2007 ComSci Fellows

DR. MARY L. BELEFSKI Environmental Protection Specialist Office of Science Coordination and Policy Office of Pesticides, Prevention, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Education:
B.A., Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, 1977
M.P.A., Public Administration, University of Southern California, 1984
D.P.A., Public Administration, University of Southern California, 1995

Background Highlights:
Dr. Mary Belefski is Special Assistant to the Director of EPA’s Office of Science Coordination and Policy within OPPTS in Washington, D.C. She directly supports the Director on special science and policy issues for OPPTS such as endocrine disruptors and biotechnology, and chaired the workgroup for selecting the initial group of chemicals for screening in the endocrine disruptor screening program. Her career within EPA’s Office of Water spanned 25 years. From 1996-2001, Dr. Belefski was an environmental scientist and provided technical, policy, and administrative support to senior management for efforts on hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, and within the Mississippi River Basin at EPA, with other federal agencies, regional offices, states, and tribes. She was an inter-agency team member for producing an “Action Plan for Reducing, Mitigating, and Controlling Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.” She held supervisory positions for various national water quality programs and was the lead scientist for producing several industrial effluent regulations. In addition to her federal career, she was recently president of the Federal Water Quality Association (local section of Water Environment Federation) and is also a board member for the Section on Environment & Natural Resources of the American Society of Public Administration.

MARK A. BELLO Public Affairs Specialist National Institute of Standards and Technology Department of Commerce

Education:
B.A., Journalism, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1977
Post-Graduate Study (Journalism), University of Wisconsin-Madison

Background Highlights:
Mr. Mark Bello specializes in communicating science and technology research and policy issues at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Topical areas of concentration include innovation, standards and trade, nanotechnology, manufacturing, materials science and engineering, electronics, and research and development trends. At NIST, Bello has written numerous publications, speeches, and other materials in support of the agency’s mission to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology. He has been a significant contributor to interagency science and technology reports and reviews carried out under the auspices of the Office of the Vice President, National Science and Technology Council, the National Nanotechnology Initiative, and the Secretary of Commerce. Mr. Bello has also worked in the Office of Science Policy in the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health. A freelance writer, his articles have been published widely in the general and technical media, including the New York Times Syndicate, Los Angeles Times, and Time-Life Books. He has served as a researcher and editor for numerous advisory panels convened by the National Research Council and by federal agencies. He is the author of A World of Discovery: An Exploration of Behind-The-Scenes Research In The Arts, Sciences And Humanities (Smithsonian Institution).

DR. PATRICK W. BINNING Deputy Director Mission Support Facility Naval Research Laboratory

Education:
B.S., cum laude with departmental honors, Aerospace Engineering, University of Cincinnati, 1992
M.S., Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado, 1994
Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado, 1997

Background Highlights:
Dr. Patrick Binning joined the Mission Support Facility (MSF) in June 2006 and is responsible for helping to lead more than 400 persons, to include military, civilian government, and contractors. He executes an annual budget of more than $90M in support of naval, space-based research and development communications architecture, which includes 12 spacecraft, a command and control facility, five worldwide mission ground stations, and a facility for calibrating orbiting spacecraft.

Prior to joining the MSF, Dr. Binning was a Program Manager in the Advanced Systems and Technology Directorate of the National Reconnaissance Office. He led more than 30 persons and was responsible for executing a budget of more than $50M over the FYDP. Dr. Binning designed a research and development program to pursue a new space-based intelligence capability. Notably, Dr. Binning developed advanced models for statistical simulations of a proposed new source and method and also acquired, developed, and deployed an airborne RF sampling collection and processing system. Additionally, while at the NRO, Dr. Binning co-founded the NRO Chapter of Toastmasters International.

From 1994 to 2002, Dr. Binning researched satellite-to-satellite relative navigation using observations from the Global Positioning System while in the Astrodynamics and Space Applications Office of NRL. He is a co-patent holder of NRL’s orbit determination program, OCEAN (Orbit and Covariance Estimation and Analysis, Patent #6,085,128) for which he designed the Kalman filter/smoother.

Dr. Binning has been a peer reviewer of articles submitted to the Journal of Space Navigation and Control, as well as a panelist on several NASA technology source selections. He has 13 publications and over 35 domestic and international citations.

