Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, the U.S. Air Force deputy for acquisition, has been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the next Air Force Materiel Command commander.
President Obama also recommended that Pawlikowski be promoted to the rank of general, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced Wednesday.
She manages the military branch’s approximately $32 billion in annual budget for research, development, production, testing and modernization programs.
The 37-year military veteran previously directed the acquisition management office for the assistant defense secretary for atomic energy and served as a deputy assistant to the defense secretary for counterproliferation.
Pawlikowski also worked for the National Reconnaissance Office as a deputy director, managed the Air Force’s airborne laser program and held a commander role at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing and Space and Missile Systems Center.
She received her commission through the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Reserve Officers Training Corps program and later earned a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
