Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
Ronald E. Keys (Gen, USAF, Ret.), Chair, is president of RK Solution Enterprises, LLC. Gen Keys retired from the Air Force in November 2007 after completing a career of more than 40 years and command of eight different organizations. His last assignment was as commander, Air Combat Command (ACC), at the time the Air Force’s largest major command, consisting of more than 1,200 aircraft, 27 wings, 17 bases, and 200 operating locations worldwide with 105,000 personnel. Under his leadership, ACC organized and stood up the Air Force’s first RPA Wing and first Network Warfare Wing. Gen Keys holds a bachelor of science from Kansas State University and a master’s degree in business administration from Golden Gate University. In addition to numerous professional military education courses, Gen Keys has participated in the National and International Security Seminar, JFK School of Government, Harvard, as well as Leadership at the Peak, Center for Creative Leadership, in Colorado Springs. In September 2007, he received the Air Force Association’s most prestigious annual award, the H. H. Arnold Award, as the military member who had made the most significant contribution to national defense. Upon retirement he was also selected as the Air Force Reserve Officer Corps’ first AFROTC Distinguished Alumni award recipient. Gen Keys is a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours in fighter aircraft, including more than 300 hours of combat time in Southeast Asia.
William L. Baker is an independent consultant since 2010 when he retired as chief scientist for the Air Force Research Laboratory’s directed energy directorate. Prior to this position, Dr. Baker was senior scientist for high-power microwaves at the Air Force Phillips Laboratory. Concurrent with this position, he was a special technical consultant on the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dr. Baker is an expert in directed energy, plasmas and pulsed power, nuclear science, space situational awareness and protection, weapons, technical intelligence, and directed energy effects on humans. He is a fellow of the Directed Energy Professional Society (DEPS) (2010) and a fellow of IEEE (1999) and is a recipient of the following awards: Air Force Outstanding Civilian Career Award (2009), Distinguished Senior Professional Presidential Rank Award (2006), Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award (2003), and Department of Defense (DoD) Distinguished Civilian Service Award (1999), among others. He holds a PhD in nuclear physics from Ohio State University.
Jacqueline G. Gish, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, is an independent consultant. Dr. Gish retired from Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in 2011, where she had been a technical fellow in technology development. Prior to that, Dr. Gish served as the director of directed energy technology for Northrop Grumman Space Technology. Dr. Gish also served as a department manager, program manager, and business manager in the laser area. She was elected as a fellow of DEPS in 2004 and served on the National Research Council’s (NRC) Air Force Studies Board (2004-2010) and the Advisory Board of Scientific Advisors for DEPS (2005-2007). Dr. Gish has authored or co-authored more than 30 publications and presentations and holds three patents. Dr. Gish holds a PhD in chemical physics from the California Institute of Technology and an MBA from the executive program at the University of Southern California.
Matt L. Mleziva is currently the president of Wildwood Strategic Concepts, LLC, a strategic management company in Westford, Massachusetts. Mr. Mleziva has led Joint teams for the Office of the Secretary of Defense that developed recommendations projected to save millions of dollars annually. He guided U.S. Air Force Networked Tactical Communications efforts into a single Joint program with the U.S. Navy. Mr. Mleziva has a proven track record of achieving cost, schedule, and performance goals across organizations covering a wide range of information system technologies for a diverse customer base. He acquired space, air, and electronic systems for DoD, the U.S. government, and foreign nations. Mr. Mleziva has a demonstrated capability to utilize emerging information technology and promote commonality and interoperability in combat systems. He developed an ultra-streamlined acquisition strategy in response to urgent Air Force operational needs. Mr. Mleziva is the recipient of several awards, including the Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award and the Air Force Outstanding Civilian Career Service Award. He holds a post master’s degree in electrical engineering and an M.S. in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Mleziva is a member of the NRC’s Air Force Studies Board and a past member of the Committee on Examination of the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Capability Planning and Analysis (CP&A) Process and the Committee on Evaluation of U.S. Air Force Preacquisition Technology Development.