LT. COL. GEORGE BIRSIC Deputy Director Operational Solutions Group Directorate for Mission Support National Reconnaissance Office

Education:
B.S., Physics, US Air Force Academy, 1986
M.S., Systems Management, University of Southern California, 1987
M.S., Applied & Engineering Physics, George Mason University, 1994
M.A., International Relations, University of Zagreb, pending thesis
M.P.A., Public Administration, Harvard – Kennedy School of Government, 2001

Background Highlights:
Lieutenant Colonel George Birsic, US Air Force, is the deputy director of the NRO’s Operational Solutions Group – a joint and multi-agency team that provides integrated solutions for users of national systems information. He steers technical development, experiment, education, and training efforts to increase mission effectiveness of deployed forces, homeland security and law enforcement agents in the field, and national and military analysts. From 1998-2000, then-Major Birsic studied international relations at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, as an Olmsted Scholar and was at the time the Air Force’s only permanently-stationed officer in Croatia and the University’s only American political science student. During his more than 20 years of service, he has directed technology efforts for the Airborne Laser and other aerospace systems, staffed AF nuclear remediation policy, and directed launch and on-orbit operations for a 12-satellite communications system.

DR. SAMUEL C. EDWARDS Health Science Administrator Cell and Molecular Immunology A Study Section Center for Scientific Review National Institutes of Health Department of Health and Human Services

Education:
B.A., Biology, West Virginia University, 1973
B.A., Chemistry, West Virginia University, 1974
M.S., Biology, University of Southern Mississippi, 1978
Ph.D., Zoology, University of Maryland, 1984

Background Highlights:
Dr. Samuel Edwards has been with the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) of the National Institutes of Health in the Department of Health and Human Services for six years. He serves as the Scientific Review Administrator for the Cell and Molecular Immunology A (CMIA) Study Section within the Immunology Integrated Review Group. After receiving his Ph.D. in zoology with an emphasis in cell biology and physiology, Dr. Edwards had postdoctoral training in the National Eye Institute of the NIH\DHHS and at the Whitney Laboratory of the University of Florida. He was then an assistant professor at the University of South Florida/University of South Florida College of Medicine where his research focused primarily on understanding the biochemical and cell biological aspects of the signal transduction pathways involved in visual phototransduction and light adaptation. Dr. Edwards focused in particular on the role of the serine/threonine protein phosphatases; calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases; and the adaptor protein, arrestin, in light and dark adaptation. He also taught graduate and undergraduate courses in cell biology, molecular pharmacology, and cell signaling mechanisms.

DR. GRANT ERDMANN Research Mathematician Air Force Research Laboratory Department of Defense

Education:
B.S., Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Colorado School of Mines, 1998
Ph.D., Mathematics, University of Minnesota, 2003

Background Highlights:
Dr. Grant Erdmann is a research mathematician in the Information Operations and Special Programs Division of the Human Effectiveness Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory. He is currently at Brooks City-Base in San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Erdmann has been involved in a variety of projects at AFRL, including antenna design, detonation physics and brain-machine interfaces. He was recently Program Manager for a project that developed an advanced algorithm for determining neural activity from electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements, with the goal of improving noninvasive mind control of prosthetic devices.

Prior to joining federal service, Dr. Erdmann performed research and consulting for numerous companies, including IBM, Siemens, voestalpine, and Pewag. He has a Ph.D. in mathematics with an industrial and applied mathematics specialty from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Erdmann has co-authored several articles on the topics of rough-surface scattering, optimal design of optical devices, differential-difference equations, and power-market modeling.

