Dr. Dean Wilkening is a recently retired senior staff scientist in the Precision Strike Mission Area who worked primarily on hypersonic kill chains. His previous research interests include ballistic missile defense, nuclear strategy and policy, and bioterrorism. He has participated in Defense Science Board Studies on Advanced Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threats, Constrained Military Operations, and Multi-Domain Effects, and on US National Academy of Science committees on biological terrorism and ballistic missile defense. Prior to joining APL, he worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, and the RAND Corporation. He received his PhD in physics from Harvard University, is a fellow of the American Physical Society, and has published over 60 journal articles, book chapters and monographs on a range of security topics.