Len Buckley is the Director of the Science and Technology Division of the Systems and Analyses Center. Founded in the late 1950s, the division provides high-quality, objective analyses of science and technology issues related to national security. Len leads a staff of IDA engineers and scientists engaged in research on topics as diverse as scientific assessments in environmental chemistry and physics, optics, materials science, and behavioral science.
Prior to joining IDA in 2009, Len served as a research leader in the Department of the Navy. Directing and managing the Naval Research Laboratory’s Materials Chemistry Branch, he performed and guided innovative experimental studies in materials chemistry, including the development of low dielectric polymers for naval applications.
While in government service, Len completed a four-year detail as a program manager for the Defense Science Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). In that capacity, he initiated and led research into bio-inspired optics, self-decontaminating surfaces, water harvesting, and an artificial retina.
Len holds a doctorate in materials science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a master’s degree in Polymer Science from MIT, and a bachelor’s degree in materials engineering from Drexel University.
Len has authored more than 150 publications and reports and holds ten patents. His professional awards include a Navy-sponsored award for Scientific Achievement in 1989, the Naval Research Laboratory’s Alan Berman Outstanding Publication Award in 1999, an Edison Award (Best Patent) in 2009, and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service in 2005.