PATRICK A. GOULD Deputy Chief Cyber and Information Operations Division Plans and Programs Directorate Air Force Research Laboratory Department of Defense

Education:
B.A., Electrical Engineering, United States Air Force Academy
M.A., Engineering Management, Western New England College

Background Highlights:
Mr. Patrick Gould is Deputy Chief of the Cyber and Information Operations Division for the United States Air Force Research Laboratory. He is responsible for interpreting Air Force Cyber and Information Operations requirements and planning a $300M per year technology investment strategy to support the U.S. Air Force. From 1996 to 1998, Mr. Gould was the program manager for the F-117 Stealth Fighter Modernization Improvement Program on which he worked with Lockheed Martin to integrate technology improvements into the weapons system. From 1993 to 1996, Mr. Gould worked for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in The Netherlands where he managed the engineering and design efforts of Boeing to install an Electronic Support Measures System on 18 NATO Airborne Warning and Control Aircraft. From 1993-1996, Mr. Gould was the program manager for software upgrades to the multi-million dollar Air Force Satellite Control Network. Mr. Gould was also the on-site engineer at Yokota Air Base, Japan responsible for quality control and testing of newly installed computer equipment for the 5th Air Force Command and Control Center. Mr. Gould has completed Air Force Squadron Officer’s School, Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College. Mr. Gould is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force and is now continuing his professional career as a federal employee.

REBECCA L. S. KING Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Representative The Intelligence Community Acquisition Risk Center Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive Office of the Director of National Intelligence

Education:
B.A., International Affairs, The George Washington University, 2002

Background Highlights:
Ms. Rebecca King is currently detailed to the Intelligence Community Acquisition Risk Center, which was created in order to assess the potential risk associated with making acquisitions within the Intelligence Community. Ms. King has focused much of her work within the strategic arena and co-authored the 2006 Quadrennial Report to Congress on Foreign Acquisition of and Espionage Activities against U.S. Critical Technology Companies. Additionally, she provides support to the Intelligence Community’s input for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Ms. King is also responsible for creation and implementation of an acquisition risk assessment policy for DIA.

Prior to assuming her current position, Ms. King served on the staff of the Headquarters, Office for Counterintelligence, DIA, where she engaged in strategic counterintelligence analysis. In that capacity, she chaired the Counterintelligence Working Group for implementation of the Open Skies Treaty.

RENEE F. MCGINNIS Technical Collection Analyst Systems Engineering and Analysis Office Directorate of Science and Technology Central Intelligence Agency

Education:
B.A., Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, 1978

Background Highlights:
Ms. Renee McGinnis has served since 2002 as a technical collection analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, where she develops and implements intelligence collection strategies applicable to an array of intelligence issues and which integrate technologies developed for government and civil applications. Prior to 2002, Ms. McGinnis served for 11 years as a linguist, Chief Editor of Science & Technology Perspectives, and finally, Transnational Issues Program Coordinator, in the former Foreign Broadcast Information Service. She translated and edited articles on foreign developments in science and technology from French and German publications and served on three interdisciplinary teams from across the Intelligence Community in examining innovative methodologies for solving hard problems. In 1985, Ms. McGinnis began her Agency career as an intelligence analyst responsible for providing policymakers with assessments of the narcotics situation in Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

From 1979 until 1985, Ms. McGinnis was a museum technician at the Smithsonian Institution in the Division of Worms on a Bureau of Land Management-funded contract to study the effects of oil drilling on invertebrate populations in the offshore US. During her tenure at the Smithsonian, Ms. McGinnis was responsible for taxonomic identification of meiofauna—a group of invertebrates ranging in size from 43 microns to 0.5 millimeters—and classified polychaetes (segmented marine worms) to the species level. She also assumed the role of technical report writer and project coordinator, to include day-to-day supervision of five technicians.

DR. VIVEK NAVALE Supervisory Information Technology Specialist National Archives and Records Administration

Education:
B.S., Physical and Chemical Sciences, Lucknow University, India, 1978
M.S., Earth Sciences, Lucknow University, India, 1980
M.S., Oceanography, Old Dominion University, 1988
Ph.D., Chemistry, The George Washington University, 1998

Background Highlights:
Dr. Vivek Navale is the Technical Chief for the United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Since 2000, he has directed the Preservation and Access of accessioned electronic records holdings at the National Archives. He is the agency’s primary expert on issues pertaining to stability and life expectancy of electronic media, and is responsible for development of higher density magnetic media certifiers and tape-farms for preserving multiple terabytes of e-information transferred to the Archives. In 2005, he was invited by NIST and the Information Storage Industry consortium (INSIC) organizing committee, to lead a group for developing a ten-year roadmap for high-density disc, tape, and optical disks, aimed at metrology requirements for archivability. He also received the US National Archives Archivist Team Award for Outstanding Contributions made towards accomplishing organizational goals of the agency.

