Name Paul Kaminski | ||
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Paul G. Kaminski (born September 16, 1942) is a technologist and former U.S. government official, best known for his leading role in the development of stealth aircraft.
Contents
- Early life
- Military and government career
- Later career
- Service to Profession and Society
- Honors and awards
- References
Early life
Kaminski was born in Cleveland, OH. He received his B.S. degree from the Air Force Academy in 1964. Later, he earned MS degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics and in Electrical Engineering from MIT, and, in 1971, a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University.
Military and government career
Kaminski served 20 years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force, mostly within Air Force Systems Command, rising to the rank of full colonel. Among other Air Force assignments, Kaminski was responsible for test and evaluation of inertial guidance components for the LGM-30 Minuteman missile and terminal guidance systems for the first U.S. precision-guided munitions.
In 1971 Kaminski was assigned to the National Reconnaissance Office and based in Los Angeles. There he led work on a space system and related "unconventional imaging" technology, including the flying of prototypes on low and high altitude aircraft. This assignment, possibly related to the Lacrosse radar satellite, continued until 1976
In 1976-77, Kaminski attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. During that time he met Under Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, and became Perry's Special Assistant in 1977. One of his assignments was to assess early work on stealth technology. Kaminski recommended going ahead with the creation of a large program that included, already by 1978, the experimental Have Blue airplane.
When Perry left government in 1981, Kaminski became Director for Low Observables Technology, with responsibility for overseeing the development, production and fielding of major stealth aircraft systems such as the F-117 (already well underway at the time) and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit (which was just being defined), along with an advanced, stealthy cruise missile and other programs. Kaminski held this position from 1981 to 1984.
Kaminski left the Air Force after 20 years service in 1984. After a decade in the private sector, he returned to government in 1994 as Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Technology) from 1994 to 1997, under by-then Secretary of Defense William J. Perry. In this role, he was responsible for activities with an aggregate annual budget exceeding $100 billion. He is credited with starting the "Revolution in Business Affairs", a Pentagon acquisition reform initiative that was continued by his successor Jacques Gansler.
Later career
In his first period away from government work (1984-1994), Kaminski joined Perry in Technology Strategies and Alliances, an investment banking and technology strategy business, of which Kaminski eventually became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Then and subsequently, he has served as a consultant and advisor to a wide variety of government agencies and as chairman, director or trustee of several defense and technology oriented companies.
Kaminski has been a member of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, Chairman of the Defense Science Board, and has served as a member of the DNI's Senior Advisory Group, FBI Director's Advisory Board, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Technical Advisory Board, the National Academies Air Force Studies Board, and the Atlantic Council. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics.
He has been the Chief Executive Officer and President of Technovation Inc. since 1997.
Kaminski has authored publications dealing with inertial and terminal guidance system performance, simulation techniques, Kalman filtering and numerical techniques applied to estimation problems.