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In our latest piece of bonus content, writer Adrián Duston-Muñoz interviews his father, physicist Dr. Dwight Duston, about the internal politicals of government agencies, the future of space exploration and innovation's desperate need for rulebreakers.
Dr. Dwight Duston has pursued a diversified 35-year professional career as a research scientist, technology manager, university professor, inventor and entrepreneur. He has managerial and technical expertise in a wide range of technologies in multiple industries, including defense, aerospace, bio-medical lasers, medical imaging, displays and ophthalmics.
He started as a research scientist at the US Naval Research Laboratory in the area of plasma physics, radiation, laser fusion and nuclear weapons simulation, and has more than 25 technical publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Advancing to technology management mid-career, Dr. Duston is former director of the Technology Division for the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (now, the US Missile Defense Agency), popularly known as the “Star Wars” program. At the Pentagon, he managed research and development programs in structural and electronic materials, optics, lasers, particle beams, high-speed processing, imaging sensors, power, and propulsion. His office launched over 15 space missions during his tenure, including Clementine, the first space probe to discover ice on the moon. While at SDIO, he also managed the Congressionally-mandated Free Electron Laser Medical Program, the Small Business Innovation Research program, and SDI’s Technology Transfer Office. He has served on advisory panels to several other agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (digital mammography), NASA, DARPA and the Departments of Energy and Commerce.
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