The Honorable Heidi Shyu was elected to the board of trustees of The Aerospace Corporation effective March 10, 2016.
Shyu most recently served as the assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology from September 2012 to January 2016. As the ASA (ALT), she served as the Army’s acquisition executive, the senior procurement executive, the science advisor to the secretary of the Army, and the Army’s senior research and development official. She had principal responsibility for all Department of the Army matters related to logistics. Shyu managed a workforce of 42,000 acquisition employees and led 13 program executive offices tasked with developing technologies and managing acquisition programs. Prior to this position, Shyu served as the acting ASA (ALT) beginning June 2011 and as the principal deputy starting November 2010.
Prior to serving the Army’s ALT office, Shyu held multiple leadership positions at Raytheon Company’s Space and Airborne Systems, including corporate vice president of Technology and Research and vice president of Technology Strategy. She also served as vice president and technical director of Space and Airborne Systems, vice president of Unmanned and Reconnaissance Systems; senior director of Unmanned Combat Vehicles; senior director of Joint Strike Fighter (JSF); director of JSF Integrated Radar/Electronic Warfare Sensors; director of JSF Antenna Technologies, and laboratory manager for Electromagnetic Systems. In addition to her extensive career at Raytheon, she served as a project manager at Litton Industries and was the principal engineer for the Joint STARS Self Defense Study at Grumman. Shyu began her career at the Hughes Aircraft Company.
Shyu holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the University of New Brunswick, a Master of Science degree in mathematics from the University of Toronto, a Master of Science degree in system science (electrical engineering) from the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Engineer Degree from UCLA. She is also a graduate of the UCLA Executive Management Program and the University of Chicago Business Leadership Program.
A member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board from 2000 to 2010, Shyu served as the vice chairman from 2003 to 2005 and as chairman from 2005 to 2008.
Shyu is the recipient of many awards and recognitions, including: the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service; the Department of the Army Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service; the Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service; the General Brehon B. Somerville Medal of Excellence; the Knowlton Award from Military Intelligence Corp.; the National Infantry Association’s Order of Saint Maurice; the Army Aviation Association’s Knight of the Honorable Order of Saint Michael; UCLA’s Engineering Alumni Professional Achievement Award; Raytheon’s Hero Award; and the N. Myles Brown Science Award.
The Aerospace Corporation is a California nonprofit corporation that operates a federally funded research and development center and has approximately 3,600 employees. It provides guidance and advice to military, civil and commercial customers to ensure the success of complex, technology-based programs. The Aerospace Corporation is headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., with multiple locations across the United States.