From 1990 to 2000, Dr. Navale served as the Principal Scientist for Raytheon Information Technology Company and as the team member for the Cassini Huygens probe Mission (CHM), an international Space mission, to explore Saturn and its moon, Titan. During this period at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), he designed and developed gas chromatographic columns for the CHM gas chromatographic mass spectrometer instrument. For several years, he led an innovative research and development program involving the chemical industry, Ohio State University, and NASA--work that resulted in implementation of new technology for space probe research and experiments. For his contribution to the Space mission, he received the NASA and European Space Agency Outstanding Team Achievement award in 1998.

DR. JANET E. NELSON Health Scientist Administrator Center for Scientific Review National Institutes of Health Department of Health and Human Services

Education:
B.A., Chemistry, Carleton College, 1986
Ph.D., Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, 1991

Background Highlights:
Dr. Janet E. Nelson, a Health Scientist Administrator in the Center for Scientific Review at the National Institutes of Health, is the Scientific Review Administrator for the Macromolecular Structure and Function A Study Section and Deputy Chief of the Biological Chemistry and Macromolecular Biophysics Integrated Review Group. She received her Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and conducted synthetic, structural, and mechanistic studies of metallo complexes as a postdoctoral fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Dr. Nelson was an assistant professor at St. Olaf College and at Middlebury College. Her innovative efforts to incorporate molecular modeling into the chemistry curriculum led her to Wavefunction, in Irvine, California. As its Director of Educational Projects, she developed a workbook and workshop to train students in using state-of-the-art molecular modeling software. Before coming to NIH, Dr. Nelson managed scientific review and administered research grants as a Program Officer for the Petroleum Research Fund at the American Chemical Society.

DR. WEIJIA NI Scientific Review Administrator/Referral Officer Center for Scientific Review National Institutes of Health Department of Health and Human Services

Education:
B.A., English, Heilongjiang University, P.R. China, 1981
M.A., Language Studies, Fudan University, P.R. China, 1984
M.A., Linguistics, University of Connecticut, 1987
Ph.D., Linguistics, University of Connecticut, 1991

Background Highlights:
Dr. Weijia Ni has been the Scientific Review Administrator for the Language and Communication Scientific Review Group at the National Institutes of Health since 2001. He is also a Referral Officer responsible for assigning grant applications for review and funding considerations in the areas of biobehavioral processes, risk prevention and health behavior. Dr. Ni has been very active in using information technology to improve the efficiency of grant review management, winning the Explorer Award in 2006 bestowed by the Director of the Center for Scientific Review.

Prior to joining the federal government, Dr. Ni was a Senior Research Scientist at Yale University School of Medicine and Haskins Laboratories, where he studied speech and reading (dis)ability, using functional neuroimaging, psycho-physiological measurements, and computational modeling. He published findings on distinctive markers of syntactic and semantic processes in eye movement reading behavior, and in brain activation patterns. Dr. Ni completed his post-doctoral training in speech disorder research after receiving his Ph.D. in Linguistics, with a concentration in Psycho- and Neuro-Linguistics. Dr. Ni is an elected member of the Academy of Aphasia. His research demonstrated that patients with severe brain damage could retain or recover remarkable abilities in language and communication, due largely to cerebral plasticity and functional connectivity.

CARL NICHOLAS Senior Technical Advisor Special Activities Group Office of Special Activities Directorate of Science and Technology Central Intelligence Agency

Education:
B.S., Electrical Engineering, 1994

Background Highlights:
Mr. Carl Nicholas is the senior technical advisor and COTR for the Special Activities Group. He participates in and directs the development of technical tools and solutions to challenging problems that face the CIA and the Intelligence Community. He has participated in the development of some of the Intelligence Community’s most advanced tools. His innovative solutions to challenging problems have allowed the CIA to maintain a technological lead.

His duties are to consult on as well as develop solutions utilizing some of the most advanced technological concepts. Mr. Nicholas has received awards for developments that have overcome some of the most difficult and challenging problems that have faced the Intelligence Community. He participates on Red Teams within the Intelligence Community and maintains partnerships with members of the Department of Defense and the National Security Agency (NSA).

