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Victor H. Reis | |
|---|---|
 Dr. Victor H. Reis in April 1990 | |
| Born | Victor Herbert Reis (1935-02-11)February 11, 1935 (age 90) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Brooklyn Technical High School Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (BS) Yale University (MS) Princeton University (PhD) |
| Occupations |
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| Political party | Republican |
Victor Herbert Reis[1] (born February 11, 1935)[2] is a technologist and former U.S. government official, best known as the architect and original sponsor of the U.S. nuclearStockpile Stewardship Program and its associatedAccelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI), which resulted in the creation of several new generations of government-sponsored supercomputers.
Born inNew York City and raised inJackson Heights, Queens, Reis attendedBrooklyn Technical High School and graduated in 1953.[2][3] He participated inArmy ROTC atRensselaer Polytechnic Institute and received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering in 1957. Reis earned an M.S. degree in mechanical engineering atYale University in 1958 and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering fromPrinceton University in 1962.[3][4][5] His doctoral thesis was entitledFree expansion of pure and mixed gases from small sonic nozzles.[1]
Reis was called to active duty in the Army after completing his doctorate and assigned to theNASAAmes Research Center as a research scientist supporting theApollo program until 1965.[3][5] After completing his active duty commitment, he worked at theGeneral Motors Defense Research Laboratories and theAvco-Everett Research Laboratory.[3][5] From 1973 to 1981, Reis was a technical staff member at MIT'sLincoln Laboratory.
Reis was Assistant Director for National Security and Space in theOffice of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President, 1981–1983. Leaving government, he became senior vice president for strategic planning at theScience Applications International Corp., 1983–1989. He returned briefly to Lincoln Laboratory in 1989 as special assistant to the director, then returned to government as, first, Deputy Director of theDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), 1989–1990; then that agency's Director, 1990–1991; and subsequentlyDirector of Defense Research and Engineering at the U.S. Department of Defense, where he succeededCharles M. Herzfeld and served until 1993, when he was succeeded byAnita K. Jones.
Reis served as Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs in the U.S. Department of Energy from 1993 to 1999, where he led the development of the DOE's Stockpile Stewardship Program, which was formally established by the 1994 National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 103-160). After the U.S. moratorium onnuclear testing in 1992, Reis was among the first to recognize the need for a new, formal program in maintaining the U.S. nuclear stockpile, replacing data formerly obtained by testing with data from supercomputer simulation and small-scale non-nuclear experiments. The Stockpile Stewardship Program, and its associated initiatives in supercomputing, modeling, and simulation, led to the creation of several new generations of supercomputers.
From 1999 to 2005, Reis was senior vice president of Hicks & Associates, Inc. In 2005, he became senior advisor in the Office of the Secretary, Department of Energy. Reis was also a member of the Strategic Advisory Group of theU.S. Strategic Command. He retired in March 2017.[5]
In 2020, Reis, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted thatPresident Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."[6]
Reis' awards include twoDepartment of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medals.[7]