EL PAO, TX – The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has named Dr. Shery Welsh as the new director of its Aerospace Center.
Welsh is the former Director of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) and most recently, Director of the Directed Energy Directorate at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base.
With 37 years of federal service in aerospace science and engineering, she has served in multiple leadership roles, including Director of Science and Technology for the Missile Defense Agency and Chief Engineer of the Airborne Lasers Program.
UTEP noted that Welsh will be a Professor Practitioner at the university and will begin her tenure as Executive Director of the Aerospace Center on Monday, July 15.
As Director of AFOSR in Arlington, Virginia, Welsh oversaw all basic research funded by the Air and Space Forces with a budget in excess of $500 million. In this position, she led the management of the Department of the Air Force’s global basic research investment with 200 scientists, engineers and administrators at Arlington and foreign technology offices in London; Tokyo; Santiago, Chile; São Paulo, Brazil; and Melbourne, Australia.
“Dr. Welsh is a national aerospace leader who will take UTEP to the next level. Her decades of engineering leadership experience will help the Aerospace Center reach its full potential to serve the aerospace sector and drive economic development in our region,” said UTEP President Heather Wilson.
During his remarkable career, Welsh worked on many aerospace programs for the Department of Defense, including the C-130U Gunship, C-17, Joint Strike Fighter, F-16, B-2, F-22, Airborne Laser and Wide-body Aerial Sensor Platform.
“Economic development in our region is a team effort,” said Jon Barela, president and CEO of the Borderplex Alliance. “We look forward to working closely with Dr. Welsh, UTEP and the entire community to attract and grow the aerospace industry, which holds great promise for the Borderplex.”
As civilian director of the Directed Energy Directorate, Welsh led the Department of the Air Force Center of Expertise for Directed Energy and Optical Technologies, which is responsible for technology development and transitions in four core technical competencies: laser systems, high-power electromagnetics, weapons modeling and simulation, and directed energy and electro-optics for space superiority.
“I am very excited to join the faculty and staff at UTEP,” stated Welsh. “Together we will realize the full potential of the Center to advance aerospace research and engineering and turn the aerospace industry into a major driver of El Paso’s economy.”
In 2023, Welsh received the Air Force Civilian Meritorious Service Medal. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Wright State University and a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Alabama. As a civilian, she also attended the Army Air War College.
