Colonel Michelle Ewy is the Deputy Director and Detachment 14 Commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)/Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Arlington, VA. In this role she helps lead the management of the United States Air Force’s global basic research investment. AFOSR has a staff of 200 scientists, engineers and administrators in Arlington, Virginia and foreign technology offices in London, Tokyo and Santiago, Chile. Col Ewy ensures the success of a $500 million/year basic research investment portfolio and the transition of resulting discoveries to other components of the Air Force Research Laboratory, to defense industries and to other federal agencies. The office's annual investment in basic research is distributed among roughly 200 leading academic institutions worldwide, 100 industry-based contracts, and more than 250 internal AFRL research efforts.
Colonel Ewy received her commission through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps in August 1995. After her initial assignment as an Air Force chemist at the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence, she was selected to attend the Air Force Institute of Technology Civilian Institution program and earned her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her follow-on assignment at the AFRL involved investigating microbial contamination of aviation fuel. Col Ewy was then assigned as an instructor at the Air Force Academy in the chemistry department, followed by an Intermediate Developmental Education (IDE) tour at Argonne
National Laboratory as an Air Force National Technical Laboratory Fellow. Concurrent with her tours at AFRL and the Air Force Academy, Col Ewy also served two 120-day rotations as the Lab Chief of the deployed Aerospace Fuels Laboratory, Al Udeid AB in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. After IDE, she transitioned to the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and supported the Air Force basic research program, first as a Program Manager and then as a Program Element Monitor at the Pentagon. From the National Capital Region, she moved to Lackland AFB, San Antonio, TX, and took command of the Headquarters Air Force Drug Testing Laboratory. Col Ewy was then assigned as the Director of the Department of Research and Publications at the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). Following her position at ACSC, she was a Senior Developmental Education student assigned to the Air War College, Air University, Maxwell AFB, AL. Prior to her current assignment, Colonel Ewy was the Military Assistant to the Chief Scientist of the Air Force, Washington, D.C. She is married to Colonel Todd Ewy, PhD, USAF.
EDUCATION
1995 Bachelor of Arts, Chemistry, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
2002 Doctor of Philosophy, Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
2003 Squadron Officer School, Residence
2006 Air Command and Staff College (IDE), Seminar
2008 Air Force National Laboratory Technical Fellowship (IDE), Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois
2016 Master’s Degree, Strategic Studies, Air War College (SDE), Maxwell AFB, Alabama
ASSIGNMENTS
1. August 1995 - August 1997, Environmental Chemistry Consultant, AF Center for Environmental Excellence, Brooks AFB, Texas
2. August 1997 - August 2001, Graduate Student, Chemistry Department, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
3. August 2001 - June 2004, Senior Fuels Chemist, Air Force Research Laboratory, Propulsion Directorate, Turbine Division, Fuels Branch, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
4. November 2003 - March 2004 (concurrent with above), Laboratory Chief, Aerospace Fuels Laboratory, Deployed Location, Middle East
5. June 2004 - July 2007, Assistant Professor, Chemistry Department, US Air Force Academy, Colo.
6. May 2005 - July 2007, Deputy of Operations, Chemistry Department, US Air Force Academy, Colo.
7. May 2006 - September 2006 (concurrent with above), Laboratory Chief, Aerospace Fuels Laboratory, Deployed Location, Middle East
8. July 2007 - June 2008, National Technical Laboratory Air Force Fellow, Argonne National Laboratory, Ill.
9. June 2008 - April 2010, Program Manager, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Arlington, Va.
10. April 2010 - July 2011, Basic Research, Program Element Monitor, Science and Technology Division, Deputy Assistant Secretary (Science, Technology and Engineering), Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
11. July 2011 - June 2013, Commander, HQ Air Force Drug Testing Laboratory, Lackland AFB, Texas
12. June 2013 - July 2015, Director, Department of Research and Publication, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Ala.
13. July 2015 - June 2016, Senior Developmental Education student, Air War College, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Ala.
14. June 2016 - June 2019, Military Assistant to the Chief Scientist of the Air Force, Headquarters Air Force, Washington, D.C.
15. June 2019 - April 2020, Acting Director and Detachment 14 Commander, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Arlington, Va.
16. April 2020 - present, Deputy Director and Detachment 14 Commander, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Arlington, Va.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
2004 Air Force Research Laboratory Commander’s Cup Individual Award
Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant - 27 August 1995
First Lieutenant - 27 August 1997
Captain - 27 August 1999
Major - 1 January 2006
Lieutenant Colonel - 1 November 2010
Colonel - 1 February 2017
(Current as of Feb 2021)