Paul G. Kaminski

Last updated
Paul G. Kaminski
Paul G Kaminski from National Medal of Technology winners.jpg
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology
In office
October 3, 1994 May 16, 1997 [1]
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/service United States Air Force
Years of service1964–1984
Rank Colonel
Awards

Paul Garrett Kaminski [2] (born September 16, 1942) [3] is a technologist and former U.S. government official, best known for his leading role in the development of stealth aircraft.

Contents

Early life

Kaminski was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1942 and graduated from John Marshall High School in 1960. He received his B.S. degree in Engineering Science from the Air Force Academy in 1964. Kaminski earned M.S. degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics and in Electrical Engineering from MIT in 1966 and a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University in 1971. [3] His doctoral thesis was entitled Square Root Filtering and Smoothing for Discrete Processes. [2]

Military and government career

Kaminski served 20 years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force, mostly within Air Force Systems Command, rising to the rank of full colonel. Among other Air Force assignments, Kaminski was responsible for test and evaluation of inertial guidance components for the LGM-30 Minuteman missile and terminal guidance systems for the first U.S. precision-guided munitions. [4]

In 1971 Kaminski was assigned to the National Reconnaissance Office and based in Los Angeles. [5] There he led work on a space system and related "unconventional imaging" technology, including the flying of prototypes on low and high altitude aircraft. This assignment, possibly related to the Lacrosse radar satellite, continued until 1976 [4] [5]

In 1976–77, Kaminski attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. During that time he met Under Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, and became Perry's Special Assistant in 1977. One of his assignments was to assess early work on stealth technology. Kaminski recommended going ahead with the creation of a large program that included, already by 1978, the experimental Have Blue airplane. [1] [5] [6]

When Perry left government in 1981, Kaminski became Director for Low Observables Technology, with responsibility for overseeing the development, production and fielding of major stealth aircraft systems such as the F-117 (already well underway at the time) and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit (which was just being defined), along with an advanced, stealthy cruise missile and other programs. [5] Kaminski held this position from 1981 to 1984. [4]

Kaminski left the Air Force after 20 years service in 1984. After a decade in the private sector, he returned to government in 1994 as Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Technology) from 1994 to 1997, under by-then Secretary of Defense William J. Perry. In this role, he was responsible for activities with an aggregate annual budget exceeding $100 billion. He is credited with starting the "Revolution in Business Affairs", a Pentagon acquisition reform initiative that was continued by his successor Jacques Gansler. [7]

Later career

Paul G. Kaminski receiving the 2006 National Medal of Technology from President George W. Bush KaminskiNatMedTechnology2006.jpg
Paul G. Kaminski receiving the 2006 National Medal of Technology from President George W. Bush

In his first period away from government work (1984–1994), Kaminski joined Perry in Technology Strategies and Alliances, an investment banking and technology strategy business, of which Kaminski eventually became chairman and chief executive officer. [5] Then and subsequently, he has served as a consultant and advisor to a wide variety of government agencies and as chairman, director or trustee of several defense and technology oriented companies. [4] [8]

In 1994, Kaminski was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering for leadership and technical contributions to stealth technology and military systems. He is also a Fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics. [4] [8] Kaminski has been a member of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, Chairman of the Defense Science Board, and has served as a member of the DNI's Senior Advisory Group, FBI Director's Advisory Board, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Technical Advisory Board, the National Academies Air Force Studies Board, and the Atlantic Council.

He has been the chief executive officer and president of Technovation Inc. since 1997. [9]

Kaminski has authored publications dealing with inertial and terminal guidance system performance, simulation techniques, Kalman filtering and numerical techniques applied to estimation problems. [4]

Service to Profession and Society

Honors and awards

Paul Kaminski receives enshrinement into the National Aviation Hall of Fame Paul G. Kaminski receives enshrinement into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.jpg
Paul Kaminski receives enshrinement into the National Aviation Hall of Fame
Paul Kaminski delivering remarks at the 2022 National Aviation Hall_ of Fame Paul G. Kaminski delivering remarks at the 2022 National Aviation Hall of Fame.png
Paul Kaminski delivering remarks at the 2022 National Aviation Hall_ of Fame
Paul Kaminski in front of the F-117A Stealth Fighter Paul G. Kaminski in front of the F-117A Stealth Fighter.jpg
Paul Kaminski in front of the F-117A Stealth Fighter

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References

  1. 1 2 "Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Technology)". Department of Defense Key Officials September 1997–March 2022 (PDF). March 10, 2022. p. 32. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  2. 1 2 Kaminski, Paul Garrett (August 1971). "Square Root Filtering and Smoothing for Discrete Processes" (PDF). Stanford University. Retrieved 2021-10-16.
  3. 1 2 3 "Nominations Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Second Session, 103d Congress: Hearings Before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate". Vol. 103, no. 873. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1994. pp. 1062–1065. ISBN   978-0-16-046386-0.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 U.S. Missile Defense Agency, "Dr. Paul G. Kaminski Former Under Secretary of Defense 2011 Ronald Reagan Award Winner" (2011)
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Stanford University School of Engineering, "Alumni Profile: Paul Kaminski (PhD 1971 AA)" Archived October 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. David C. Aronstein and Albert C. Piccirillo, Have Blue and the F-117A: evolution of the "Stealth Fighter" (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1997).
  7. "Gansler Names Study Group to Lay Groundwork for Conversion to Price-Based Approach to Acquisition" Federal Contracts Report, vol. 70, p. 491 (1998).
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  9. "Bloomberg BusinessWeek"
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PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency .