Erik Antonsson    crew chief 1972-1978 few weeks in 1979

Corporate Director of Technology, Northrop Grumman Corporation

ERIK K. ANTONSSON is currently the Corporate Director of Technology for the Northrop Grumman Corporation. In this role he serves as the corporate focal point for technology customers, research labs, university research, key boards and technology forums, and chairs the Corporate Technology Council. He previously served as the Director of Technology Strategy & Planning for the Aerospace Systems sector of Northrop Grumman where he was responsible for coordinating technology strategy across the organization and for establishing and growing external strategic relationships to support current and future NGAS programs.

From 2007 through 2011 he established and led the Northrop Grumman Aerospace Research Laboratories (ARL). In that role he had the responsibility for recruiting and leading a distinguished multidisciplinary research team, and for setting the long-term R&D directions for the Aerospace Sector. R&D in the laboratories led by Dr. Antonsson included intelligent autonomy, nano-structured materials and metamaterials, carbon nanotubes for structural, thermal and electrical applications, and advanced propulsion and power systems.

Dr. Antonsson served on the faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology from 1984 through 2009, where he organized the university’s Engineering Design Research Laboratory. He previously served as the executive officer (Chair) of Caltech’s Mechanical Engineering Department, and served as Chief Technologist for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in which he provided intellectual leadership for JPL, strategic planning of advanced technology and guidance for approximately 550 technology researchers. Dr. Antonsson was the co-chair of JPL's Science and Technology Management Council, a member of JPL's Executive Council, Strategic Management Council, Project & Engineering Management Council, the senior representative to NASA Headquarters. He was an NSF Presidential Young Investigator (1986-1992), and won the 1995 Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching, and is a co-winner of the 2001 TRW Distinguished Patent Award.

Dr. Antonsson earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and a master’s and doctorate in mechanical engineering from MIT. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and is currently on the editorial board of the International Journal: Research in Engineering Design. He served as an Associate Technical Editor of the ASME Journal of Mechanical Design with responsibility for the Design Research and the Design Theory and Methodology areas. He has published more than 140 scholarly papers in the engineering design research literature, has edited three books and holds eight US patents. He is a registered Professional Engineer in California, and serves as an engineering consultant to industry, research laboratories, and to the Intellectual Property bar.

Brian Kress