HUNTSVILLE, AL – On Tuesday, February 21, University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) President Charles L. Karr announced that retired Lieutenant General L. Neil Thurgood has been named Special Advisor to the President for Military Affairs and Technology.

“We are extremely proud to have Neil Thurgood join us at UAH,” said Dr. Karr. “He has been a great asset for the Nation, having led efforts across many areas, including hypersonics and directed energy. I am very excited to see the positive impact he will have on UAH as we continue to strive to support our Nation, Team Redstone and the North Alabama community.”

In this position, Thurgood will help establish sustainable educational programs with entities at Redstone Arsenal, including the U.S. Army, NASA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and he will establish and support the development of training programs for companies that do business with government entities.

In addition, Thurgood will support the development of a directed energy consortium focused on enhancing UAH’s externally funded research portfolio, leading to early development of technologies that can be utilized in the field.

Finally, Thurgood will develop and implement educational and training programs at UAH that can benefit military veterans, and he may teach both undergraduate and graduate courses in fields such as leadership, logistics, directed energy or hypersonics.

Thurgood last served as Director for Hypersonics, Directed Energy, Space and Rapid Acquisition on Redstone Arsenal where he was responsible for fielding capabilities to deter rapidly modernizing adversaries, including overseeing development of an Army Long Range Hypersonic Weapon.

He led the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office mission to field critical technologies that addressed immediate, near-term and mid-term threats.

“This is a great opportunity to give back to the community and our Nation, as we develop the next generation work force, continue the early development of critical technologies and support our National goals,” said Dr. Thurgood.

UAH, a part of the University of Alabama System, has a history of partnering with companies in Huntsville and various entities at Redstone Arsenal. The addition of Thurgood will create opportunities to strengthen these partnerships both on the Arsenal and within the community.

Thurgood holds a bachelor’s degree in business and communications from the University of Utah; a master’s degree in system management from the Naval Postgraduate School; a master in strategic studies in military and strategic leadership from the USAF Air War College; and a doctorate in strategic planning and organizational behavior from the University of Sarasota.

This is contributing post from Kristina Hendrix of UAH. For more information, please visit www.uah.edu/news.