Rick Adams

Dr. Adams entered commissioned service in the Air Force in 1989 as a Distinguished Graduate of the US Air Force Academy (USAFA). His academic performance resulted in a full scholarship and follow-on assignment to the University of Washington in Seattle, WA where he was awarded the degree of Master of Science in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. In 1990, he became a Stability and Control Engineer at Wright Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, applying recently acquired technical skills to improving the flying qualities and performance of AF aircraft. After completion of six months of intensive language training at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA, he was assigned to the Paris Embassy with duty in Toulouse, France. He worked from 1994 to 1996 at the Research Center of Toulouse as an AF Engineer and Scientist Exchange Officer, developing parameter-varying control techniques for aerospace applications.

Dr. Adams returned to the University of Washington to study human machine interfaces to virtual reality. There, he developed control theory for force feedback cueing devices and was awarded the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in the Department of Electrical Engineering in 1999. He was subsequently assigned to the Office of the Under Secretary of the Air Force in Washington, D.C. As the Chief of the Research and Development Division, he led an eight-officer joint service team managing advanced technology demonstration programs. In this role, he was recognized as the Field Grade Officer of the Year in 2001. In 2004, he completed Air Command and Staff College in-residence at Maxwell AFB, AL as a Distinguished Graduate. From there he was reassigned to Headquarters, AF Space Command where, as Chief of the Space Superiority Program Integration Branch, he was responsible for developing, integrating, and advocating for space control plans, programs, and budgets. He returned to USAFA as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Astronautical Engineering in 2007, where he served as Navigation, Guidance, and Control Division Chief and Deputy Director of the Space Systems Research Center.