The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) has appointed Dr. Peter Pappas, vice president and senior scientist of Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), to the advisory council of the university’s Cecil and Ida Green Center for the Study of Science and Society. Pappas also was named an adjunct professor of physics at UT Dallas.
As a member of the advisory council, Pappas will advise the UT Dallas administration on the broad trends of national/international issues at the intersection of science, technology and social policy that are pertinent to the global mission of the Green Center and on the implications of these trends for prospective center programs.
Dr. Pappas received his doctorate degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980 and joined SAIC in May 1993 after spending more than 15 years conducting and managing research in the federal government, industry and academia. His professional career has included such diverse fields as spectroscopy and ballistic missile defense technologies. His work in the latter area included a system requirements review of the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system and a study of U.S. defenses against cruise missile attacks in the post-cold war environment. He has also participated in several studies for the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command including an evaluation of the Navy Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) and mission analysis of Kwajalein Missile Range.
Dr. Pappas became the chief scientist of the Strategic Defense Command in 1987, which later was merged with the Army Space Command to become the Space and Strategic Defense Command. For more than five years, he provided scientific guidance and leadership and technical review of the Army’s diverse missile defense program. A major achievement during his tenure was the successful demonstration of “real-time” stereo processing of early warning satellite data to detect tactical ballistic missile launches. The project’s success has resulted in a joint Army and Navy acquisition program to field tactically deployable units and an Air Force program to produce a Continental U.S.-based central processor. Dr. Pappas represented the command and the Army on numerous boards and committees including several Defense and Army Science Boards.
“I am very excited about the appointment of Dr. Pappas,” said. UT Dallas Executive Vice President and Provost Hobson Wildenthal “His extensive experiences in science, in the corporate world and on defense technologies and issues will be of great benefit to our university and the Green Center.”
With the addition of Pappas, the advisory council has 11 members: Dr. K. Anthony Appiah, Department of Afro-American Studies, Harvard University; Dr. J. Cigarroa; Regina Montoya Coggins; Dr. John Diggens, Green College Advisory Board, University of British Columbia; George Ellis; Dr. Richardson Ericson, Chair of the Green College Advisory Board, the University of British Columbia; Sir John Hanson, Warden, Green College; Dr. John Meyer, Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University; Dr. Hardy Murphy, Superintendent, Evanston-Skokie, District 65, and David Johnson.
About UT Dallas
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls approximately 6,500 undergraduate and 4,500 graduate students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UT Dallas, please visit the university’s web site at www.utdallas.edu.