Gary Polansky
Dr. Gary F. Polansky, Consultant, has a Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin and worked for more than 38 years at Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) in national security, nuclear technology, and environmental programs. His broad-based technical capabilities made key contributions to many program areas, including hypersonics, nuclear deterrence, advanced conventional warheads, space nuclear power and propulsion, nuclear energy, and nuclear materials management.
Dr. Polansky retired from Sandia in December 2021 as a Senior Scientist in the Integrated Military Systems (IMS) Center where he had technical responsibilities across a wide range of national security programs. During his time in the IMS Center, he provided technical leadership for programs supporting the advanced technology needs of the Army, Navy, Air Force, DARPA, SCO, and NASA. This work culminated in successful systems level demonstrations of advanced technology in both flight systems and rocket sled tests. Dr. Polansky was the program manager for the highly successful Advanced Hypersonic Weapon (AHW) Flight Test 1A in November 2008. This AHW test demonstrated a first-of-its-kind vehicle that was designed to fly long range through the atmosphere at hypersonic speed and established the technical basis for hypersonic systems now being deployed by the Army and Navy. Dr. Polansky received national recognition for this test.
Since leaving full-time work, Dr. Polansky has served as a consultant to Sandia National Laboratories focused on mentoring the next generation workforce. He is a member of the Defense Science Board and remains a trusted advisor to the organizations within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Polansky has authored or co-authored more than 50 technical publications in computational physics, nuclear technology, advanced conventional warheads, and hypersonic systems. He has served as session chair and conference organizer for national and international technical conferences. He is a Fellow of both the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Dr. Polansky is a member of the Mechanical Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni (MEADA) at The University of Texas at Austin. He has served on national technical committees and was active in local professional society activities for many years.