Vincent J. Russo, is a retired member of the Senior Executive Service, and was the Executive Director, Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC), Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.  Dr. Russo was the senior civilian responsible to the Commander of the Air Force’s center of excellence for development and acquisition of systems. At the time of his retirement, the Center was responsible for the management of 47 major programs, executed an annual budget of $18 billion and employed a work force of approximately 12,000 people located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and 37 units worldwide.  The Center also provided operational support for approximately 22,000 people, including personnel from more than 125 operational units collocated on the Base.

Dr. Russo entered federal service in 1962 when he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Rochester.  He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1962 to 1968 as a student at the Air Force Institute of Technology and a project engineer and project manager in the C-5A Galaxy System Program Office.  Dr. Russo held a variety of senior technical positions within system program offices, various laboratories, and laboratory staffs. He led the team that created the Air Force Research Laboratory.  He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 1986 and he retired in 2003.

EDUCATION:

1962     Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.

1964     Master's degree in materials engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH.

1974     PhD in metallurgical engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

1987     Executive Training Program, Federal Executive Institute, Charlottesville, VA.

1988     Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

CAREER CHRONOLOGY:

1.   1962 – 1964, student, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

2.   1964-1968, project engineer and project manager, C-5A Galaxy Systems Program Office, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio

3.   1968 - 1971, project manager, C-5A materials engineering support and corrosion control, C-5A System Program Office, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

4.   1971 - 1973, deputy program manager, Advanced Metallic Structures Advanced Development Program, Flight Dynamics Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

5.   1973 - 1977, chief, Metals Behavior Branch, Materials Laboratory, WPAFB, Ohio.

6.   1977 - 1982, assistant chief, Manufacturing Technology Division, Materials Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

7.   1982 - 1983, chief, Metals and Ceramics Division, Materials Laboratory, WPAFB, Ohio.

8.   1983 - 1985, manufacturing science program manager, Materials Laboratory, Office of the Chief Scientist, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

9.   1986 - 1987, acting deputy director, Propulsion Laboratory, Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

10. 1987 - 1988, director, Manufacturing Technology Division, Materials Laboratory, WPAFB, Ohio.

11. 1988 - 1990, director, Materials Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

12. 1990 - 1991, acting deputy director, Wright Laboratory, WPAFB, Ohio.

13. 1991 - 1996, director, Materials Directorate, Wright Laboratory, WPAFB, Ohio.

14. 1996 -1997, deputy director, Wright Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

15. 1997 - 1998, director, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

16. 1998 - 2003, executive director, Aeronautical Systems Center, WPAFB, Ohio.

17.  2004 - vice chairman of the Transformation Opportunities Study for the Air Force Research Laboratory, an activity that helped shape the future for science and technology in the Air Force.

18.  2004 - 2015, executive advisor, Office of the President, University of Dayton.

19.  2005 - present, president and CEO, Growing Splendid Leaders, LLC.

20.  2008 - present, president and CEO, Aerospace Technologies Associates, LLC.

21.  2009 - present, member of the Ohio Educational Outreach Foundation Board of Trustees.

22.  2010 - present, president, chairman, and co-founder, Air Camp, Inc.

23.  2011 - 2015, member of The National Academies’ National Materials and Manufacturing Board.

24.  2013 - present, member of the Board of Trustees for the Engineering and Science Foundation of Dayton.

25.  2013 - present, member of the Board of Trustees for the Engineers Club of Dayton Foundation.

26.  2015 - present, member of the Ohio Aerospace and Aviation Technology Committee of the State of Ohio General Assembly; Chairman of the Workforce Subcommittee.

27.  2015 - present, member of the Board of Trustees for the Dayton Early College Academy

28.  2015 - present, member of committee to establish a Fisher-Nightingale House at the Dayton Veterans Administration Facility.