An official website of the United States Government 
Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov

.gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Biographies

Search
Search
Advanced

Stephen P. Welby

Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering

 
Mr. Stephen P. Welby was confirmed as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E)) on December 14, 2015, and serves as the Chief Technology Officer for the Department of Defense (DoD) and the principal advisor to the Secretary on all matters relating to science, technology, research and engineering. As ASD(R&E), Mr. Welby is responsible for the Department’s strategies and supporting plans to develop and leverage the technologies needed to ensure continued U.S. technological superiority. He provides leadership to, and establishes policy and guidance for, the development and execution of the DoD Research and Engineering program. He oversees matters from basic science and capability prototyping to research and engineering at the Department’s laboratories, promotes coordination and cooperation across the DoD and between the DoD and other federal and non-federal agencies and organizations, and ensures technical exchange with allied and friendly nations.

Mr. Welby had previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Systems Engineering, and was responsible for establishing and executing engineering policy and oversight across the Department. His responsibilities included engineering design, development and manufacturing of complex military systems, and the engineering review, analysis and technical risk assessment of the Department’s portfolio of major acquisition programs. He provided functional leadership to more than 40,000 technical professionals in the DoD Engineering and Production, and Quality and Manufacturing workforce. Mr. Welby also served as the Defense Standardization Executive, directing the DoD program to develop and maintain defense-critical government and commercial technical standards.

Mr. Welby has more than 28 years of government and industrial experience in technology and product development, including senior leadership positions at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). His experience includes development of leading-edge aeronautical and space systems, robotics, advanced weapons, high-performance software, and military sensor systems.

Mr. Welby holds a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a master’s degree in business administration from the Texas A&M University, and master’s degrees in computer science and applied mathematics from The Johns Hopkins University.