Corporate Leadership
Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, USAF (Ret.)
President
Norty Schwartz serves as President of IDA, where he directs the activities of more than 1,000 scientists and technologists.
Norty has a long and prestigious career of service and leadership that spans over five decades. He was most recently President and CEO of Business Executives for National Security (BENS). During his six-year tenure at BENS, he was also a member of IDA’s Board of Trustees.
Prior to retiring from the U.S. Air Force, he served as the 19th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force from 2008 to 2012. He previously held senior joint positions as Director of the Joint Staff and as Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command. He began his service as a pilot with the airlift evacuation out of Vietnam in 1975.
Norty is a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and holds a master’s degree in business administration from Central Michigan University. He is also an alumnus of the Armed Forces Staff College and the National War College.
He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a 1994 Fellow of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Seminar XXI. He has been married to Suzie since 1981.
Laura H. Baldwin, Ph.D.
Vice President, Research
Laura Baldwin is the Vice President, Research for IDA. She is responsible for shaping and overseeing the overall research vision and strategy for two IDA-operated federally funded research and development centers: the Systems and Analyses Center and the Science and Technology Policy Institute.
Laura came to IDA from RAND, where she was the associate director of the National Security Research Division and the director of the Resource Management Program within RAND Project AIR FORCE.
Given her expertise in economics, Laura’s research centered on the intersection of economics and national security. She conducted analyses of supply chains as tools of strategic competition; military logistics and acquisition challenges of future operating environments; cost recovery via the Transportation Working Capital Fund; and life-cycle costs of weapon systems.
She helped evaluate the option of using commercial sources of refueling within the continental United States as part of an analysis of alternatives for the recapitalization of the KC-135 aerial refueling tanker. Laura also co-founded the Defense Economics track at the annual Western Economic Association International meetings.
Laura holds a doctorate in economics from Duke University.
Linda A. Huntt
Vice President, Corporate Operations
Linda Huntt is the Vice President, Corporate Operations for IDA. She is the executive responsible for ensuring the efficiency and productivity of IDA’s day-to-day operations. In this role, Linda collaborates with corporate leadership to understand their goals and oversees the directorates responsible for providing the resources employees need to meet those goals.
Prior to joining IDA in February 2016, Linda worked for 17 years at the Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory. Beginning in 2011, she was the Operations Executive in the Research and Exploratory Development Department, and from 2009 to 2011, she was the Operations Executive in the National Security Technology Department.
From 1998, Linda held various other positions at APL, including the Group Supervisor at Milton Eisenhower Research Center, Business Manager in the National Security Technology Department, Section Supervisor Subcontracts and Senior Subcontracts Representative in the Business Information Services Department.
Linda has also held positions in the contracting field at United Defense L.P. (now BAE Systems) and EA Engineering Science and Technology. She had a 16-year career at the Defense Logistics Agency.
Linda earned a master’s degree in business administration from Loyola University Maryland and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration/management from Towson University. She is a member of the National Contract Management Association and was on the Howard County Leadership Board from 2013 to 2016.
Benjamin R. Lindorf
Director and General Counsel
Ben Lindorf is the Director and General Counsel for IDA. He has held his current role since 2016. Prior to that, he served as IDA’s Associate General Counsel and Corporate Compliance Manager.
Before joining IDA in 2009, Ben was a senior associate attorney in the Global Regulatory Enforcement Practice Group of Reed Smith LLP. He also served as an associate attorney with the International Trade Practice Group of Williams Mullen PC and as a paralegal specialist with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Solicitor General.
Ben received a law degree, with a Global Law Scholar certificate, from Georgetown University. He has a bachelor’s degree in French from Brigham Young University. Ben was a 2021 Leadership Academy Fellow at the National Capital Region Chapter of the Association for Corporate Counsel. He also completed the Harvard Kennedy School’s Leadership in Crises executive education program in 2023.
An avid cyclist, Ben is a Level 2 Coach for the National Interscholastic Cycling Association and serves on the board of directors of NOVA Cycling.
