John W Lyons

Reflecton on over Fifty Years in Research and Development; Some Lessons Learned John W Lyons

Publisher Marketing: This paper presents some thoughts about research in science and technology (S&T) gleaned from my more than 50 years working in scientific and engineering research -first in the chemical industry, then at two different government laboratories, and later some years in S&T policy. It elaborates on a paper by Richard Chait in which he interviews three former S&T executives in the Department of Defense (DOD) 1 on how to manage a research laboratory. In this paper, I expand on the comments made to Dr. Chait and provide a broad context for my discussion. In addition, this paper connects a number of subjects discussed in several other papers published by the Center for Technology and National Security Policy (C TNSP). My objective is to provide some insights on what it is like to work in a scientific research establishment. My hope is that this will be of some value f or the senior manager who has no laboratory experience but is responsible for overseeing a research department. I also hop e the paper will help new technical personnel just entering the laboratory for the firs t time. For experienced laboratory staff, the paper will contain many familiar ideas and perhaps some that are controversial. Some of the paper deals with the DOD technical programs. Contributor Bio:  Lyons, John W John W. Lyons is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy (CTNSP), National Defense University. He was previously director of the Army Research Laboratory and director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Dr. Lyons received his PhD from Washington University. He holds a BA from Harvard. Richard Chait is a Distinguished Research Fellow at CTNSP. He was previously Chief Scientist, Army Material Command, and Director, Army Research and Laboratory Management. Dr. Chait received his PhD in Solid State Science from Syracuse University and a BS degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. James J. Valdes is a Senior Research Fellow at the National Defense University's Center for Technology and National Security Policy and the Army's Scientific Advisor for Biotechnology. Dr. Valdes received a PhD in neuroscience from Texas Christian University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes. He has published more than 120 papers in scientific journals and was a 2009 Presidential Rank Award winner.