DR. PETER J. PERRIN Scientific Review Administrator/Referral Officer Center for Scientific Review National Institutes of Health Department of Health and Human Services

Education:
B.S., Biological Sciences, Union College, 1982
Ph.D., Parasitology, University of Pennsylvania, 1988

Background Highlights:
As a Health Scientist Administrator in the Digestive Sciences Integrated Review Group, Dr. Perrin manages and coordinates the peer review of research grant applications dealing primarily with digestive health and disease. He is responsible for assuring that applications receive fair reviews and that the relevant laws and regulations are appropriately observed. Applications range in topic from basic research to clinical trials. They are for the support of specific research projects, centers that promote an area of research, or training of new scientists. In addition, as a Referral Officer, Dr. Perrin also assigns applications to different components of the Public Health Service for consideration and refers them to appropriate review groups.

Prior to joining the Federal Government, Dr. Perrin conducted biomedical research at the Naval Medical Research Institute and at the University of Pennsylvania. His research was focused on T-cell activation with the goal of developing therapeutic approaches to autoimmune diseases or prevention of transplant rejection.

MARK PINEDA International Health Program Coordinator Division of Intramural Research National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institutes of Health Department of Health and Human Services

Education:
B.A., History, Columbia University, 1989
M.S., Environmental Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, 1999
M.S., Biotechnology, Johns Hopkins University, 2001

Background highlights:
Mr. Mark Pineda is the International Health Program Coordinator for the Intramural Program in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). In this capacity, he is responsible for the administrative, management and policy development activities related to the NIAID Division of Intramural Research International Centers of Excellence in Research Program, which includes collaborative research sites in Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Prior to returning to the NIAID, Mr. Pineda was at the Fogarty International Center, NIH where he served as the Program Officer for Western Europe and South Asia. In this position, he was responsible for fostering bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the biomedical sciences between NIH and countries within those geographic regions.

Mr. Pineda joined the NIH in 1993 as a predoctoral fellow in the Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. He also spent several years as a policy analyst in the NIAID Office of Policy Analysis.

JOSEPH THOMAS Supervisory Patent Examiner Art Unit 3626 Healthcare, Patient Data, and Insurance Systems The United States Patent and Trademark Office Department of Commerce

Education:
B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Maryland, 1992

Background Highlights:
Mr. Thomas is a Supervisory Patent Examiner in Technology Center 3600. He manages the Art Unit that examines and approves patents in the areas of Healthcare, Patient Data, & Insurance Systems. He is currently the Industry Outreach Coordinator and is responsible for establishing and re-affirming customer partnerships with the software, Internet and electronic commerce industry. He further coordinates events to facilitate sharing of information and concerns on business methods patents, such as the annual Business Methods Partnership Meeting. Mr. Thomas is also involved with coordinating external training programs for Business Methods Examiners, such as the annual Technology Forum.

Mr. Thomas began his career at the Patent & Trademark Office in February 1993. He has extensive experience in the examination of patent applications in the areas of computers and data processing, as well as in the area of natural language translation systems and computational linguistics processing. Mr. Thomas was granted Full Signatory Authority in November 1998, wherein he was delegated the authority to make patentability determinations based on his own research. Mr. Thomas was selected as Supervisory Patent Examiner in December 2001 and has been a manager in the Business Methods area for the last 5 years.

NEVILLE A. D. THOMPSON Senior Electronics Engineer Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary (Science, Technology & Engineering) United States Air Force Department of Defense

Education:
B.S., Electrical Engineering, Tuskegee University, 1989
M.S., Electrical Engineering, Tuskegee University, 1996

Background Highlights:
Mr. Neville Thompson is a senior engineer in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Science, Technology & Engineering). He currently serves as the Air Force’s Conventional Munitions Program Element Monitor (PEM). As the PEM, he provides guidance, management, and oversight of approximately $100M research and development (R&D) munitions portfolio. His responsibilities include planning, programming, and budgeting, as well as representing munitions R & D programs to senior Air Force leaders, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the United States Congress.

Mr. Thompson has over 22 years of R&D experience with the Departments of the Navy and the Air Force. For his technical leadership and community outreach activities, Mr. Thompson was awarded Black Engineer of The Year Professional Achievement in Government Award in 2007.

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