AESS Historical Interview With Dr. Catherine Warner

Abstract

Dr. Warner is the Director of the NATO Science and Technology Organization Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation. She was the science advisor to the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation within the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense. Her mission was to ensure the office fulfilled its statutory responsibility on the oversight and reporting of test and evaluation results for major weapons systems to Congress and senior Defense Department leadership. In 2013, at the request of the Defense Information Systems Agency, Dr. Warner deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan for 16 months in support of NATO's International Security Assistance Force and the U.S. Operation Enduring Freedom. She led a team of Information Technology specialists in advising Afghanistan's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. From 1991 to 2010, Dr. Warner was with the Institute for Defense Analyses in Virginia where she performed analysis of operational tests for Army, Navy, and Air Force systems. She was an Assistant Director and the lead for Air Warfare. Her analysis portfolio included major aircraft systems such as the F-22, F/A-18E/F, V-22, and H-1. She was the lead analyst for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems including Predator, Shadow, Hunter, and Global Hawk. Dr. Warner worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, attended the University of New Mexico, the San Jose State University, and earned both M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry from Princeton University. Dr. Warner earned the NATO Meritorious Civilian Service Medal, DISA Exceptional Civilian Service Award, and the Presidential Rank Award.