Leonard J. Buckley

Leonard J. Buckley is the Director of IDA’s Science and Technology Division. Founded in the late 1950s, the division provides high-quality, objective analyses of science and technology issues related to national security.

Dr. Buckley leads a staff of IDA engineers and scientists engaged in research on topics as diverse as sensing for nuclear material, using ground penetrating radar for improvised explosive device detection and automated processing and exploitation of imagery to extract relevant information.

Prior to joining IDA in 2009, he served as a research leader in the Department of the Navy. Directing and managing the Naval Research Laboratory’s Materials Chemistry Branch, he performed and guided innovative studies and development in materials chemistry and physics.

While in government service, Dr. Buckley also completed a four-year detail as a program manager for the Defense Science Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In that capacity, he initiated and led research into bio-inspired optics, self-decontaminating surfaces, water harvesting, and an artificial retina.

He earned a doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a master’s degree in Polymer Science from MIT, and a bachelor’s degree in Materials Engineering from Drexel University.

Dr. Buckley has authored more than 150 publications and reports–and been issued nine patents. His professional awards include a Navy-sponsored award for Scientific Achievement in 1989, the Naval Research Laboratory’s Alan Berman Outstanding Publication Award in 1999, an Edison Award (Best Patent) in 2009, and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service in 2005.