Dr. Joseph P. Gallagher retired as a member of the Senior Executive Service as the Technical Advisor for Aircraft Structural Integrity, Engineering Directorate, Aeronautical Systems Center having serving in the position from Oct 2002 to Jul 2007.  As a nationally/internationally recognized authority in aircraft structural integrity, he provided technical oversight, advice and guidance to Air Force leadership and senior government officials on multiple national aerospace weapon system programs.  He acted as a catalyst for creative thinking on new technologies for highly dynamic aerospace structural engineering development, ensuring that resources were focused and expended efficiently and effectively to exploit the state-of-the-art in structural engineering technology for multiple major aeronautical weapon systems.

As the Aircraft Structural Integrity Technical Advisor (USAF ASIP Manager), Dr. Gallagher led the Air Force structures community by establishing a clearly defined Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) that was documented by an updated Department of Defense (DoD) standard (MIL-STD-1530) which provides the framework for managing the structural integrity of aircraft weapon systems. His efforts corrected key problems associated with policy, technical approaches and oversight of this critical integrity program.  He used AF, national and international forums (including an annual ASIP Conference which he chaired) and AF/Navy/Industry workshops to develop a consensus-based ASIP standard to effectively address key safety, performance, reliability, and availability issues.
 
In his USAF position, he led numerous Independent Review Teams which forged solutions to critical structural safety related problems affecting the safety, availability and cost of maintaining the F-22, F-16, C-130, KC-135 and C-5 aircraft.  He served as the senior engineer on the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) A-10’s Red Team in 2002-3.  Recommendations from these efforts were implemented and have ensured the continuing safety and performance of these critical AF aircraft.  

To attack institutional reliability problems that impact safety, reliability, cost, and ultimately aircraft availability, he led AFMC initiatives to create a smoother implementation of appropriate and ready to transition technologies that can solve institutional aircraft reliability problems. He led the Command’s response to create a comprehensive Air Force plan, as requested by the Secretary of the Air Force in November 2005 and delivered in April 2006, to address aircraft weapon system reliability problems.  This effort involved 20 weapon system organizations to identify issues and 10 weapon systems to define specific usage monitoring issues and solutions.  He worked with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and with various Headquarters AFMC’s Directorates to build the plan, and to coordinate this plan with the weapon system organizations, other affected major commands, the Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, and other AF organizations.  He has also led and focused the AF’s activities that are addressing AF fleet-wide institutional problems associated with missing cracks during non-destructive inspections in safety-of-flight structure from Apr 2005 until his retirement.  

Between Feb 1979 and Oct 2002, Dr. Gallagher held various positions at the University of Dayton and its Research Institute.  When he retired from the University, he held a joint appointment as a professor who taught in the Graduate Materials program in the School of Engineering and was the director of the UD Sustainment Center (UDRI).  As a faculty member, he advised several masters and PhD students to the completion of their graduate research. 

Dr. Gallagher is also recognized for his organizational ability in building consensus between diverse and sometime opposing, technical groups, primarily as a result of his activities with ASTM International, and in support of the joint Department of Defense, Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Aging Aircraft Planning. Dr. Gallagher has served as chair of numerous conferences that highlight advances in structural integrity technology. He has written more than 100 papers and technical reports that address the development and application of durability, damage tolerant, and structural integrity concepts and methodologies.

In retirement, Dr. Gallagher continues to teach a graduate course in Fracture Mechanics as an adjunct professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Dayton and acts as an independent consultant.

He has been married to his wife Joan for 43+ years and they have two sons: Joseph, a manufacturing engineer working for a company that creates wireless products for utility industries; and Timothy, a rural family practice physician who practices in eastern Oregon.  The Gallagher’s have five grandchildren ranging in age from 20 to 1 years.

EDUCATION
1964 Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, Drexel University
1965 Master of Science degree in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, University of Illinois
1968 Doctor of Philosophy degree in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, University of Illinois
CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. 1968 - 1972, Assistant Professor of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, University of Illinois, Urbana
2. 1972 - 1978, Aerospace Engineer, Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
3. 1978 - 1984, Group Leader, Service Life Management, University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), Dayton, Ohio
4. 1983 - 2002, Joint Appointment, Professor of Materials Engineering, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio
5. 1984 - 1996, Head, Structural Integrity Division, UDRI, Dayton, Ohio
6. 1996 - 1998, Lead for Aging Aircraft Technology, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
7. 1998 - 2002, Director, Sustainment Center, UDRI, Dayton, Ohio
8. 2002 - 2007, Technical Adviser, Aircraft Structural Integrity, Engineering Directorate, ASC, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
9. 2007 – present, Independent Consultant, Bellbrook, OH.