Stephen J Lukasik

Life and career

Lukasik was born on Staten Island, New York, to parents of mixed Polish, German, French, English, and Irish origins. During high school, he gravitated to physics, and after seeing the newspaper reports on August 8, 1945 of the Hiroshima weapon, he became focused on nuclear weapon controls for much of the rest of his life. He went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he received a B.S. in physics 1951, and then the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to graduate five years later with a Ph.D. in physics. His thesis was supervised by William Allis and treated a subatomic phenomenon. While a graduate student at MIT, he worked at nearby BBN Technologies security-related wave phenomenon as an acoustical engineer.

After graduating from MIT, Lukasik joined Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Laboratory as a scientist, refining criticality codes. In 1957, he went to Stevens Institute of Technology Davidson Laboratory, where he established a Fluid Physics Division which pioneered techniques such as explosive compression of magnetic flux to produce megagauss-level magnetic fields, sweeping pressure sensitive naval mines, and examining energy loss mechanisms acting on shallow water waves. He also taught as an Associate Research Professor in physics, and served as Director of the Stevens Computer Center. In 1961, he consulted on a balloon-borne nuclear test detection system at Vitro Corporation.

The nuclear device detection work led in 1966 to Lukasik joining the Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as Director of Nuclear Test Detection and the development of verification techniques to support nuclear test ban negotiations. The Norwegian Large Aperture Seismic Array among others were developed as part of a network for detection of underground nuclear detonations. New work to understand how test ban treaties could be circumvented became important, and was a basis for evaluating new treaty proposals such as the Threshold Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed in July 1974.

Lukasik became DARPA Deputy Director in 1967 and Director in 1971. The period was marked by major new technologies and transferring results of ARPA research into deployed DOD and civilian systems. The new work included ARPANET expansion and Internet protocols. Other important national security technologies were smart weapons, Anti-Submarine Warfare capabilities using long towed acoustic arrays, artificial intelligence, speech understanding, unmanned aerial vehicle, and defense aid for of U.S. allies. In cooperation with the Defense Nuclear Agency, a Long Range Research Planning Program in 1973 that guided the introduction of ARPA research programs for the next thirty years, and included network-centric warfare, stealth technology, precision and autonomous systems, and theater missile defenses. The efforts were facilitated by creating the classified Journal of Defense Research on Tactical Warfare. Research on the adverse climate effects of nuclear explosions earthmoving applications helped to discourage USSR use. Increased use of email for long-distance collaboration was newly introduced.

Lukasik left DARPA for the Xerox Corporation in 1975, organizing its Network Systems Development Division to undertake research moved from Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) to create an architecturally compatible line of electronic office system products for local area networks. These products included new technologies at the time such as Ethernet, the ALTO personal computer, the Smalltalk language, and laser printing. Three years later, he became RAND Corporation Vice President for National Security Programs and Chief Scientist. He also taught Technology and Public Policy in the RAND Graduate Institute and helped create the Information Society Journal.

The Federal Communications Commission new Chairman, Charlie Ferris, brought in Lukasik to become its first Chief Scientist in 1979 and restructure its technical resources to form the Office of Science and Technology. While at the FCC, he facilitated the authorization of first direct broadcast satellites and also in the initiation of the Docket 81-413 rulemaking that would ultimately lead to the 1985 adoptions of unlicensed ISM band rules that are the foundation of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and many other products. He also introduced strategic technology planning into the FCC. The work also included examining the potential health effects of electromagnetic radiation from communication systems.

During Lukasik's years of public service as DARPA Director and as FCC Chief Scientist, he appeared more than two dozen times before Congressional National Security and Scientific Committees. The testimony included a broad array of topics including the funding and programs of the agency activities under his responsibility, as well as treatment of specialized topics such as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and new telecommunication technologies.

In 1982, Lukasik returned to the West Coast to become a Northrop VP and Director of the Northrop Research and Technology Center. Significant new national security technologies were developed at the Center that included MEMS acceleration sensors and ring laser gyroscopes for smart weapons, incorporation of advanced information technology into high performance fighter aircraft, and stealth technology for the B–2 bomber. An Air Force Systems Command initiative on complex software systems managed using systematic software engineering processes was also implemented. In 1990, became TRW's Vice President of Technology for the Space and Defense Sector - which undertook defense conversion efforts following collapse of the USSR.

In 1992, Lukasik became Assistant to Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) CEO (Bob) Beyster – to help with many of the company’s important civilian and defense initiatives that included Transportation Sector work on Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems, transfer of DoD modeling and simulation technology to the entertainment industry, third world nuclear deterrence strategy, and pursuing ways to interdict weapons of mass destruction carried in commercial transportation channels. Following the 2001 attacks, Lukasik worked with the SAIC subsidiary Hicks & Associates on terrorism information awareness and as leader of red teams to establish responses to potential terrorist attacks and public spokesperson.

During the past decade, Lukasik became a Distinguished Senior Research Fellow at Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and its treatment of infrastructure protection, as well as cyberconflict and cyberdeterrence. He has continued to lead efforts to capture the history of the national security science sector. As recently noted by the Charles Babbage Institute, Lukasik's "career – begun in 1952 and continuing to this day – represents incredible contributions to the multifaceted field of national security." Throughout his career, he advocated a focus on the grand challenges being faced by the agency or company.

Appointments to Federal and academic committees; honorary degrees

Lukasik held positions on numerous Federal and academic committees shaping national security technology policies and R&D.

Federal national security and scientific committees

Academic institution appointments and degrees

Patents Awarded

Articles, presentations, and papers

During Lukasik's more than sixty years activity in diverse positions, he authored hundreds of articles, presentations, books and papers. Some of the more significant ones over the past 25 years are included below.