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Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment Board Biographical Information

PRABHAT HAJELA, Chair, is the Edward P. Hamilton Distinguished Professor of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a visiting professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research interests include analysis and design optimization of multi-disciplinary systems, system reliability, emergent computing paradigms for design, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) in multidisciplinary analysis and design. Before joining Rensselaer, he worked as a research fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, for 1 year, and was on the faculty at the University of Florida for 7 years. He has conducted research at NASA’s Langley Research Center and Glenn Research Center and the Eglin Air Force Armament Laboratory. In 2003, Dr. Hajela served as a congressional fellow responsible for science and technology policy in the office of U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT). He worked on several legislative issues related to aerospace and telecommunications policy, including the anti-SPAM legislation that was signed into law in December 2003. Dr. Hajela is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), a fellow of the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI), and a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He has held many editorial assignments, including editor of Evolutionary Optimization, associate editor of the AIAA Journal, and is on the editorial board of six other international journals. Dr. Hajela has published more than 270 papers and articles in the areas of structural and multi-disciplinary optimization and is an author or co-author of four books in these areas. In 2004, he was the recipient of AIAA’s Biennial Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Award. Dr. Hajela received his undergraduate degree in aeronautical engineering (1977) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He received master’s degrees in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University (1979) and in mechanical engineering from Stanford University (1981). He received a PhD in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University (1982) and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California, Los Angeles (1982–1983).

NADYA T. BLISS is a computer scientist focused on national security research and engineering, including specific expertise in cybersecurity, graph algorithms, and disinformation. As the executive director of the Global Security Initiative (GSI) at Arizona State University (ASU), she leads a pan-university organization advancing research, education, and other programming at the intersection of technology and national security. Prior to leading GSI, Dr. Bliss spent time as the assistant vice president of research strategy at ASU and a decade in various positions at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, most recently as the founding Group Leader of the Computing and Analytics Group. Dr. Bliss is a professor of practice and graduate faculty in ASU’s School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence and currently serves as the chair of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA’s) Information Science and Technology study group as the vice chair of the Computing Community Consortium and on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Cyber Resilience Forum and Climate Security Roundtable. Dr. Bliss received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from Cornell University and a PhD in applied mathematics from ASU.

N. LOUISE GLASS is a recent emeritus professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology (PMB) at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior faculty scientist in the Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Her research focus has been on filamentous fungi, exploring molecular mechanisms of cell-to-cell communication and somatic cell fusion associated with hyphal network formation, plant cell wall deconstruction by fungi, and how these processes affect ecosystems. Her recent work focuses on developing high-throughput functional genomics for non-model fungi with an aim to understanding and controlling the interactions between plant roots and neighboring microbes to gain insights into carbon cycling, carbon sequestration, and plant productivity in natural and agricultural ecosystems. Dr. Glass was previously the chair/associate chair of PMB and previously was the director of the Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division at LBNL. She is the Fred E. Dickinson Chair of Wood Science and Technology, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Academy of Microbiology, and the Mycological Society of America, and a recipient of an Alexander von Humboldt Research Award. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2021. She received a PhD in plant pathology from the University of California, Davis, and performed postdoctoral work on fungal genetics and molecular biology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

JOHN KLIER is the dean of the Gallogly College of Engineering and a professor in the School of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. His research examines novel materials for high performance coatings and adhesives, structured polymer colloids and emulsion polymers, and new approaches to polymer crosslinking. Dr. Klier served as a professor and department head of chemical engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, following a 26-year career at The Dow Chemical Company, where he worked in numerous areas of polymer, surfactant, and colloid science. His responsibilities included leading the materials-related organizations in Core R&D, leading the Dow Coating Materials research and development organization, and most recently leading the Performance Materials and Chemicals divisional research, development, and technical service organizations. In 2014, he was named distinguished fellow, the highest technical position at Dow. Dr. Klier is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), the National Academy of Inventors, and several professional organizations. He has been awarded with The AICHE Industrial Research and Development Award in 2015 and the Purdue Outstanding Chemical Engineering Award. He earned his BS from MIT and his MS and PhD from Purdue University, all in chemical engineering.

MAHTA MOGHADDAM is a distinguished professor and the Ming Hsieh Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC) and the vice dean for research at the Viterbi School of Engineering. Previously, she was at the University of Michigan (2003–2011) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) (1991–2003). Dr. Moghaddam’s research interests are in a variety of topics related to applied electromagnetics, including the development of advanced radar systems for environmental sensing and subsurface characterization, software-defined radar, mixed-mode high-resolution medical imaging techniques, and autonomous sensor webs for remote sensing data collection and validation. Each of these areas requires the development of state-of-the-art sensors as well as novel signal processing and physical models to characterize the sensors and their interaction with their intended environments. Her recent research includes the development of new radar technologies for subsurface and subcanopy characterization, forward and inverse scattering techniques for layered random media especially for water resource characterization, geophysical retrievals using signal-of-opportunity reflectometry, and transforming concepts of radar to medical imaging and therapy systems. She has led numerous multi-disciplinary projects in these areas and has been a member of the science teams of several NASA missions. She has expertise in microwave sensing across the spectrum for environmental and biomedical applications. She was a systems engineer for the Cassini Radar and served as the science chair of the JPL Team X (Advanced Mission Studies Team). She is on the science teams of the NASA Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System mission and the Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment. She was the principal

investigator of the AirMOSS NASA Earth Ventures 1 mission. Dr. Moghaddam is a member of the NAE. She received a BS from the University of Kansas with highest distinction and an MS and a PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in electrical and computer engineering.

