Alton D. Romig, Jr. is the Executive Officer of the National Academy of Engineering. Under Congressional charter, the Academy provides advice to the federal government, when requested, on matters of engineering and technology. As Executive Officer, Dr. Romig is the Chief Operating Officer responsible for the program, financial and membership operations of the Academy, reporting to the President. Prior to joining the Academy, he served as Vice President and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Advanced Development Programs, better known as the Skunk Works ®, the pre-eminent seat of aerospace innovation for more than 70 years. In this role, he led the research and advanced development activities and set the strategic direction for current and future programs for the Aeronautics Business Area.
Dr. Romig spent more than 30 years with Sandia National Laboratories, operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, prior to joining Advanced Development Programs. His senior leadership responsibilities there included development and engineering activities providing science, technology and systems expertise in support of U.S. programs in: military technology; nuclear deterrence and proliferation prevention; technology assessments; intelligence and counterintelligence; homeland security; and energy programs. As Member of the Technical Staff he is one of the few engineers to have worked on every nuclear weapons system currently in the US stockpile. During his time with Sandia he held a variety of management assignments including Director of the Materials Science and Engineering Center and later the Director of the Center for Microelectronics and Microsystems. In the later role he was responsible for creating the laboratories and NNSA’s intelligent, integrated microsystems program and he played a major role in the establishment of Sandia’s MESA facility. Dr Romig then served as Chief Technology Officer and Vice President for Science, Technology, and Partnerships. In that role, he was Chief Scientific Officer for the Nuclear Weapons Program. He was also accountable for Sandia’s interactions with industry and academia and was responsible for the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program. Later he was the Vice President for Intelligence and Nonproliferation Programs and was the Director of Sandia‘s Field Intelligence Element. Upon promotion to Executive Vice President he led all of Sandia’s nonnuclear weapon activities in the Integrated Technology Systems Business Unit. Most recently, he served as the Executive Vice President, Deputy Laboratories Director, and Chief Operating Officer responsible for all aspects of Laboratory business including the science and technology base supporting all Laboratory programs before he transferred to the Skunk Works. While at Sandia, he also served as a member of Board of the Atomic Weapons Establishment in the UK.
Dr. Romig serves or has served on a number of Advisory Committees including those at Univ of Washington, MIT, Ohio State, Purdue, Georgia Tech, the Colorado School of Mines and Sandia National Laboratories. He is also visiting Associate of Applied Physics and Materials Science at Cal Tech. Dr. Romig is a member of the Board of Directors of Football Research, Inc., a non-profit entity created and supported by the National Football League to review engineering technology to improve the safety of the sport.
Dr. Romig graduated from Lehigh University in 1975 with a BS in Materials Science and Engineering. He received his MS and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Lehigh University in 1977 and 1979, respectively. Dr. Romig is a Fellow TMS, IEEE, AIAA and AAAS. He is also a Fellow and Honorary Member of ASM International. Dr. Romig was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2003 and the Council of Foreign Relations in 2008. He was awarded the ASM Silver Medal for Materials Research in 1988.