Martin R. Franke
Director, Information Technology and Security, and CIO
Martin Franke is the Director, Information Technology and Security, and Chief Information Officer for IDA. He leads a team of more than 190 IT and Security professionals responsible for a broad range of solutions and services. His directorate includes an enterprise-wide knowledge service center, a systems development unit, an enterprise operations and help desk group, an information security team and an industrial security team.
Prior to joining IDA in June 2007, Martin was responsible for criminal justice programs at the nonprofit research corporation Noblis. While there, he guided FBI officials as they applied software and systems engineering to the management of programs, projects and acquisition processes.
From 1999 to 2005, he served as an executive director at the national headquarters of the American Red Cross. Martin led a 150-person systems integration and software development organization in creating information technology solutions that directly supported the organization’s relief and humanitarian operations.
In previous professional assignments, Martin managed a $14-million-a-year consulting practice at Watson Wyatt Worldwide, and he supported NASA programs as an analyst and network manager with the Lockheed Martin Corporation.
Martin obtained a master’s degree in technical management from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Loyola University Maryland.
Herman Phillips
Director, Corporate Communications and CCO
Herman Phillips is the Director, Corporate Communications and Chief Communications Officer for IDA. He serves as the senior communications strategist, spokesperson and adviser to the president and executive leadership.
Before joining IDA in 2012, Herman served more than 24 years in various U.S. Navy leadership positions. Immediately prior to joining IDA, he commanded the American Forces Network where he led a global team of nearly 900 service members, civilians and contractors in delivering a “touch of home” and critical command information through radio and television to servicemembers, their families and government civilians stationed overseas and deployed to war.
As the Director of the Defense Media Activity, Anacostia, he led the Navy’s award-winning internal “production house,” providing integrated, high-profile communication and messaging across the entire spectrum of communication delivery avenues — print, broadcast, web and social media.
Other assignments include Director, Corporate Communications for the Naval Sea Systems command, where he was the communication strategist for the Navy’s largest engineering, development and procurement agency; and U.S. Second Fleet Public Affairs Officer, where his was the senior communication advisor and spokesman for the Navy’s operations on the East Coast of the United States, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.
Herman holds a master’s degree in public communication from American University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the George Washington University.
Irene Timm
Director, Human Resources and CHRO
Irene Timm is the Director, Human Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer for IDA. She is responsible for developing and executing IDA’s HR strategy. In that capacity, she leads the development, implementation and evaluation of practices that support workforce planning and talent acquisition.
Irene joined IDA in 2016 with more than 20 years of HR management experience. In her time with the company, she has overseen changes in IDA’s compensation and benefits, employee and leadership development, succession management, organizational effectiveness, and diversity and inclusion.
Previously, Irene served in various HR leadership roles, including director of HR at Pew Research Center, manager of employee relations and HR services at RAND Corporation, HR business partner at the American Institute for Research, and recruitment specialist at the Urban Institute. She is a member of the HR Leadership Forum and the Society for Human Resources Management.
Irene holds both master’s and bachelor’s degrees in business administration with concentration in human resources management from the George Washington University.
Mike Spirtas, Ph.D.
Director, Research Programs
Mike Spirtas is the Director, Research Programs at IDA, a role he assumed in 2023. Mike brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in program management of federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), including engagement with government sponsors, Contracting Officer’s Representatives and Washington Headquarters Services. He is responsible for managing the FFRDC research program and overseeing day-today relationships with sponsors.
Mike came to IDA from RAND, where he served as Associate Director of the National Security Research Division (NSRD). He previously served as Associate Director of RAND’s International Security and Defense Policy Program within NSRD, where he helped oversee a $25 million research portfolio. He has more than 20 years’ experience in research on critical issues, including the National Defense Strategy, defense strategic guidance, defense planning scenarios, organizing for space operations, and command and control. In addition, Mike served two Intergovernmental Personnel Act tours, one with the Air Staff as a concept developer and another at the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy as a force developer.
