As of 1 October 2016, the North Atlantic Council (NAC) appointed Chief Scientist is Dr. Thomas Killion (USA). In this role, he has three major responsibilities. First, he serves as Chair of the NATO Science and Technology Board (STB). In this role, he serves as the STB's representative to the Secretary General and the NAC and is responsible to the STB for the effective coordination of NATO's Science and Technology (S&T) program. Second, he serves as the senior scientific advisor to NATO leadership, ensuring that appropriate and timely S&T based advice is provided to NATO senior decision makers. Finally, he leads the Office of the Chief Scientist at NATO Headquarters.
Prior to his appointment as Chief Scientist, Dr. Killion was the Director of Technology at the Office of Naval Research within the U.S. Navy, where he was responsible for policy, planning, resourcing and execution management for a substantial portion of the Department of the Navy (DoN) S&T budget, including the Future Naval Capabilities (FNCs), Innovative Naval Prototypes (INPs), DoN Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), and DoN Manufacturing Technology programs.
Before moving to ONR, he served as the Director of the Biometrics Identity Management Agency (BIMA) from 2010 to 2012, executing the Secretary of the Army’s Executive Agent responsibilities for Department of Defense (DoD) Biometrics. He led DoD activities to program, coordinate, integrate and synchronize biometrics technologies and capabilities, and operated and maintained the DoD authoritative biometrics database.
From 2004 to 2010, Dr. Killion served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology [DAS(R&T)]/Chief Scientist. In this position, he was responsible for developing an S&T strategy responsive to Army needs, from the near-term (<5 years) stretching out through the far-term (>20 years). He was also the principal scientific advisor to both the Secretary of the Army and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. In support of major acquisition programs, Dr. Killion was responsible for providing independent assessments on the readiness of critical technologies for weapon systems programs approaching key program decision points, both to Army leadership and to DoD decision makers.
Dr. Killion was selected for Senior Executive Service in 2002, initially serving as the Director for Personnel Technologies in the Office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, and then as the Director of Technology in the Office of the DAS(R&T).
Dr. Killion earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and English from St. Mary’s College, Winona, Minnesota, in 1974. He received his Master of Science degree and PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Oregon in 1977 and 1978, respectively. He was awarded the Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award in 2006 and the Army Exceptional Civilian Service Award in 2010.
