Dr. Charles E. McQueary was sworn in as Director of Operational Test and Evaluation on July 27, 2006. A Presidential appointee confirmed by the United States Senate, he serves as the senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense on testing of Department of Defense weapon systems, prescribing policies and procedures for the conduct of operational and live fire test and evaluation.

Prior to his current appointment, Dr. McQueary was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in March of 2003 as the first Under Secretary for Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security. In this position, he led the research and development arm of the Department, utilizing our nation’s scientific and technological resources to provide federal, state and local officials with the technology and capabilities to protect the homeland.

Dr. McQueary is a former President of General Dynamics Advanced Technology Systems, in Greensboro, N.C. He has also been President and Vice President of business units for AT&T, Lucent Technologies, and a Director for AT&T Bell Laboratories.

Early in his career at Bell Laboratories, Dr. McQueary served as head of the Missile Operations Department for the SAFEGUARD Antiballistic Missile Test Program, based at Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands. He later headed Bell Laboratories' Field Operations Department in Great Britain in support of a Navy oceanographic research station. He also served as the Director of Undersea Systems Development Lab.

Dr. McQueary is a former executive board member of the National Security Industrial Association and the American Defense Preparedness Association (ADPA) (combined to form the National Defense Industrial Association). He is a past chairman of the Undersea Warfare Systems Division of ADPA, and a former member of the Navy League Industrial Executive Board, the Navy Submarine League, the Electronics Industries Association, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also the recipient of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Homeland Security Leadership Award.

A native of Texas, Dr. McQueary is a graduate of The University of Texas, Austin where he earned a B.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering; M.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering; and a Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics as a NASA Scholar (M.S. and Ph.D.) and member of five Academic Honor Societies. The University of Texas has named Dr. McQueary a Distinguished Engineering Graduate.