Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory has appointed Lisa Blodgett, its former force projection sector head, as assistant programs director and chief strategy officer. In her new senior-level role, Blodgett will oversee the lab’s strategic planning, direct its enterprise financial investment, lead engagement with government partners and grow industry relationships, APL said Monday.
Ralph Semmel, APL director, described Blodgett as “an exceptional leader,” with a firm focus on the lab’s mission
“Her deep technical expertise and broad national security experience will be key to ensuring the Laboratory continues delivering game-changing innovations that will ensure our nation’s well-being long into the future,” Semmel said.
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Lead Role in DOD Support Programs
According to her LinkedIn profile, Blodgett held her former role as the lab’s force projection sector head for 10 years. Her work in the sector, which covers nearly one-fourth of sponsored programs that APL runs, included managing projects geared to provide critical capabilities for the Department of Defense. The efforts that she led in the sector covered initiatives on submarine security, electronic warfare, advanced sensor development, precision strike, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems.
Blodgett has been working with APL for more than 34 years, starting out in 1991 as a research engineer providing computer modeling support to the U.S. Navy and later serving as an acoustic analysis. Subsequently, she was appointed business area executive for undersea warfare in 2006 and then sea control before taking the force projection post in 2015.
Membership in Advisory Councils
With her APL experience, Blodgett has been tapped as a council member of several national advisory organizations, such as the advisory council for the National Defense Industrial Association and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory National Security Sciences Strategic Advisory Board. She also chaired the Nuclear Command, Control and Communications Task Force of the U.S. Strategic Command Strategic Advisory Group.
Blodgett holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University and master’s degrees in electrical and computer engineering and technical management from Johns Hopkins University.
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