From a street gang in Bronx to a doctorate in physics from MIT John Parmentola

How do a guy from the streets in Bronx end up at MIT? "Well, it's a complicated story and It's filled with failure" John Parmentola

 

John Parmentola has built a highly distinguished career over four decades as an entrepreneur, inventor, innovator, a pioneer in the founding of new fields of research, and leader of complex research and development organizations with broad experience in the private sector, academia and high-level positions within the federal government and defense community.

 

In this episode we also talk about:

What the Ice age data shows about the climate

Parmentola invented a revolutionary new airship

The importance of more scientific research

And much more

 

Born in the Bronx, New York, Dr. Parmentola earned a bachelor’s of  science in physics cum laude from Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, and  his doctorate in physics from MIT. Dr. Parmentola received the 2007 Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive from President George W. Bush for his service to the Department of the Army.  He was also an Air Force Intelligence Agency nominee for the 1996 R. V. Jones Award of the Central Intelligence Agency for his work in arms control verification, and a recipient of the Outstanding Civilian Service Award and the Superior Civilian Service Award for his many contributions to the U.S. Army.  He is an Honorary Member of the U.S. Army STs, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a recipient of the U.S. Army 10 Greatest Inventions Award,  the Alfred Raymond Prize and the Sigma XI Research Award. He has  presented and published more than 500 speeches, papers, and articles in  science and technology policy and is the author of an authoritative book on space defense.

 

Currently, he is a consultant to one of the world’s leading think tanks, The RAND Corporation,  where he works on defense, energy, and science and technology  assessment, strategy, and planning issues for government agencies, both  domestic and foreign.  He also does work on a volunteer basis for the National Academy of Sciences.

 

As Senior Vice President at General Atomics,  he led the California-based technology company’s Energy and Advanced  Concepts Group, focusing on energy, defense, advanced computing, and  management of DIII-D National  Fusion Facility, the largest such facility in the United States (U.S.).  The Group’s innovations include a revolutionary waste-burning compact advanced reactor (EM2), meltdown proof nuclear fuel, setting a new land-speed record with magnetic-levitation systems, and building the world’s most powerful superconducting electromagnet for the largest fusion experimental facility in the world, ITER.   While at GA, Dr. Parmentola invented a revolutionary new airship that could provide wireless communications for 1.4 billion people worldwide currently without this capability.

As a distinguished Senior Executive in the Pentagon, Dr. Parmentola served as Director for Research and Laboratory Management for  the U.S. Army, directing lab management policy for 12,000 employees,  infrastructure and security for all 21 Army laboratories and research,  development and engineering centers, and led Base Realignment and  Closure efforts for the Army. He also had responsibility for a  $1-billion combined budget for basic and applied research, manufacturing  technologies, small business innovative research, and high-performance  computing.

During his tenure with the Army, Dr. Parmentola led the creation and development of several remarkable research centers.  One of them, the Institute of Creative Technologies at the University  of Southern California, won an Oscar for its technical contributions to  cinematography.  This is the work of Academy Awardee, Paul Debevec. Another, the Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies at the University of California Santa Barbara, supported the work of Frances Arnold, who won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the 5th woman in history to receive the prize.  Tasked by General Eric Shinseki, he led the creation of a new “Science Fair for the Nation,” eCybermission.   For the past 17 years, this competition has inspired middle and high  school students nationwide (including U.S. territories and possessions)  in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.  Also,  while serving in the Pentagon, Dr. Parmentola conceived and led the  development of the world’s first robotic dog that  could see and sniff explosives.  This remarkable robotic system saved  the lives of soldiers in both Iraq and Afghanistan and is one of the  Army’s Ten Greatest Inventions.

 

As Chief Scientist, Dr. Parmentola served as the science and technology advisor to the Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Department of Energy  (DOE), where he provided technical, budgetary, and programmatic advice  to DOE leaders for more than $7B in science and technology investments.

He also co-founded the Advanced Systems and Concepts Office of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency to address significant national challenges concerning the threat of weapons of mass destruction.  Based upon a request from Ambassador James Goodby, he led two major studies on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty for President Clinton.  He received official confirmation from General John Shalikashvili that these studies contributed to the security of the nation

He has been on the faculty of M.I.T., West Virginia University, a  Fellow of the John F. Kennedy School of Government and a Principal  Scientist for Strategic Command, Control, and Communications at the  MITRE Corporation.  While working for these organizations, he made contributions  to fundamental science in high-energy physics and nuclear physics,  strategic nuclear operations, and led the creation and development of  the world’s most sensitive mobile gravity gradiometer for arms control verification applications. This device is used today for the exploration of oil and minerals and the discovery of diamond deposits.

His work in the private sector includes the co-founding of Travel Media Corp. (TMC)  with his wife, Jane Langridge, serving as TMC’s chief financial  officer, and chief technology officer for over 30 years. TMC specialized  in the production and distribution of in-room magazines for leading  hotels and resorts, including Marriott, Renaissance, Hyatt, Hilton,  Radisson and Westin throughout the Caribbean, Latin America and Hawaii.  TMC also created and published Expressions for American Express in  Spanish and Portuguese for their Latin and South American markets. Other  TMC clients included Air Aruba Airlines and Copa Airlines of Panama.

 

Born in the Bronx, New York, Dr. Parmentola earned a bachelor’s of  science in physics cum laude from Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, and  his doctorate in physics from MIT. Dr. Parmentola received the 2007 Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive from President George W. Bush for his service to the Department of the Army.  He was also an Air Force Intelligence Agency nominee for the 1996 R. V. Jones Award of the Central Intelligence Agency for his work in arms control verification, and a recipient of the Outstanding Civilian Service Award and the Superior Civilian Service Award for his many contributions to the U.S. Army.  He is an Honorary Member of the U.S. Army STs, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a recipient of the U.S. Army 10 Greatest Inventions Award,  the Alfred Raymond Prize and the Sigma XI Research Award. He has  presented and published more than 500 speeches, papers, and articles in  science and technology policy and is the author of an authoritative book on space defense.