Prior to joining RAND, Mike was a senior fellow at the Center for National Policy, where he ran projects on Cuba, North Korea, China-Taiwan relations, and international trade. Before that, he was a fellow at the U.S. Center for Research and Education on Strategy and Technology. He also served as an adjunct professor at George Washington University and American University. Mike holds two master’s degrees and a doctorate in political science from Columbia University.
Shawn C. Whetstone, Ph.D.
Director, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and CDO
Shawn Whetstone is the Director, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and Chief Data Officer at IDA. In this position, Shawn provides strategic leadership, project management and direction for IDA’s data management, data analytics and artificial intelligence initiatives. He is responsible for enhancing IDA research and business operations by assessing and evolving our data- and artificial intelligence-related infrastructure.
Shawn joined IDA in 1988 as a member of the research staff in the Operational Evaluation Division (OED) of the Systems and Analyses Center. Over the years, Shawn led a number of projects and in 2015 assumed leadership of OED’s Net-Centric Portfolio, leading and mentoring staff in providing analytical support for tests and assessments of information, space and communications technology for Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security sponsors. In 2021, he became an assistant director in OED and in 2023 became the deputy director of OED.
As a researcher, Shawn provided analytical support for the design, observation, analysis, and reporting of more than 80 operational tests and assessments of selected acquisition programs and operational organizations and published more than 95 limited distribution publications. Over the past decade, his research focus has been in the general area of cyber operations, and he has developed analytical methods, procedures and training for integrating cyber considerations into operational tests and assessments.
Shawn holds both a doctorate and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan. He earned a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from the Pennsylvania State University.
Heather M. Wojton, Ph.D.
Director, Operational Evaluation Division
Heather Wojton is the Director of the Operational Evaluation Division (OED) of the Systems and Analyses Center. In this position, she provides strategic leadership, project oversight, and direction for the division’s research program, which primarily supports the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation, within the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
In her previous role as IDA’s Director, Research Quality and Chief Data Officer, Heather provided strategic leadership, project management and direction for the corporation’s data strategy. She enhanced IDA’s ability to efficiently and effectively accomplish research and business operations by assessing and evolving data systems, data management infrastructure and data-related practices. She also oversaw the quality management processes for research projects, including the research product publication process and the technical review process.
Heather joined IDA in 2015 as a member of the research staff in OED. She is an expert in quantitative research methods, including test design and program evaluation. As a researcher at IDA, Heather led IDA’s test science research program that facilitates data-driven decision making within the Department of Defense by advancing statistical, behavioral, and data science methodologies and applying them to the evaluation of defense acquisition programs. Heather’s other accomplishments include advancing methods for test design, modeling and simulation validation, data management and curation, and artificial intelligence testing.
Heather has a doctorate in experimental psychology from the University of Toledo and a bachelor’s degree in research psychology from Marietta College, where she was a member of the McDonough International Leadership Program. She is a graduate of the George Washington University National Security Studies Senior Management Program and the Maxwell School National Security Management Course at Syracuse University.
Mario Wong Jr.
Director, Finance, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer
Mario Wong Jr. is the Director, Finance, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer for IDA. In this role, he is responsible for the company’s financial and contractual operations. He has more than 20 years of experience in finance and government contracting, along with broad experience in strategic planning, financial planning and analysis, reporting, accounting, corporate development, treasury, tax, and investor relations.
Mario previously served as Chief Financial Officer at Columbus Regional Airport Authority, where he oversaw the finances at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, Rickenbacker International Airport and Bolton Field.
Before that, Mario was Vice President, Corporate Controller and Treasurer at Mission Essential, a provider of translators and interpreters for intelligence agencies, the military and friendly foreign governments. His previous experience also includes serving as Vice President, Corporate Controller and Assistant Treasurer at Battelle.
Mario started his career in public accounting at Grant Thornton and then PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mario received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Florida Atlantic University. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Global Management Accountant.
