Dr. Neil McCasland is an independent consultant supporting clients in the DOD, DOE, and related industries. He most recently served as the Director of Technology at Blue Halo Applied Technology Associates, a small business providing directed energy weapons, space optical communications, precision inertial instrumentation and engineering technical services.
Dr. McCasland retired from the U.S. Air Force as a Major General after a 34-year career. He culminated his Air Force career as Commander, Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where he led the USAF’s $4B science and technology program, commanding an organization of 10,000 people. He had served in the Pentagon on both the OSD and Air Force staffs leading acquisition and special program oversight offices. Dr. McCasland's Air Force career spanned multiple NRO and Air Force space acquisition programs.
Dr. McCasland holds a B.S. in astronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy and earned his PhD and M.S. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His graduate research was supported by the Fannie and John Hertz Foundations. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
Changes in the environment are a national security issue, and Ken Miller Scholarship recipient, Erin Macri, is passionate about monitoring the climate and geography to spot challenges for national security—and to solve them. Macri was awarded the scholarship to continue her studies.
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