National Defense University Appoints Two New Chairs

October 19, 2001--The President of the National Defense University, Vice Admiral Paul Gaffney today announced the appointment of two senior Chairs at the National Defense University. The two Chairs shall guide the work of the newly created Center for Technology and National Security Policy. The Theodore Roosevelt Chair will focus on national security policy studies and the Thomas A. Edison Chair will focus on science and technology studies. The two Chairs will collaborate to create new perspective on technology and national security policy and to introduce those perspectives into the University curriculum and the Defense Department's deliberations.

Dr. Hans Binnendijk has been appointed to the Theodore Roosevelt Chair for national security studies. Dr. Binnendijk will also direct the Center. He previously served on the National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Defense Policy and Arms Control (1999-2001). Prior to that assignment, he was Director of the National Defense University's Institute for National Strategic Studies (1994-1999). He has also served as Deputy Director of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff and Legislative Director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Dr. Timothy Coffey has been appointed to the Thomas A. Edison Chair for science and technology studies effective January 15, 2002. Dr. Coffey is currently Senior Research Scientist at the University of Maryland and served from 1982- to 2001 as Director of Research at the Naval Research Laboratory (the Navy's corporate laboratory).

The Center for Technology and National Security Studies was created in June 2001. It is currently conducting studies on several topics such as transformation in the military, the relevance of the defense labs, using social science technology to predict and manage conflict, and expediting the introduction of new technologies to our armed forces.