Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) is proud to announce the addition of Thomas Fischer as senior advisor to the executive director.
Fischer, a 35-year U.S. Air Force employee and member of the Senior Executive Service, recently retired from his position as director of engineering and technical management and chief engineer for the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
In this position, he led a 15,000-person national engineering organization and was responsible for the USAF’s transformation to digital engineering.
“Tom’s knowledge of the value of digital transformation for various units of the Air Force and other DoD branches will be critical for the development of new programs at Wichita State,” said John Tomblin, WSU senior vice president for Industry and Defense Programs and NIAR executive director. “These programs are focused on aviation and manufacturing innovation while ensuring the safety of the warfighter and extending the life of the military fleet,”
Fischer’s academic accolades include a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Valparaiso University, a master’s in mechanical engineering from the University of Dayton; an MBA from Wright State University; and a master’s in national resource strategy from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy.
