Dr. Lindsay Millard joined the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) as the Principal Director for Space in September 2020.  In this role, Dr. Millard is responsible for leading the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) research and engineering efforts needed to assure our space capabilities and maintain our competitive advantage in the space domain. 

Prior to joining OUSD(R&E), Dr. Millard served as a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the Tactical Technical Office where her focus was to enable big capabilities on small satellites. Drawing from her strong technical expertise in satellite systems engineering, remote sensing, sparse-aperture telescopes, astrodynamics, and guidance, navigation, and control (GNC), Dr. Millard successfully turned developmental programs into real capabilities for the United States and demonstrated the potential of rapid space system acquisition by leading a program that took 18 months from contract award to satellite launch.

Prior to joining DoD, Dr. Millard served as an engineer at the RAND Corporation where she led studies for Project Air Force and the National Security Research Division. Study topics included the feasibility of distributed space-based hyperspectral sensors, the performance of space-based sensors to detect chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive devices, and the assessment of the potential impact of disaggregation concepts for U.S. space architecture. During her time at RAND, Dr. Millard was detailed to the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy where she led negotiations for the U.S. Government on the Combined Space Operations Memorandum of Understanding and managed engagements with Five Eyes partners and space-faring nations in the Asia-Pacific region.

Prior to the RAND Corporation, Dr. Millard was an adjunct researcher at Purdue University, where she explored design strategies for imaging spacecraft formations moving under the influence of many celestial bodies.

Dr. Millard has also served as a researcher and engineer at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center, the National Academies’ National Research Council, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and NASA Kennedy Space Center’s International Space Station Program.

Dr. Millard holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Doctor of Philosophy in Aerospace Engineering from Purdue University.