Daniel Y. Chiu
Director, Joint Advanced Warfighting Division
Dan Chiu is the Director of the Joint Advanced Warfighting Division of the IDA Systems and Analyses Center. Dan leads a staff of more than 40 IDA researchers working to stimulate breakthrough improvements in joint military capabilities and concepts of operation with a focus on Joint Experimentation and Defense Innovation.
Prior to joining IDA, he served as Director of Strategy at the Atlantic Council and Deputy Director of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security. He is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development in the Department of Defense (DOD), where he was responsible for developing national defense strategy and guidance for defense investments in military force structure, technology and non-materiel solutions. He led work for the Office of the Secretary of Defense on strategic planning with an emphasis on global trends in a complex, dynamic and globalized security environment. He also oversaw the strategic analysis process, products and community, using innovative methods and tools to assess and manage a wide range of disparate risks across DOD. Appointed to serve in the Pentagon in 2009, Dan led work on the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, the 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance, and the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review.
Prior to his appointment, Dan had a long career as a senior consultant and analyst for DOD at IDA, the Hicks and Associates Center for Adaptive Strategies and Threats, DFI International, and the Center for Naval Analyses. He has also served as a consultant to the Defense Science Board, as a leader of the Defense Adaptive Red Team, and as an adjunct professor of international relations and public policy.
Dan earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in political science from McGill University. He received a master’s degree in international relations and economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Dan’s doctorate is in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University with subspecialization in quantitative methods and Asian studies.
Ryan Garibaldi, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Communications Research, La Jolla
Ryan Garibaldi is the Director of the Center for Communications Research in La Jolla, California, one of three research centers that make up the IDA Center for Communications and Computing. He leads a team of mathematicians and computer scientists in developing new science in order to solve the sponsor’s hardest problems.
He is well known for his academic research on algebraic groups, including exceptional groups such as E8, and on cohomological invariants. He is also known for his joint work with other mathematicians and investigative reporters on extremely rare phenomena, which, coupled with publicly available data, led to the exposure of criminals using state lotteries as part of the schemes. This in turn led to arrests and changes in state policy.
Skip’s previous positions include research staff member at the Center for Communications Research in La Jolla; associate director of the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics at UCLA, where he was responsible for half of the scientific activities of the Institute; and Winship Distinguished Research Professor of Mathematics at Emory University. He was a member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and the Defense Science Study Group.
Skip received his doctorate in mathematics from University of California, San Diego, and bachelor’s degrees in computer science and in mathematics from Purdue University. He has received the Lester R. Ford Award from the Mathematical Association of America.
Julie Hunter, Ph.D.
Director, Cost Analysis and Research Division
Julie Hunter is the Director of the Cost Analysis and Research Division of the IDA Systems and Analyses Center. In this role, she leads a talented multi-disciplined research team that provides the Department of Defense and other federal agencies with independent cost assessments as well as objective analyses on the allocation of resources.
Julie joined the research staff in the Cost Analysis and Research Division at IDA in 1997. Over the years in this role, she led projects dealing with some of the most significant issues facing the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Her work on veteran’s disability compensation benefits earned her the IDA 2010 Andrew J. Goodpaster Award for Excellence in Research. Prior to taking on her current role as division director, Julie served as both assistant director and deputy director in the division.
Julie has doctorate in operations research and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School program for Senior Executives in National and International Security and a fellow in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Seminar XXI program. Julie is an executive board member and former president of the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science (INFORMS) Roundtable.
Kristen M. Kulinowski, Ph.D.
Director, Science and Technology Policy Institute
Kristen Kulinowski is the Director of the Science and Technology Policy Institute, an IDA-managed federally funded research and development center. In this capacity, she leads more than 40 researchers providing analysis of national and international science and technology issues for the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation, among others. Kristen’s experience is in occupational and process safety, emergency preparedness and response, nanotechnology, policy analysis, and research administration.
Previously, Kristen served as a Board Member and acting head of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. The CSB is an independent, nonregulatory federal agency that investigates major chemical industrial accidents and makes recommendations for incident prevention. Board Members are nominated by the U.S. President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Prior to joining the board, she served for four years on the staff of the Science and Technology Policy Institute, where she worked on a diverse set of topics, including emerging technologies, innovation policy, and the U.S. Antarctic Program. Before that, Kristen was a Senior Faculty Fellow in Chemistry at Rice University and served as the executive director for the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology and the director of the International Council on Nanotechnology. Much of her work at Rice focused on bringing together diverse stakeholders to explore and communicate the potential risks of engineered nanomaterials.
Kristen was competitively selected as a Congressional Science and Technology Policy Fellow, where she worked in the U.S. House of Representatives on legislation involving weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and domestic nuclear power security in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. She shepherded language addressing domestic nuclear preparedness through passage of the Bioterrorism Act of 2002. As a long-time disaster services volunteer with the American Red Cross, she deployed to the Pentagon on 9/11 to support first responders on the scene.
Kristen holds a doctorate and a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Rochester. She attained a bachelor’s degree with honors in chemistry from Canisius College.
Jenny Kelley, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Computing Sciences
Jenny Kelley is the Director of the Center for Computing Sciences, in Bowie, Maryland, one of three research centers that make up the IDA Center for Communications and Computing. In this role, she leads a team of computer scientists, mathematicians and engineers in developing new science to solve intelligence-related problems of critical importance to national security. She has more than 10 years’ experience designing and conducting complex operations at federal defense and intelligence agencies; building strong mission partnerships with industry, government and foreign partners; and delivering intelligence and effects with meaningful impact on U.S. policy objectives.
Jenny previously served as Global Operations Program Manager at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). While there, she led the Engineering Division staff at a major sponsor site, where APL provided expertise on offensive cyber operations, communications, microelectronics, and systems engineering. Prior to that, Jenny served as APL’s Chief Scientist for Cyber Warfare Systems, Asymmetric Operations Sector.
At Morgan Stanley, Jenny was the Chief, Cyber-Resilience Attack Scenario Development, where she built a new program to improve resilience to destructive cyberattacks. Before that, she worked for the National Security Agency in a number of roles, ending as Deputy Technical Director of Tailored Access Operations.
Jenny received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and European history from Washington and Lee University and a doctoral degree in mathematics from Rutgers University. She completed postdoctoral work at Texas A&M University.
V. Bram Lillard, Ph.D.
Director, Science, Systems and Sustainment Division
V. Bram Lillard is the Director of the Science, Systems and Sustainment Division in the Systems and Analyses Center. Bram leads a staff of physical scientists, engineers and data scientists engaged in assessing cutting-edge scientific advancements and breakthrough technologies; developing innovative weapon system concepts; conducting analyses of alternatives, developmental testing, and system performance assessments; and performing mission- and force-level modeling and simulation and resource-to-readiness decision modeling.
Bram was previously the Director of the Operational Evaluation Division (OED). In that role, he provided strategic leadership, project oversight and direction for the division’s research program, which primarily supports the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) within the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Bram joined IDA in 2004 as a member of the research staff. In 2013-14, he was the acting science advisor to DOT&E. He then served as OED’s assistant director and later, deputy director. He previously held roles leading IDA’s analytical support to the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and leading OED’s Naval Warfare Group in support of DOT&E. He is an expert in quantitative data analysis methods, test design, naval warfare systems and operations and sustainment analyses for Defense Department weapon systems.
Bram has both a doctorate and a master’s degree in physics from the University of Maryland. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics from State University of New York at Geneseo. Bram is also a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executives in National and International Security program. He was awarded IDA’s Andrew J. Goodpaster Award for Excellence in Research in 2017.
Maj. Gen. James R. Marrs, USAF (Ret.)
