Dr. Pamulapati appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Office of the Under Secretary for Research and Engineering

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The US Department of Defense announced the appointment of Dr. Jagadeesh Pamulapati as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the  Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. He is one of three Deputy Assistant Secretaries of Defense appointments among several other positions announced July 24, 2023.

On July 12, the Department of Defense announced the establishment of three new Assistant Secretary of Defense positions, along with eight Deputy Assistant Secretaries of Defense, in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.  The ASDs will replace the role of Deputy Chief Technology Officer.

“The establishment of these roles within Research & Engineering better positions our team to execute upon our mission of preserving our nation’s technological edge, now and into the future,” said Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering Heidi Shyu is quoted saying in the press release.  “We thank our partners in Congress and across the DOD for getting us to this point.”

Among the several offices established by the July 12 memorandum are the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology (S&T), and the 3 Deputy Assistant Secretaries of Defense including Dr. Pamulapati.

Dr. Pamulapati has been the Director, Laboratories and Personnel Office in the OUSD(R&E). and is responsible for all matters associated with the DoD research and development (R&D) enterprise consisting of the Defense Laboratories, the Departments ten Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), and the fourteen University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs), according to his biography on the Defense Department website.

In addition to policy and oversight of the R&D enterprise, Dr. Pamulapati is also responsible for the more than 50,000 scientists and engineers that work in the more than 60 DoD laboratories, warfare centers, and engineering centers across 22 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to R&D enterprise matters, Dr. Pamulapati also leads the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Development Office within the DoD; ensures interchange with the FVEY nations; and provides advice and assistance in developing policies for rapid technology transition.

Dr. Pamulapati was selected for the Senior Executive Service in January 2016. Prior to this, he was in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)) from June 2006. In this position, he was responsible for developing and implementing policy initiatives for the Army’s laboratories. He also fulfilled the role of the Executive Director for Strategic Plans and Program Planning, a Senior Executive Service position, where he was responsible for the Basic Research, Innovation Enablers, Manufacturing Technologies, Technology Wargaming, and International Portfolios.

During his time with the Army, Dr. Pamulapati also served as a senior policy analyst within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, responsible for a broad portfolio of national security interest items; the Chief Scientist and Chief Technical Officer responsible for technology integration for the Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) program the Army’s leading transformational initiative consisting of soldiers, manned and unmanned systems within a unifying network; and a scientific liaison to the Army Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8 where he provided technical expertise on science and technology issues.

“Dr. Pamulapati began his distinguished career at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) where he developed advance ultra-submicron high speed devices for next generation optoelectronic integrated circuits and monolithic millimeter wave integrated circuits, infrared materials for forward looking infrared imagers as well as high power infrared laser sources for countermeasure applications,” the DoD website says.

Dr. Pamulapati received his B.S.E., M.S.E. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He holds eleven patents and has contributed to more than 40 archival journal publications and three books. On numerous occasions, he has been invited to lecture at national and international fora for industry and academia. Besides the Army War College in Carlisle, PA, he has been a visiting lecturer at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway.

Dr. Pamulapati has a myriad of talents and interests outside of science and technology. Besides being a single digit handicap golfer, he is also a pastry arts and design chef holding a degree in Pastry Arts from L’Academie de Cuisine, Gaithersburg, MD, his biography said.

The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering is the Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Defense.  The USD(R&E) champions research, science, technology, engineering, and innovation to maintain the United States military’s technological advantage, the DOD press release said.