February 21, 2025
Colloquium Topic: TBD
TBD
Colloquium Speaker: Dennis W. Woodfork
Dennis W. Woodfork is currently the Deputy Mission Area Executive for National Security Space at the Johns Hopkins University - Applied Physics Lab. In this role, he is responsible for APL programs that focus on space solutions to meet critical national security challenges. Dennis oversees the activities of over 300 staff and manages an annual revenue of over $100M.
He was previously a program manager for the National Security Space Mission Area at the Johns Hopkins University - Applied Physics Lab (JHU-APL). He managed a $25M program to pioneer Test & Evaluation range operations, digital infrastructure, and on-orbit range instrumentation for USSF and its mission partners. Specifically, he led a 50-person team to perform engineering analysis and spacecraft hardware development for first-of-a-kind test assets on behalf of Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM).
Prior to joining JHU-APL, Dennis was an Assistant Chief for Technology at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center where he led strategy development for technologies including spacecraft guidance, navigation, & control; systems engineering; in-space propulsion; and space situational awareness. In 2011, Dennis was detailed to the Office of the Secretary of Defense where he managed orbital debris policy and civil space partnerships for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy. Currently, Dennis holds the rank of Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserves. In that capacity, he is the individual mobilization assistant (IMA) in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration. He is a graduate of the US Naval Academy and Air Force Institute of Technology where he earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and a M.S. in Astronautical Engineering respectively. He also has a Master of Business Administration degree from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dennis has received numerous scholarly, military, and NASA awards.