UM's Gansler Appointed to Pentagon Panel on 21st Century Technology

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Jacques S. Gansler, a professor at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy and former high-level Pentagon official, has been appointed to serve on a key Department of Defense (DoD) advisory board focusing on research and development strategies for the 21st century.

As a member of the Defense Science Board, Gansler will provide independent advice on acquisition, scientific, technological and manufacturing issues.

"DoD has recognized the need to transform our armed forces to meet the emerging challenges of this century, and that shifts the balance in acquisition priorities," says Maryland's Gansler, who served as undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics from 1997 to 2001.

"Our military now needs to be nimble enough to meet a wider range of missions, such as fighting irregular forces in urban canyons, countering cyberwarfare, mastering foreign languages and cultures and using unmanned systems," he adds.

The Defense Science Board is made up of former top civilian and military DoD officials and industry leaders. New Board members will serve a three year term (2010 - 2012).

Recently, Gansler was tapped to lead a new Defense Science Board assessment into the military's use of private sector support services, a Congressionally-mandated study.

At the University of Maryland, Gansler holds the Roger C. Lipitz chair in Public Policy and Private Enterprise in the School of Public Policy, which is the only policy school in the Washington, D.C. area embedded in a major research university, and the only one to combine domestic and international policy study under one roof.

Also, Gansler directs the School's Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise, which conducts research and develops best practices to strengthen connections among government, business, academic, and nonprofit sectors.

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