters Degree in Aeronautics.

SamantaRoyDr. Robie Samanta Roy is the Chief Operating Officer of Electra.aero, a next-gen aerospace company devoted to sustainable advanced air mobility, headquartered in Northern VA.

He most recently was the Vice President of Technology – Government Affairs at Lockheed Martin where he was responsible for supporting corporate engagements with the US Government science and technology community across the United States. Robie also served as Lockheed Martin’s first Corporate Vice President for Technology Strategy and Innovation under the Chief Technology Officer where he developed and provided technical intelligence and strategy for the corporation, engaged the global S&T ecosystem outside the corporation, and fostered cross-enterprise innovation.

Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Robie was a professional staff member with the Senate Armed Services Committee with the portfolio of the Department of Defense’s wide spectrum of science and technology-related activities including test and evaluation. He came to that position from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where he was the Assistant Director for Space and Aeronautics and was responsible for space and aeronautics activities ranging from human space flight to the Next Generation Air Transportation System. Robie also served as a Strategic Analyst at the Congressional Budget Office and as a Research Staff Member in the Systems Evaluation Division of the Institute for Defense Analyses.

Dr. Samanta Roy earned his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT. He earned a master’s degree in space policy from George Washington University and diplomas from the International Space University and Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris.

Robie is a Fellow and a recent member of the Board of Trustees of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the National Research Council’s Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board. He is on the FAA’s Drone Advisory Committee and from 2015-2019 chaired the Industry Relations Committee of the International Astronautical Federation. He is a Reservist in the U.S. Space Force.

Mr. Alan R. Shaffer served as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (A&S) from January 2019 to January 20, 2021. Senate confirmed in January 2019, he was responsible to the Under Secretary of Defense (A&S) for all matters pertaining to acquisition; contract administration; logistics and materiel readiness; installations and environment; operational energy; chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons; the acquisition workforce; and the defense industrial base.

From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Shaffer served as the Director, NATO Collaboration Support Office in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. In this role, he was responsible for coordinating and synchronizing the Science and Technology (S&T) collaboration between NATO member and partner Nations, comprising a network of about 5,000 scientists.

Previous to his role at NATO, Mr. Shaffer served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E)) from 2007-2015. In this position, Mr. Shaffer was responsible for formulating, planning and reviewing the DoD Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) programs, plans, strategy, priorities, and execution of the DoD RDT&E budget that totals roughly $25 billion per year. He also served twice as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering from 2007-2009 and 2012-2015.

In 2009, he was appointed as the first Director, Operational Energy, Plans and Programs (Acting). Mr. Shaffer has also served as the Executive Director for several senior DoD Task Forces, including review of all research, acquisition and test activities during the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure. In 2007, he was the Executive Director for the DoD Energy Security Task Force and, and from 2007-2012, he served as the Executive Director of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protection (MRAP) Task Force, where he was responsible for oversight, fielding and employment of 27,000 MRAPs across the Department of Defense.

Before entering the federal government, Mr. Shaffer served 24 years as a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force and retired in the grade of Colonel. While serving, he held positions in command, weather, intelligence and acquisition oversight with assignments in Utah, California, Ohio, Honduras, Germany, Virginia and Nebraska.

His military career included deployments to Honduras in the mid-1980s and direct support of the United States Army, 3rd Armored Division in Hanau, Germany. During Operation DESERT STORM, he was responsible for deployment of the 500-person theater weather force and upon retirement from the Air Force in 2000, Mr. Shaffer was appointed to the Senior Executive Service. In 2001, he assumed the position as Director, Plans and Programs, Defense Research and Engineering.

Mr. Shaffer earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Vermont in 1976, a second Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from the University of Utah, a Master of Science in Meteorology from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He was awarded the Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award in 2004, the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award, and the Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award in 2007 and 2015.