Keynote Speakers

Claude M. Bolton

Executive-In-Residence for the Defense Acquisition University (DAU)

The Honorable Claude M. Bolton, Jr. became the Executive-In-Residence for the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) on January 3, 2008. In this position, Mr. Bolton supports the DAU president, faculty and students with strategic planning, courses development and mentoring. Mr. Bolton’s primary focus is assisting the DAU president achieve the Congressional direction to recruit, retain, train and educate the DOD acquisition workforce.

Prior to becoming the DAU Executive-In-Residence, Mr. Bolton served as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASAALT). As the ASA (ALT), Mr. Bolton served as the Army Acquisition Executive (AAE), the Senior Procurement Executive, and the Science Advisor to the Secretary. Mr. Bolton was also the senior research and development official for the Department of the Army, and had principal responsibility for all Department of the Army matters related to logistics.

While the ASAALT/AAE, Mr. Bolton led the execution of the Army’s acquisition function and acquisition management system. His responsibilities included providing oversight for the life cycle management and sustainment of Army weapons systems and equipment, from research and development through test, evaluation, acquisition, logistics, fielding, and disposition. In addition, Mr. Bolton oversaw the Elimination of Chemical Weapons Program, and had oversight and executive authority over the Project and Contracting Office charged with Iraq reconstruction. Mr. Bolton was responsible for appointing, managing, and evaluating program executive officers as well as managing the Army Acquisition Corps and Army Acquisition Workforce.

A veteran of more than 30 years of active military service, Mr. Bolton retired as a Major General in the United States Air Force (USAF) following a highly decorated career. Some highlights of Mr. Bolton’s USAF service include serving as the Commander, Air Force Security Assistance Center, where he managed foreign military sales programs with totals exceeding $90 billion that supported more than 80 foreign countries; serving as a test pilot for the F-4, F-111, and F-16; Program Executive Officer for the Air Force Fighter and Bomber programs; and the first Program Manager for the Advance Tactical Fighter Technologies program, which evolved into the F-22 System Program Office. An experienced command pilot with more than 2,700 flying hours in more than 40 different aircraft including Army helicopters; during the Vietnam War he flew 232 combat missions, 40 over North Vietnam. Mr. Bolton served as commandant of the Defense Systems Management College, as special assistant to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, and as Inspector General and director of requirements at Air Force Materiel Command headquarters.

Mr. Bolton received his USAF commission in 1969 through the University of Nebraska’s Air Force ROTC Program, where he was a distinguished graduate. Mr. Bolton’s education includes a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Nebraska; a Master’s degree in management from Troy State University; and a Master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. In July 2006, he was awarded a Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) degree from Cranfield University in England. In May 2007, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, his alma mater.

His numerous military awards include Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with 16 oak leaf clusters, Vietnam Service Medal with three service stars, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross, and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

Dr. Bill Curtis

Senior Vice President & Chief Scientist CAST
www.castsoftware.com

P.O. Box 126079
Fort Worth, Texas 76126-0079
1-817-228-2994

Bill Curtis is Senior Vice President and Chief Scientist with CAST, the leader in technology for measuring the architectural and engineering quality of multi-tier business applications.  He co-authored the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), the People CMM, and the Business Process MM.  Until its acquisition by Borland he was Co-founder and Chief Scientist of TeraQuest, the global leader in providing CMM-based services.  He is a former Director of the Software Process Program in the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.  Prior to joining the SEI, Dr. Curtis worked for MCC, ITT’s Programming Technology Center, GE Space Division, and taught statistics at the University of Washington.  He has published four books, over 150 articles, and was recently elected a Fellow of the IEEE for his contributions to software process improvement and measurement.

Dr. Paul D. Nielsen

Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Software Engineering Institute

Dr. Paul D. Nielsen is Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), a Federally Funded Research and Development Center operated by Carnegie Mellon University.  The SEI advances software engineering principles and practices through focused research and development, which is transitioned to the broad software engineering community. 

The SEI serves as a global leader in process improvement and networked systems survivability. Additionally, the SEI is a key innovator in software architecture, software product lines, interoperability, the integration of software intensive systems, and the increasing overlap of software and systems engineering.  The SEI also provides direct support to more than 50 US government agencies in their efforts to efficiently and effectively acquire new software and systems.

Since joining the SEI in August 2004, Nielsen has overseen the development and expansion of the CMMI product suite, the establishment of new SEI offices in Qatar, and the growth of the SEI to an organization employing more than 500 employees with operating revenues of $100 million annually.

Prior to his arrival as SEI Director, Nielsen served in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a Major General after 32 years of distinguished service. As commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio for more than four years, he managed the Air Force’s science and technology budget of more than $3 billion annually. He also served as the Air Force’s technology executive officer, determining the investment strategy for the full spectrum of Air Force science and technology activities.

Nielsen’s Air Force career includes assignments at the Secretary of the Air Force’s Office of Special Projects and the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Nielsen was a military assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Commander of Rome Laboratory. He was Operations Chief for the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center and Director of Plans for the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Prior to his assignment at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Nielsen served as Vice Commander of the Aeronautical Systems Center, the Air Force’s largest product center responsible for developing fighters, bombers, transports, reconnaissance aircraft, training systems, and unmanned aerospace vehicles.

In 2004, Nielsen became a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He served as the AIAA President from 2007-2008 and is a member of the AIAA Board of Directors. In 2006, he was elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).  Nielsen serves on the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Hertz Foundation, a non-profit that awards graduate school fellowships in the applied sciences.