Victor H. Reis
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Victor Herbert Reis (born February 11, 1935) is a technologist and former U.S. government official, best known as the architect and original sponsor of the U.S. nuclear Stockpile Stewardship Program and its associated Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI), which resulted in the creation of several new generations of government-sponsored supercomputers.


Early life and education

Born in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and raised in
Jackson Heights, Queens Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the borough of Queens in New York City. Jackson Heights is neighbored by North Corona to the east, Elmhurst to the south, Woodside to the west, and today northern Astoria ( Ditm ...
, Reis attended
Brooklyn Technical High School Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is a public specialized high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is on ...
and graduated in 1953. He participated in
Army ROTC The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...
at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...
and received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering in 1957. Reis earned an M.S. degree in mechanical engineering at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
in 1958 and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
in 1962. His doctoral thesis was entitled ''Free expansion of pure and mixed gases from small sonic nozzles''.


Career

Reis was called to active duty in the Army after completing his doctorate and assigned to the
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laborat ...
as a research scientist supporting the
Apollo program The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...
until 1965. After completing his active duty commitment, he worked at the
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
Defense Research Laboratories and the
Avco Avco Corporation is a subsidiary of Textron, which operates Textron Systems Corporation and Lycoming. History The Aviation Corporation was formed on March 2, 1929, to prevent a takeover of CAM-24 airmail service operator Embry-Riddle Compa ...
- Everett Research Laboratory. From 1973 to 1981, Reis was a technical staff member at MIT's
Lincoln Laboratory The MIT Lincoln Laboratory, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a United States Department of Defense federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. Research and dev ...
. Reis was Assistant Director for National Security and Space in the
Office of Science and Technology Policy The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is a department of the United States government, part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, Executive Office of the President (EOP), established by United States Congres ...
in the Executive Office of the President, 1981–1983. Leaving government, he became senior vice president for strategic planning at the Science Applications International Corp., 1983–1989. He returned briefly to Lincoln Laboratory in 1989 as special assistant to the director, then returned to government as, first, Deputy Director of the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adva ...
(DARPA), 1989–1990; then that agency's Director, 1990–1991; and subsequently
Director of Defense Research and Engineering Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...
at the U.S. Department of Defense, where he succeeded Charles M. Herzfeld and served until 1993, when he was succeeded by Anita K. Jones. Reis served as Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs in the U.S. Department of Energy from 1993 to 1999, where he led the development of the DOE's Stockpile Stewardship Program, which was formally established by the 1994 National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 103-160). After the U.S. moratorium on
nuclear testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of Nuclear explosion, their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to si ...
in 1992, Reis was among the first to recognize the need for a new, formal program in maintaining the U.S. nuclear stockpile, replacing data formerly obtained by testing with data from supercomputer simulation and small-scale non-nuclear experiments. The Stockpile Stewardship Program, and its associated initiatives in supercomputing, modeling, and simulation, led to the creation of several new generations of supercomputers. From 1999 to 2005, Reis was senior vice president of Hicks & Associates, Inc. In 2005, he became senior advisor in the Office of the Secretary, Department of Energy. Reis was also a member of the Strategic Advisory Group of the
U.S. Strategic Command The United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear ...
. He retired in March 2017. In 2020, Reis, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that
President Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. ...
was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him." Reis' awards include two Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medals.


See also

*
Advanced Simulation and Computing Program The Advanced Simulation and Computing Program (ASC) is a super-computing program run by the National Nuclear Security Administration, in order to simulate, test, and maintain the United States nuclear stockpile. The program was created in 1995 i ...
*
Nuclear weapons testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of Nuclear explosion, their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to si ...


References

* National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site
Stockpile Stewardship Program Fact Sheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reis, Victor H. 1935 births Living people Brooklyn Technical High School alumni Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni Engineers from New York City United States Army reservists Yale University alumni Princeton University alumni American mechanical engineers NASA people MIT Lincoln Laboratory people Office of Science and Technology Policy officials DARPA directors United States Department of Defense officials United States Department of Energy officials