WILLIAM A. SIRIGNANO is a Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Sirignano was a professor at Princeton University from 1967 to 1979. He was the George Tallman Ladd Professor and department head at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) from 1979 to 1984, before becoming the engineering dean at the University of California, Irvine. He left the deanship and is currently a professor. His research and teaching interests have covered the topics of spray and droplet science and technology, combustion, aerospace propulsion, combustion instability, noise suppression, and applied mathematics. His research accomplishments include analysis predicting periodic nonlinear oscillations with shockwaves in an unstable combustor; analysis of driving mechanisms for combustion instability in rockets and ramjets; explanation of the nonlinear fluid dynamics associated with Helmholtz resonators; determination of admittance for oscillatory, three-dimensional nozzle flows; theory for flame spread above liquid and solid fuels; theory for ignition of combustible gas by a hot projectile; resolution of turbulent flame and propagation in reciprocating and rotary internal combustion engines; theory of droplet vaporization and convective heating with internal circulation; computational methods for spray flows; theory of droplet interactions in a dense spray; liquid atomization theory; and miniature combustor technology. Dr. Sirignano is a member of the NAE. He received a PhD in aerospace and mechanical sciences in 1964 from Princeton University.

JILL H. SMITH is a senior consultant with JHS Enterprises. She is the former director of the U.S. Army Communications Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (2010–2014). She was also the director of the Army Research Laboratory’s (ARL’s) Weapons and Materials Research Directorate (2001–2010) and the former division chief of ARL’s Ballistic and NBC Division (1998–2001). She previously served on the National Academies’ Panel of Assessment and Analysis (2010–2014). Ms. Smith earned a BS and an MS in mathematics from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.

SAMUEL I. STUPP is a Board of Trustees Professor of Chemistry, Materials Science, and Medicine and the director of the Institute for BioNanotechnology in Medicine at Northwestern University. His research focuses on self-assembly and supramolecular materials with special emphasis in regenerative medicine, cancer therapies, and solar energy. He has held the appointment of Joliot Curie Professor at Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chemie in Paris, Merck-Karl Pfister Visiting Professor in Organic Chemistry at MIT, visiting professor at the Institut de Science et d’Ingenierie Supramoléculaires in Strasbourg, and is currently a distinguished professor of Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. He spent 18 years at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he was the Swanlund Professor of Materials Science, Chemistry, and Bioengineering. He is also a fellow of the American Physical Society, the Materials Research Society (MRS), AAAS, the World Technology Network, and the World Biomaterials Congress. Dr. Stupp is a member of the U.S. NAE, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Spanish Royal Academy of Pharmacy. His awards include the Department of Energy Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Materials Chemistry, a Humboldt Senior Award, the MRS Medal Award, the American Chemical Society Award in Polymer Chemistry, and the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Award in Hong Kong. In 2009, Dr. Stupp received an honorary doctorate from Eindhoven University for revolutionary research in complex molecular systems and, in 2011, an honorary doctorate from the National University of Costa Rica. He obtained his BS in chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, and his PhD in materials science from Northwestern University.

LEVI T. THOMPSON is the dean of the College of Engineering and the Elizabeth Inez Kelley Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Delaware (UD). Before joining UD, Dr. Thompson was the Richard Balzhiser Professor of Chemical Engineering and a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan. He also served as the associate dean for Undergraduate Education, director of the

Hydrogen Energy Technology Laboratory, and director of the Michigan-Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. Dr. Thompson’s research focuses on nanomaterials for catalytic and energy storage applications and he is an author on more than 150 publications and co-inventor on more than 10 patents. He was elected as a member of the NAE and fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and is the recipient of awards including a 2006 Michiganian of the Year Award for his research, entrepreneurship, and teaching, and National Science Foundation (NSF) Presidential Young Investigator Award. Dr. Thompson currently serves as an associate editor of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nexus and on the editorial board of the Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He is an experienced consultant, the co-founder and founding chief executive officer of T/J Technologies, and a developer of nanomaterials for advanced batteries (acquired by A123 Systems). He earned a BChe from UD in chemical engineering and an MS in chemical and nuclear engineering and a PhD in chemical engineering, both from the University of Michigan.

CHARLES THORPE is a professor of computer science at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York. He served as Clarkson’s senior vice president and provost for a 5-year term (2012–2017). Immediately prior to Clarkson, Dr. Thorpe served 2011–2012 in the Office of Science and Technology Policy as the assistant director for robotics and advanced manufacturing. The bulk of his career was spent with CMU, where he was a PhD student in computer science, then served in the Robotics Institute as faculty and as director (2000–2004). In 2004, he went to Doha Qatar as the inaugural dean of Carnegie Mellon Qatar, from 2004–2010. Dr. Thorpe’s research area is robotics, specifically self-driving vehicles. His CMU group was a core part of DARPA’s Autonomous Land Vehicle program, ARL’s series of Unmanned Ground Vehicle Demos, and the Department of Transportation’s Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems program. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and has contributed to National Academies’ studies through the Transportation Research Board, the Naval Studies Board, and previous ARL assessment studies.

CHRISTINE A. WANG is a part-time flex senior staff member in the Laser Technology and Applications Group at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory. She has done extensive work on compound semiconductor epitaxial materials for advanced optoelectronic devices. Her expertise is in organometallic vapor-phase epitaxial crystal growth, materials characterization, and device development. She has advanced the state of the art in gallium arsenide–, gallium antimonide–, and indium phosphide–based materials for diode lasers, quantum cascade lasers, and thermophotovoltaic cells. She received the American Association of Crystal Growth Award. Dr. Wang is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and a member of the NAE. Dr. Wang received her SB, MS, and PhD from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT.