Prior to joining IEEE as Executive Director and COO, Stephen was nominated by the U.S. President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In this role, he served as the chief technology officer for the U.S. Department of Defense, leading one of the largest and most complex research, development, and engineering organizations in the world. Prior to this position, Stephen served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Engineering, providing engineering oversight of the department’s programs, establishing technical policy, and managing its technical workforce. Stephen has more than 28 years of government and industrial experience in technology and product development, including senior leadership positions at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). His technical experience includes development of leading edge aeronautical and space systems, robotics, machine learning, high-performance software, and sensor systems. Stephen holds a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a master’s degree in business administration from the Texas A&M University, and master’s degrees in computer science and applied mathematics from The Johns Hopkins University. He is a fellow of the IEEE.