• March 20, 2017
  • 4:00 p.m.
  • 117A Surge Building
  • A. D. Romig, Jr.
  • Executive Officer
  • National Academy of Engineering
  • Faculty Host: Dr. Pradeep Raj

Abstract: 

The National Academies and the Nation’s Aerospace Program

Established by an Act of Congress signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, the National Academy of Sciences is a private, non-profit institution providing independent scientific and technical advice to the nation whenever called upon. Since its founding, the Academy, including the National Research Council (established 1916), National Academy of Engineering (established 1964) and National Academy of Medicine (established 1970), has undertaken thousands of studies in a variety of areas. Although founded during wartime, the Academy has performed valuable and important work for the nation over a wide range of topics in both peacetime and wartime.  Aviation and space have been a focus of the academies for almost the past 100 years. Some of the highlights of that work, starting with the first involvement in 1916 with the establishment of the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, which was active in the collection of data on wind tunnels in order to establish a laboratory for aeronautical research at Throop College (now Caltech), to very recent studies on topics such as “3D Manufacturing in Space” will be discussed.

 

Biography:

Alton (Al) D. Romig, Jr.

Executive Officer, National Academy of Engineering

Alton D. Romig, Jr. is the executive officer of the National Academy of Engineering. Under Congressional charter, the Academy provides advice to the federal government, when requested, on matters of engineering and technology. As executive officer, Dr. Romig is the chief operating officer responsible for the program, financial, and membership operations of the Academy, reporting to the NAE president.

He was previously vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Advanced Development Programs, better known as the Skunk Works®. He spent the majority of his career at Sandia National Laboratories, operated by the Lockheed Martin Corporation, having joined Sandia as a member of the technical staff in 1979 and moved through a succession of R&D management positions leading to his appointment as executive vice president in 2005. He served as deputy laboratories director and chief operating officer until 2010, when he transferred to the Skunk Works.

Dr. Romig is active on a number of advisory committees including those at the University of Washington, MIT, Ohio State, Purdue, the Colorado School of Mines, and Sandia. He is also visiting associate of applied physics and materials science at Caltech.

Dr. Romig is a fellow of ASM International, TMS, IEEE, AIAA, and AAAS. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2003 and the Council on Foreign Relations in 2008, and was awarded the ASM Silver Medal for Materials Research in 1988. He received his BS, MS, and PhD in materials science and engineering from Lehigh University in 1975, 1977, and 1979, respectively.

 

 

June 1, 2016