The chief of naval research is the senior military officer in charge of scientific research in the United States Navy. The chief of naval research is in charge of the Office of Naval Research. The position is typically, but not always, held by a US Navy rear admiral.
The chief of naval research has responsibility for basic research, applied research, and advanced technology development components of the Navy's research and development programs (the first three of the seven categories used in the Department of Defense research and development budget, often referred to as 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3, respectively), as well as the Navy's intellectual property policy. The chief of naval research also coordinates with other research and development agencies within the Department of the Navy, such as the Naval Warfare Centers of the Naval Systems Commands.
Other positions in the Office of Naval Research leadership include the vice chief of naval research (a one-star Marine Corps brigadier general), the assistant chief of naval research and commanding officer of ONR Global (both captains), and the executive director and assistant vice chief of naval research (both civilians). The chief of naval research reports directly to the civilian assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development, and acquisition, and is thus not organizationally subordinate to the chief of naval operations, the senior military officer in the entire Navy.
History The predecessor to the Office of Naval Research was the Office of the Coordinator of Research and Development, an institution within the Navy during World War II meant to coordinate between the military-wide Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), Navy materiel bureaus, and civilian research organizations. The organization was formed in 1941 and was nicknamed the "Bird Dogs" due to their skill at finding and solving interorganizational problems. Jerome Clarke Hunsaker was interim chief, followed by Rear Admiral Julius A. Furer. OSRD was disbanded after the war, and the Office of the Coordinator of Research and Development was incorporated into the new Navy Office of Research and Inventions, headed by Harold Bowen, which became the Office of Naval Research in 1946.
Between 1945 and 2025, the position was always held by an active duty navy flag officer, usually a rear admiral. This tradition was broken during the second trump administration when Rachel Riley was appointed as the first non-military Chief of Naval Research.
List of chiefs of naval research
# Image Chief of Naval Research Term Refs 1 Harold G. Bowen Sr. 1946–1947 2 Paul F. Lee 1947–1949 3 Thorvald A. Solberg 1949–1951 4 Calvin Matthews Bolster 1951–1953 5 Frederick R. Furth 1953–1956 6 Rawson Bennett II 1956–1961 7 Leonidas Dixon Coates, Jr. 1961–1964 8 John K. Leydon 1964–1968 9 Thomas Barron Owen 1968–1970 10 Carl O. Holmquist 1970–1973 11 M. Dick Van Orden 1973–1975 12 Robert Keith Geiger 1975–1978 13 Albert Baciocco 1978–1981 14 L. S. Kollmorgen 1981–1983 15 Brad Mooney 1983–1987 16 John R. Wilson, Jr. 1987–1990 17 William C. Miller 1991–1993 18 Marc Y. E. Pelaez 1993–1996 19 Paul G. Gaffney II 1996–2000 20 Jay M. Cohen 2000–2006 21 William E. Landay III 2006–2008 22 Nevin P. Carr, Jr. 2008–2011 23 Matthew L. Klunder 2011–2014 24 Mathias W. Winter 2014–2016 25 David J. Hahn 2016–2020 26 Lorin C. Selby 2020–2023 27 Kurt J. Rothenhaus 2023–2025 28 Rachel Riley 2025–2026 -Thomas C. Fu (Performing the duties of)2026-present
References