Faculty Spotlight: Dr. David Boyle, PE
Dr. David Boyle, PE, is Deputy Director of the Nuclear Security Science and Policy Institute (NSSPI) at Texas A&M University. Established in 2006, NSSPI conducts research to help prevent nuclear proliferation and terrorism, educates the next generation of nuclear security leaders, and develops nuclear security policy options. In 1998, Dr. Boyle founded the Spacecraft Technology Center at Texas A&M University and served as its Director until 2006.
Dr. Boyle earned his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980. He also holds an MS degree in nuclear engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a BS in chemical engineering from the University of Cincinnati. In 1990 he earned an MA degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the US Naval War College in Newport, R.I.
Prior to joining Texas A&M in 1993, Dr. Boyle served for twenty years as an active duty US Air Force officer. From 1990 to 1993, he served on the Joint Staff as the national nuclear stockpile manager and nuclear technology advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During this assignment he worked with the special task force that developed the President's September 1991 Nuclear Initiative, commencing the historic reductions of US and Russian nuclear weapons. Prior Air Force postings included duty as Chief of the Space Nuclear Power Branch at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory in Albuquerque, NM and various assignments involving nuclear energy and treaty monitoring tasks. From 1983-1985, he commanded the Joint Geological and Geophysical Research Station in Alice Springs, Australia, a joint Australian / US facility employing a seismic sensor network to monitor Russian, Chinese, and French compliance with the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
