Dr. Frank Turner is a Senior Research Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. He also supports the DARPA Tactical Technology Office.

Dr. Turner provides a broad technical and programmatic background to the Institute, with experience in the physics of high energy laser systems and nuclear weapons effects, systems engineering and integration, and both developmental and operational test and evaluation. He comes to the Institute from the Northrop Grumman Corporation where he held increasingly responsible positions in technology and business development.

He began his career in the United States Air Force, specializing in research, development, test, evaluation and acquisition. He served as a Research Program Manager, Underground Nuclear Weapons Effects Test Technical Director and was responsible for all Air Force related testing associated with ballistic missile defense. Upon leaving military service, he joined industry and worked on both classified and unclassified satellite remote sensing architecture and development programs. Prior to joining Northrop Grumman, he was at SRI International where he pursued the United States Antarctic Program with the National Science Foundation and management and operations of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory with the Department of Energy.

Dr. Turner holds Biology and Physics degrees from Georgia Tech. He received his Master of Science degree in Lasers and Electro-optics from the Air Force Institute of Technology and his MBA in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix. He completed his doctoral work in systems engineering at Pacific University, devising a test and evaluation methodology at the system of systems level. He is a member of the Air Force Association, National Defense Industrial Association, Association of Old Crows, and Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association.