Countless GW Engineering alumni have risen to prominent leadership positions in government and industry, such as double alumnus Chris Scolese, M.S. ‘82, Ph.D. ‘16, who serves as Director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). At the 2024 Global Aerospace Summit hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Scolese discussed the NRO’s recent work in a fireside chat. Below is a summary of Scolese’s comments from the summit.
In the article “Innovative Outreach to Business Community Key to Expanding U.S. Intelligence Advantage,” the NRO outlined Scolese’s explanation of how furthering this advantage depends on innovation and the steps the office is taking to accomplish this.
Here is an excerpt from the article: “We look for different types of contracting mechanisms so we can work not only with the traditional contractors who understand our business very well, but also with new entrants,” Dr. Scolese said. “We provide opportunities including SCIF space for smaller companies and then put in training programs to help companies work in a classified environment.”
Read the full article on the NRO website.
In the article “Intel Agency’s Director Discusses Organization’s Post-Declassification Era,” the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) summarized Scolese’s discussion of the NRO’s mission and recent work for those unfamiliar with the NRO due to it being kept secret until 1992.
Here is an excerpt from the article: “During the brief chat, Scolese discussed the NRO’s mission, explaining how the organization partners with the U.S. intelligence community, DOD and international partners to acquire satellite intelligence that is then distributed to several different organizations.”
Read the full article on the DOD website.
In the article “NRO’s Chris Scolese Discusses Efforts to Bolster Contracting Opportunities,” ExecutiveGov detailed Scolese’s comments on the NRO’s efforts to expand contracting opportunities, such as through industry partnerships.
Here is an excerpt from the article: “The NRO director noted that through such partnerships, his agency has been provided with what he described as “essentially commodity spacecraft,” which, when fitted with sensors, can then support the effort to establish a proliferated architecture of satellites, of which a new batch was recently launched into orbit.”
Read the full article on ExecutiveGov.