AFRL scientist receives 2007-2008 Outstanding Engineers and Scientists Award Published May 29, 2008 By Mindy Cooper AFRL, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- A scientist with the Air Force Research Laboratory Materials and Manufacturing Directorate here has received the 2007-2008 Outstanding Engineers and Scientists Award in the Technical Leadership category from the 15,000-member Affiliate Societies Council of Dayton, Ohio. Ms. Laura Rea, is the directorate's Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Materials Portfolio Manager. Ms. Rea was selected for this award for her exceptional technical leadership in the development of electronic, optical and photonic materials. Throughout her career, she has served in many technical leadership positions including Section Chief for two different research and development groups, Chief of the Electronic and Optical Materials Branch, Survivability and Sensor Materials Division, Branch Technical Advisor, and her current position as the C4ISR Materials Portfolio Manager. She is currently responsible for guiding an annual investment portfolio of over $50 million, while having helped guide the investment of over $500 million in the last twenty years. She was also selected to serve as a military technologist in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Director of Defense Research and Engineering. Her efforts, taken in total, have ensured the development and transition of critical materials technologies for use in Department of Defense radar, communications, electronic warfare and sensor systems, said Mr. Tim Schumacher, chief of the Survivability & Sensor Materials Division. She led and advocated two consecutive programs with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, resulting in over $200 million of high-risk research and development funding in the field of wide bandgap semiconductors, to accelerate research into these promising, high performance materials. In all of these programs, Ms. Rea's keen insights enabled the development of smaller, cheaper, faster and more powerful semiconductor materials enabling the transmit/receive modules for high frequency radar systems. She has been recognized by all three military branches, as well as the Missile Defense Agency, for her ability to effectively resolve materials deficiencies, while building a strong industrial base. "Throughout her career Ms. Rea has utilized her leadership abilities to prove that she is not only effective in the DOD requirements and customer community, but she is also recognized in the international, academic, and research communities," Mr. Schumacher said. She continues to serve as a reviewer and editor on various publications and is currently serving as Chairman of the six-member The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) Journal of Electronic Materials Editorial Oversight Committee. In September 2005, Ms. Rea served as General Chairman for the International Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials. She continues to serve as a member of the International Steering Committee for this conference. Past technical leadership activities include organizational and leadership roles in the IEEE/TMS Electronic Materials Committee, IEEE International Electron Device Meeting, the Workshop on Compound Semiconductor Materials and Microwave Devices, and the IEEE High Speed Electronics Conference. Ms. Rea also served as a member of the IEEE Women in Engineering Committee for three years. The award was presented in March at the Affiliate Societies Council Awards Banquet in the Ballroom of the Kennedy Union at the University of Dayton.