Dr. Wadad Dubbelday ’81, Serving Through Science
Wadad, raised in Brevard County like her sister Catharina, graduated from Florida Tech in 1981.
She had her first exposure to military service while participating in Florida Tech’s Army ROTC program two years prior to graduation. Wadad went on to earn her MS and PhD in electrical engineering and applied physics from the University of California, San Diego. She accomplished all of this while working full-time at the U.S. Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific), where she has spent her entire career as a Navy civilian. “Florida Tech provided the rigorous academic program I needed to set the stage for my successful career and my doctorate. I learned leadership skills and discipline that have helped me my whole life,” she said.
In May 2016, Dr. Dubbelday was named SSC Pacific’s first chief distinguished scientist and senior scientific and technical manager for Science and Technology (S&T), and division head for Forecasting, Investment and Transition. She also serves as the deputy chief technology officer for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.
Wadad began her career at SSC Pacific researching solid state physics and advanced microelectronics, holding positions of increasing responsibility, both technical and managerial, ever since. She supported the National Institute of Justice as technical director for Border Research and Technology Center and served as project manager for the Department of Homeland Security’s Border and Transportation Security Network program. She was also the S&T lead of information systems in anticipation of the Navy’s next generation ship platform and SSC Pacific’s Discovery and Invention portfolio manager for several years.
Wadad, her husband of twenty-five years, and her daughter in college, reside outside San Diego where she is active in training for competitive equestrian events.
Wadad was featured in Florida Tech’s 60th Anniversary special edition book, “60 for 60: Celebrating Sixty Years of Alumni at Florida Institute of Technology.” Copies are available for purchase here.