Director, Global Dynamics and Intelligence Division
Jim Marrs is the Director of the Global Dynamics and Intelligence Division of the IDA Systems and Analyses Center. He leads a team of highly skilled IDA researchers focused on a range of geostrategic and intelligence-related issues in support of the Department of Defense and the U.S. Intelligence Community.
Jim served in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a major general in January 2020. Prior to joining IDA, he served concurrently as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance on the Headquarters Air Force Staff and as the National Intelligence Manager for Aviation under the auspices of the Director of National Intelligence.
In his first operational assignment, to the Air Force Electronic Warfare Center, Jim applied operations research methods to solve electronic warfare problems. His 32-year career includes a variety of duties spanning operations, strategy, policy, and plans as well as deployments to operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Southern Watch, and Enduring Freedom. He has commanded at the squadron, group, center, and wing levels. He led twice as a joint director for intelligence (J2), first as the U.S. Cyber Command J2 and, subsequently, as the Joint Staff J2. He also served as a special advisor to the Vice President of the United States where he provided advice and expertise on a range of national security issues. His seven joint assignments included intelligence, cyber, space, interagency, and multinational leadership experiences.
Jim was commissioned in 1987 as a distinguished and honors graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, earning a bachelor’s degree in international affairs. He received a master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a master’s degree from the School of Advanced Airpower Studies at Air University.
Margaret E. Myers, Ph.D.
Director, Information Technology and Systems Division
Margaret Myers is the Director of the Information Technology and Systems Division of the Systems and Analyses Center — a post she assumed in May 2009. She leads IDA researchers who address cyberspace challenges of national and global importance, drawing from their broad understanding of related operations and business, technology and systems, and policy and law.
From 2000 to 2008, Margaret was Principal Director for the Department of Defense Deputy Chief Information Officer. Prior to that assignment, she served as Director of Information Technology Acquisition and Investment for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I). From June 1997 through June 1998, she acted as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for C3I Acquisition.
Margaret’s government service also included technical leadership positions with the U. S. Army Operational Evaluation Command and the U. S. Army Information Systems Engineering Command. She was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 1992. Margaret served on active duty in the U. S. Army from 1975 to 1978, continued her service in the Army Reserve on the staff of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Army for Operations Research, and retired in 2005 in the rank of colonel.
She earned a doctorate in information technology from George Mason University (GMU); a master’s degree in operations research from American University; and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, magna cum laude, from Colorado College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She also received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Colorado College. Margaret has published papers in numerous refereed journals related to acquisition, simulation, computer measurement, and software engineering. She is a member of the GMU College of Engineering and Computing Dean’s Advisory Board and the GMU Foundation Board. Margaret received the Defense Department Distinguished Civilian Service Award (2004), a Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executive (2004) and two Presidential Rank Awards for Meritorious Executive (2002, 2007).
Stephen M. Ouellette, Ph.D.
Director, Research Quality and Methods
Stephen Ouellette is the Director, Research Quality and Methods for IDA. In this role, he oversees the quality management processes for research projects, including the research product publication process and the technical review process.
Stephen was previously the Director of the System Evaluation Division in the Systems and Analyses Center at IDA, where he led a staff of engineers and scientists engaged in assessing military force effectiveness, system performance, and joint and allied interoperability.
After joining IDA as a research staff member in 2001, Stephen initially specialized in force-level modeling of platform, sensor and weapon mixes for air warfare and airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). He went on to conduct assessments of space-based ISR systems, missile defense systems, electronic warfare to counter improvised explosive devices, advanced technologies for national defense, and a selection of intelligence community topics. Other work focused on system survivability in the space environment, developments in space control, and deterring aggression in the space domain. His career has emphasized collaboration across the research divisions of the Systems and Analyses Center and partnership with other federally funded research and development centers and university-affiliated research centers.
Stephen holds a doctorate in physics from the California Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from the University of Maine. He also completed the Senior Executives in National Security program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. His professional awards include IDA’s Andrew J. Goodpaster Award for Excellence in Research in 2012 and IDA’s Larry D. Welch Award for Best External Publication in 2020.
