Marc D. Bernstein

Dr. Marc D. Bernstein is a member of the principal staff at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and executes strategic projects for the Laboratory’s director. Lincoln Laboratory is a federally funded research and development (R&D) center, operated by MIT for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), with an annual budget of more than $1B in R&D. Previously, he was selected for an Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignment from July 2019 to July 2021, serving as the chief scientist under the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics and worked in the Office of the Air Force Chief Architect. He provided technical leadership and advice for advanced Department of the Air Force efforts.

Prior to the Pentagon assignment, Bernstein was the associate director of Lincoln Laboratory from 2009 until July 2019. In this role, Bernstein oversaw the execution of the Laboratory’s technical programs; helped develop the Laboratory Strategic Plan; chaired the Laboratory’s Mission Assurance Board; developed overarching Laboratory policies and procedures; and supported the day-to-day operation of an advanced R&D facility with 4,000 personnel and more than two-million square feet of laboratory and program development space.

He has been an active researcher in ballistic missile defense since 1987, when he joined Lincoln Laboratory as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative. His research areas have encompassed radar and optical sensor algorithm development and testing, as well as integrated system performance. Beginning in 1995, he served as a group leader in the National Missile Defense Group. In 2003, Bernstein was selected for an IPA assignment with the Missile Defense Agency. In 2004, he was promoted to the position of deputy of technology and development for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Joint Program Office. In this role, he served as the program’s senior technical advisor and oversaw all GMD development with an annual budget of several billion. From 2005 to 2007, he served in Huntsville, Alabama; in Washington, DC; and at Hanscom Air Force Base as the chief scientist for the GMD Program. After this IPA assignment, he was in 2007 appointed head of the Air, Missile, and Maritime Defense Technology Division at Lincoln Laboratory and oversaw $150M in annual R&D for the DoD.

Upon completion of his previous IPA assignment, Bernstein received an Exceptional Public Service Medal from the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He holds a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Washington. He is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).