The Potomac Institute has welcomed Dr. Peter Bythrow to its Board of Regents. Dr. Bythrow was appointed Chief Scientist of the Central Measurement and Signature Intelligence Organization (CMO later renamed National) in October 2000. He retired from government service in January 2016 and is now CEO Bougainvillea Breeze LLC, a DC based consulting firm.
As CMO’s Chief Scientist he oversaw the advanced R&D conducted to maintain a viable and responsive Research and Development program focused on the needs of the intelligence community. He also led the National Consortium for MASINT Research, a congressionally directed program to leverage, promote and conduct research at universities applicable to the MASINT discipline.
As Chief Scientist for the National MASINT Office Dr. Bythrow guided and oversaw the development of Intelligence Community MASINT technology development from legacy systems such as sea-based RADAR to cutting edge technologies such as Anti-neutrino detection. The range of technology projects within his purview spans scientific disciplines from Hypersonic Glide Vehicles to Space Sensor Systems to MEMS based biological sensors.
From 2009 to 2016 Dr. Bythrow was MASINT lead on domestic Hypersonic Glide Vehicle testing working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and with Space and Missile Defense Center Huntsville Alabama as well as U.S. Navy Dahlgren.
Dr. Bythrow was born in Quincy Massachusetts, and received a BS-Physics from Lowell Technological Institute in 1970; he served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force in Viet Nam until 1975. He received a Ph.D. Space-Physics and a MS, Physics from The University of Texas, Dallas. Dr. Bythrow spent the following 19 years at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory where his research spanned disciplines from space plasmas to hyperspectral remote sensing.
Dr. Bythrow is the author of scientific papers that range in topics from “The Spokes in Saturn’s Rings” to “Rapid Visible Wavelength Detection and Identification of Missile Launch”.
He has served on space related panels and studies for the Department of Defense, DAPRA, the U.S. House and Senate, and others.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Bythrow to our Board of Regents,” said General Al Gray, Chairman of the Board of Regents and Board of Directors at Potomac Institute. “His resume speaks for itself. He brings decades of science experience in the U.S. Government to our board, with several years leading the way in the Intelligence Community’s technology development. We are incredibly fortunate he decided to join our team and we will lean on his expertise in the work we do for our customers.”
Dr. Bythrow is married to Lisa M. Janssen and resides in Columbia MD. He has three children and eight grandchildren.
