Gary Serfoss - Defense Security Cooperation University

Faculty

Education & Professional Practice

Dr. Gary Serfoss, Lt. Col. USAF (Ret), joined the Institute for Security Governance (ISG) in April 2019 as a Senior Lecturer for the International Defense Acquisition Resource Management (IDARM) team within Education and Professional Practice (EPP). Dr. Serfoss teaches a variety of the IDARM subject matter abroad in many countries, utilizing both his current defense contracting experience as well as his prior military experience.

Prior to joining ISG, Dr. Serfoss spent 20 years in the United States Air Force as a Scientist/Analyst Officer and served as a part-time IDARM lecturer for 9 years. After retirement from the Air Force, Dr. Serfoss worked as a systems engineer for Northrop Grumman for 12 years on various large aircraft and missile defense programs.

Dr. Serfoss spent most of his 20 years in the Air Force involved in defense acquisition work. He worked research and development and aircrew training for the Air Force Research Laboratory. He served as the lead test and evaluation analyst for the $5 Billion Air Force/Navy Joint Primary Aircraft Training System (JPATS) program, which included the Raytheon T-6 aircraft and supporting systems. Dr. Serfoss also worked as a project manager and systems engineer to develop and deploy the Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS), the world’s largest identity management and access control system, around the world in support of the US military, specifically leading the effort to deploy DBIDS to US facilities in Southwest Asia. Finally, he served as an Assistant Professor and then Deputy Department Head at the Air Force Academy, teaching courses related to systems engineering, human factors engineering, the acquisition life cycle, and other topics. Upon retiring from the Air Force, Dr. Serfoss worked as a research program manager for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Next Generation Air Transportation System, before going to work for Northrop Grumman. At Northrop Grumman, he worked on large aircraft development programs and, most recently, on the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program to replace the Minuteman III missile system - expected to be one of the Department of Defense's largest contracts ever, at over $85 billion.

Dr. Serfoss is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and completed his Master and Doctoral work in Industrial Engineering-Human Systems at Arizona State University.