William W. Saylor

Professor William W. Saylor, PE was the Gen Bernard Schriever Chair in the Department of Astronautics, United States Air Force Academy from 2005-2011. He was also the Chief Engineer for the Space Sciences Research Center and led the FalconSAT program during that time and supported the program for the next two years as an AFRL contractor. He has continued supporting the Astronautics Department by authoring the updated, second edition of Fundamentals of Astrodynamics. Besides his very broad multi-disciplinary scientific and engineering background, Professor Saylor also is considered expert for several advanced technologies in remote sensing (SAR), space situational awareness, and advanced communications technologies. While performing his duties as the Schriever Chair, Professor Saylor received the AIAA Von Karman Lectureship and the Rocky Mountain AIAA Engineer of the Year award.

Mr. Saylor is a Distinguished Graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1972 with a Nuclear Engineering area of concentration. Following graduation, he attended Airborne and Ranger schools and was stationed in Germany as a combat engineer officer. He then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned a Master’s Degree in Nuclear Engineering and Magnetic Fusion Technology. He then was stationed in Ft. Belvoir, Virginia and ran the Nuclear Power Plant Operator’s School before being assigned to Saudi Arabia as an Assistant Engineer on colossal power construction projects. Upon leaving the Army Mr. Saylor worked as a nuclear engineer in the power industry before spending twelve years at Los Alamos National Laboratory working in a variety of advanced energy and defense programs. He developed energy plant conceptual designs based on heavy-ion accelerators and inertial fusion.

Mr. Saylor also supported numerous advanced system concepts for the SDIO Program Office and designed and built instrumentation and controls systems for various laser projects. He was also a Project Leader for several space engineering projects including payloads and small satellites, as well as leading a multi-laboratory effort to develop LIDARs for the long-range detection of biological agents on the battlefield. Mr. Saylor has served as a Senior Scientist at SAIC, Inc. supporting numerous DoD, DARPA and NRO space activities he supported during his time as the General Schriever Chair Professor of Astro Science and Engineering at the USAFA in Colorado Springs.

Bill supports USEI’s nationally important strategic space, launch, satellite (LEO,MEO,GEO) communications projects requiring advanced and innovative technological solutions.