Wayne Raskind, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Communications Research, Princeton
Wayne Raskind is the Director of the Center for Communications Research in Princeton, New Jersey, one of three research centers that make up the IDA Center for Communications and Computing. Before his directorship, he participated in two SCAMPs, the summer program hosted by IDA’s research centers to attack tough mathematical problems.
Previously, Wayne was Professor of Mathematics, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Associate Provost for Special Programs at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI.
Wayne’s research specialty is in arithmetical algebraic geometry, and he has done important work in the arithmetic theory of algebraic cycles, including torsion in Chow groups of algebraic varieties over fields of arithmetic interest and higher Abel-Jacobi mappings. He has also worked on higher dimensional class field theory, algebraic varieties over complete fields with totally degenerate reduction, and the discrete log problem for the multiplicative group and for elliptic curves over finite fields. Wayne has served as associate editor of Bulletin de la Société Mathématique de France and as chief area editor in cryptography and computer security of Journal of Computer and System Sciences (JCSS).
Prior to Wayne State, Wayne served as Professor of Mathematics and Founding Director of the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at Arizona State University, and as Professor of Mathematics, Chair of the Department of Mathematics, and Dean of Faculty of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California. He also held faculty and postdoctoral positions at the University of Arizona, University of Tokyo, Harvard University, University of Cologne, Duke University, and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI).
Wayne received his doctorate in mathematics from the University of Cambridge in 1985.
Jessica Stewart
Director, Strategy, Forces and Resources Division
Jessica Stewart is the Director of the Strategy, Forces and Resources Division of the Systems and Analyses Center, an IDA managed federally funded research and development center. She leads a staff of researchers who work on topics as diverse as nuclear weapons policy and strategy, organizational management and effectiveness, and force capability and force structure analyses.
Jessica has deep analytic expertise and strong leadership skills that have been honed over two decades of working directly with sponsors to help meet technical, operational and strategic challenges. Before joining IDA, she developed and led a portfolio of analytic work supporting combatant commands and the services as the National Security Analysis Mission Area Executive at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). Also at APL, she was the program area manager for Innovative Operational Concepts where she led crossfunctional teams that addressed military posture and readiness, operations and technology issues.
Prior to joining APL, Jessica was a senior research scientist for the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA). At CNA, she directed projects and published research on military strategy and operations, emergency response and disaster preparedness, and efficiency and effectiveness measures. Jessica also has significant operational experience. She served as an embedded analyst with U.S. Naval Forces, Europe and Africa, and U.S. Sixth Fleet; U.S. Naval Forces, Middle East, and U.S. Fifth Fleet; and Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force. As an embedded field analyst with U.S. forces in the Middle East during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Jessica provided on-scene reconstruction and analysis of tactical operations for commanders in the field.
Jessica has a law degree from Georgetown University and is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association. She also received a master’s in national security studies from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s in international affairs from the George Washington University.
Tad White, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Computing Sciences
Tad White is the Director of the Center for Computing Sciences, where he leads a team of computer scientists, mathematicians, and engineers in developing new science to solve intelligence-related problems of critical importance to national security.
Dr. White began his career with the intelligence community in 1994 as a mathematician at the National Security Agency (NSA). After doing technical work in both the Information Assurance and SIGINT organizations, and teaching night classes in computer science at University of Maryland Baltimore County, he became the head of the Mathematics Research Group in 2006, where he led NSA’s cryptologic partnership with IDA and expanded the application of cryptomathematics to computer network defense. He returned to the SIGINT Directorate in 2011 to lead the Systems Analysis Office. In 2016, he spent a year detailed to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory as a visiting scientist. He is a recipient of the President’s Award from NSA's Cryptomathematics Institute, and a Meritorious Senior Career Employee Rank Award.
Dr. White received his B.S. in mathematics from Caltech and his Ph.D. in mathematics from UCLA.