Thomas E. Romesser, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, is an independent consultant. Until the start of 2012, Dr. Romesser was chief technology officer for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems and sector vice president of Aerospace Systems, a premier provider of manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile systems, and advanced technologies critical to our nation’s security. In this role 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 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, responsible for the identification, development and acquisition of Space Technology’s strategic technologies, and he 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, responsible for spacecraft hardware and software engineering, manufacturing, test, 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 PhD in physics from the University of Iowa. He is also a graduate of the USC Executive Management Program. He was elected a fellow of DEPS in 2002.
David J. Scott (Maj Gen, USAF, Ret.) retired from the Air Force in November 2012 after more than 34 years of service at the strategic, operational, and tactical level. His last assignment was as director, Operations, Strategic Deterrence, and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), Ramstein Air Base, Germany. In this position he developed and implemented policy, obtained resources, and developed concepts of operation in order to ensure U.S. Air Forces in Europe are well organized, trained, and equipped. Those forces provide integrated air and missile defense, aeromedical evacuation, cyberspace operations, airfield operations and support, aerial refueling, combat aerial delivery, operational support airlift and Distinguished Visitor airlift, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and precision strike in the European and African Command area of responsibility, the only Major Command to have two Combatant Commands (COCOM) directly in their chain of command along with other Combatant Commands when tasked. Under his leadership, USAFE reorganized to be able to support the two COCOMs simultaneously. Gen Scott entered the Air Force in 1978, receiving his commission and degree through the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has served in a variety of positions at the squadron, group, wing, and joint levels in Europe, the Pacific, and the United States. Before his last assignment, he was director, Operational Capability Requirements, deputy chief of staff for Operations, Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. Gen Scott participated in the following schools: National Security Studies, Maxwell School of Government Syracuse, JFK School of Government, Harvard, and the Darden School of Leadership, University of Virginia, as well as the Combined Forces Air Component Course and Joint Flag Officer Warfight Course at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. He is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours in fighter aircraft, including approximately 200 combat hours.
Frank J. Serna is the director of systems engineering at Charles Stark Draper Laboratory. The Systems Engineering Directorate consists of approximately 200 engineers and 50 technicians and administrative staff, comprised of three divisions: Systems Engineering, Test and Evaluation, and Quality Assurance. The scope of projects includes the entire scope of Draper
Laboratory programs: Guidance Systems for Trident II, NASA Manned Space Programs, Missile Defense, Guided munitions, Maritime systems, low power electronics, and biomedical systems. He has more than 30 years of experience in organizations involved in contract research, development, and systems integration projects for national security sponsors. Mr. Serna has served on the Defense Science Board Task Force on Counter IED II. He is a steering committee member of the NDIA Systems Engineering division and the Massachusetts Advanced Cyber Security Center. Previously, Mr. Serna was the director of systems engineering in the Defense Enterprise Solutions Business Unit of Northrop Grumman and was director of software development in the Litton-TASC Business Unit. Finally, he was an original member of Missile Defense National Team for Systems Engineering and Integration. Mr. Serna holds a bachelor of science degree in engineering and applied science from Yale University and a master’s degree in business administration from Northeastern University.
Andrew M. Sessler, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, is a Distinguished Emeritus Scientist and Distinguished Director, Emeritus, of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He has published more than 300 scientific papers for which he has received many awards, including the Lawrence Award and the Wilson Prize. Dr. Sessler is a former president of the American Physical Society (APS), has been active in arms control and human rights, and has served as chairman of the Federation of American Scientists. He co-founded the human rights group SOS and was the first winner of the Nicholson Medal. Dr. Sessler served as chair of the 2000 Union of Concerned Scientists study Countermeasures: A Technical Evaluation of the Operational Effectiveness of the Planned U.S. National Missile Defense System and as a coauthor of the 1987 APS report The Science and Technology of Directed Energy Weapons.
