Dr. Cliff Lissenden, Associate Professor in Engineering Science and Mechanics and Director of the Ben Franklin Center of Excellence in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) announces the annual fall meeting on November 3-4, 2008.

Keynoting for the meeting, the Center welcomes John Johns from the Office of the Secretary of Defense. To read more about Mr. Johns, click the “read more” link at the end of this entry.

For additional information about the SHM fall meeting, visit their website.


Mr. Johns is Assistant Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Maintenance. In this position, he is responsible for oversight of the Department’s annual $80 billion maintenance program.

In past assignments, Mr. Johns served the Army as Chief, Research Support Division, and Deputy Director, Aeroflightdynamics Directorate, NASA Ames Research Center, Deputy Director, and the Army’s lead, of the National Rotorcraft Technology Center, and Associate Director for Systems, Aviation Research, Development, and Engineering Center, Army Aviation and Missile Command. From July 2000 through October 2002, Mr. Johns served as Principal Assistant Deputy for Systems Acquisition, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command where he was responsible for lifecycle management of over 20 Army aviation, missile, and ground systems with an annual budget of approximately $1B. In October 2002, Mr. Johns was assigned as Deputy Commander for Systems Support, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command where he managed overhaul and maintenance, or RESET, of all aviation and missile systems redeployed from Iraq and Afghanistan. From August 2003 to July 2005, Mr. John’s served as Special Assistant to the Commanding General, U.S. Army Materiel Command.

In August 2005, he joined the Navy as a member of the Senior Executive Service as the Director of Industrial Operations, Naval Air Systems Command, and Deputy Commander of Fleet Readiness Centers (FRC), Naval Air Forces. In this position, he was responsible for naval aviation maintenance operations across six FRC commands, with a workforce of over 14,000 personnel and an operating budget of approximately $4B, and oversaw annual maintenance and repair of over 600 aircraft, 7500 engines and modules, and 500,000 components and support equipment.
Mr. Johns holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Penn State and a Master’s in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue. He is also a graduate of the National Security Management Program, National Defense University.