George A. Keyworth

Dr. Keyworth is Chairman of the Progress and Freedom Foundation.  Simultaneously, he remains Chairman of The Keyworth Company, a firm established in 1986 to work with companies in developing strategies for growth based on emerging and changing technologies.

From May 1981 to January 1986, Keyworth was Science Advisor to President Reagan and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.  As the senior technical member of the President's staff, he led the Administration's efforts to capitalize on U.S. science and technology to strengthen industrial competitiveness, and was instrumental in establishing strong budgetary priorities for university basic research, in strengthening university engineering programs, and in stimulating more productive industrial participation in university research and education.  In 1984 he was a member of the President's Commission on Industrial Competitiveness.  He played key roles in the modernization of strategic military forces and in the Strategic Defense Initiative.  He was also deeply involved in Administration initiatives to use science and technology better to support U.S. foreign policy interests, especially with the People's Republic of China. 

Prior to his White House Service, Keyworth was Director of the Physics Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, which he joined in 1968.  As Director of the Physics Division he led the Laboratory's programs in experimental physics, condensed matter research, astrophysics and space science, and laser fusion.  He also oversaw Los Alamos' diagnostic program of underground nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site, as well as programs for satellite-based verification of compliance with nuclear test treaties. 

As a research scientist Keyworth's contributions include pioneering work in  high-resolution spectroscopy.  As a formulator of policy, he has had widespread interactions with science and defense policy makers in many other countries, including NATO members, France, Japan, Israel, India, and The People's Republic of China.  Most recently, he has focused on the broad implications of distributed computing and digital connection.

Keyworth was born in Boston, Massachusetts.  After graduating from Deerfield Academy, he received his B.S. in Physics from Yale University in 1963.  He was awarded a Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics in 1968 from Duke University, where he conducted pioneering research in isospin conservation in nuclear reactions.

Selected Awards and Honorary Degrees

First International Science and Technology Cooperation Prize, People's Republic of China, 1992

Third Hertz Foundation Award ("For distinguished and continuing contributions in the field of applied science...It is the body of your work, ranging from an innovative technique for nuclear spectroscopy to the application of U.S. science and technology to such problems as international trade and our national defense, that has earned you this award."), 1987

American Defense Preparedness Association SDI Award ("For exceptional accomplishments and your immeasurable contribution to National Security"), 1986

Honorary D.Sc., University of Alabama, Huntsville, 1985

Honorary D. Eng., Michigan Technological University, 1984

Honorary Professor, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China, 1983

Honorary D.Sc., Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1982

Chairman's Award, American Association of Engineering Societies, 1982

Fellow, AAAS ("For pushing back the frontiers of experimental precision, both in basic nuclear science and inertial nuclear fusion, and for leadership in the effective utilization of nuclear energy"), 1982

Fellow, American Physical Society, 1981

Phi Beta Kappa

Selected Committees, Panels and Boards:

Director, Hewlett Packard Company, 1986-

Director, General Atomics, 1995-

Chairman and Co-Founder, Progress and Freedom Foundation, 1993-

Chairman, Bravo Labs Inc., 1999-

National Commission on Superconductivity, 1989-1990

Chairman, Council on Superconductivity for American Competitiveness, 1987-92. 

Trustee, Santa Fe Institute, 1986-1999.

Member, President's Commission on Industrial Competitiveness, 1984-85.

Member, Vice President's Task Force on Regulatory Relief, 1982-85.

Chairman, Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology, 1981-85.

Chairman, National Security Council's Committee on Telecommunications Policy, 1981-85.

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