John S. Foster, Jr. Chairman of the Board of GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems

Dr. John S. Foster, Jr. is Chairman of the Board of GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, member of the board of Wackenhut Services, Inc., and consultant to Northrop Grumman Corp., Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Titan Corp., Ninesigma, Technology Strategies & Alliances and Defense Group Inc. He retired from TRW as Vice President, Science & Technology, in 1988 and continued to serve on the Board of Directors of TRW from 1988 to 1994.

He received his bachelor’s of science degree from McGill University, Montreal, in 1948. He received his doctorate in physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1952.

Dr. Foster began his career at the Radio Research Laboratory of Harvard University in 1942. He spent 1943 and 1944 as an advisor to the 15th Air Force on radar and radar countermeasures in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, and the summers of 1946 and 1947 with the National Research Council of Chalk River, Ontario.

In 1952, Dr. Foster became a division leader in experimental physics at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He was promoted to Associate Director in 1958, and Director of the Livermore Laboratory and Associate Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 1961.

Dr. Foster served on the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board until 1956. He then served on the Army Scientific Advisory Panel until 1958 and was a member of the Ballistic Missile Defense Advisory Committee, Advanced Research Projects Agency in 1965. Until 1965, he was a panel consultant to the President’s Science Advisory Committee. From 1973 until 1990, he was a member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. He is a Senior Fellow member of the Defense Science Board and served as Chairman of the DSB from January 1990 to June 1993.

Dr. Foster was Director of Defense Research and Engineering for the Department of Defense, serving for eight years (1965 – 1973) under both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Among his numerous honors are the Department of Defense Eugene Fubini Award (1998), the Founders Award from the National Academy of Engineering (1989) and the 1992 Enrico Fermi Award. In 1979 he received an honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Missouri. Other awards include: The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Memorial Award of the Atomic Energy Commission (1960), the Defense Department’s Distinguished Public Service Medals (1969, 1973, 1993), election of the National Academy of Engineering (1969), the James Forrestal Memorial Award (1969), the HH Arnold Trophy (1971), the Crowell Medal (1972), the WEMA Award (1973) and the Knight Commander’s Cross (Badge and Star) of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1974). Dr. Foster is a commander, Legion of Honor, Republic of France.

He is a member of the American Defense Preparedness Association, National Advisory Board of the American Security Council, National Security Industrial Association and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.