This is where weapon systems of the future are conceived, tested, modified and tested again and again until worthy of acceptance. This is where a heritage of a legendary past spurs aerospace logisticians, engineers and scientists in a quest to "keep ’em flying", faster, higher, further, and safer than man has ever flown before.

Three of these Indian Americans such as Biswa Ganguly, Balu Sekar, Atindra Mitra, Shekhar Guha, Datta Gaitonde and L. R. Ram Mohan who have settled into their niche working for the United States Air Force—not as men in uniform, but as civilian scientists.

And among them are three senior Indian scientists with a combined total of 80 years service for the Department of Defence, who were ranked recently as Air Force Leaders and placed alongside Brigadiers, Generals and Majors.

Meet the trio—Siva S. Banda and Vipperla B. Venkayya in Ohio and Alok Das in New Mexico. These first-generation Indian immigrants have created an enviable record that would be difficult to surpass.

Like other eminent Indian scientists, they have publications aplenty and patents by the dozen. They have mentored a generation of younger scientists. They have earned the recognition of their professional peers. They have been honoured by professional societies, by academies and by the defence establishment. But more importantly, the technologies emerging from their work is providing the basis for maintaining America’s scientific and technical pre-eminence in the world and for meeting the challenges of the military.

The Air Vehicles Directorate is at the heart of the USAF defence system, a defence that will be based increasingly upon technological advancement. Much of the work here is classified. It was once reported that a U. S. senator was denied access into a building at Wright Patterson AFB because it was classified Above Top Secret.

The technologies emerging from the Air Vehicles Directorate today is expected to provide the basis for maintaining America’s technical pre-eminence in the world and for meeting the challenges of tomorrow.

Take the role of Dr. Siva S. Banda who leads the Control Science Centre of Excellence at the AFRL where he performs and directs basic and applied research that supports the future vision of the Air Force. His primary responsibility is the transition of basic research results from control theory to the aerospace industry. After high-level discussions with Air Force operational personnel in the Air Combat Command, Dr. Banda’s task is to translate the future Air Force operational needs into a list of future technologies by enlisting the broader academic community. This is at the heart of Dr. Banda’s mission.

His current research efforts focus on autonomous and cooperative control of multiple unmanned air vehicles, guidance and control of transatmospheric vehicles, aerodynamic flow control and formation control of micro satellite clusters.

Banda says that the Air Force interest in access to space and NASA’s focus on the development of the next generation of reusable launch vehicles has provided new opportunities for researchers to develop technologies that support the objectives of civilian and military space programmes. He recently solicited proposals from scientists that will reduce development costs, reduce turn-around time and increase overall vehicle safety and reliability. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Regional Engineering College, Warangal (1974), Banda went on to earn his Ph.D (1980) in aerospace engineering from the University of Dayton, Ohio. Since then, he has been at WPAFB beginning his career as an aerospace research engineer and moving step by step to a leadership role at the AFRL.

Dr. Vipperla B. Venkayya is a senior scientist with 36 years experience at the AFRL. As a member of the scientific and professional cadre of senior executives, he performs and directs research and development at the Multidisciplinary Technologies Centre in the Air Vehicles Directorate.

Dr. Venkayya is an in-house researcher, programme manager, consultant, mentor and a technical leader in planning and evaluating complex technology development projects. He is an authority and strong advocate of research in modelling and simulation of complex dynamics problems concerning aeronautics and space structures. His research interests are in the areas of finite element analysis, aeroelasticity and multidisciplinary optimisation of flight vehicle structures. In addition, technology transfer is one of his important activities at the laboratory

Dr. Venkayya initiated and promoted the planning and development of ASTROS, a software system for designing airframe structures that capture essential interactions of flight loads, aeroelasticity and structures and controls in a mathematical optimisation setting.

Venkayya and his team have trained more than 700 engineers and scientists over the years in modelling and simulation of complex structural dynamics problems using known software systems such as ASTROS and NASTRAN. He has served as consultant to Air Force centres, NASA, Federal Aviation Administration and the U. S. Navy on numerous technical projects.

Beginning with a degree in Physics from Andhra University in 1952, Venkayya earned a Bachelor´s degree in structural engineering with honours from the Indian Institute of Technology in 1956. A Masters degree from the University of Missouri and a Ph.D in structural engineering from the University of Illinois in 1962 capped his education. After a five year teaching stint at Suny, Buffalo, Venkayya joined the AFRL at WPAFB in 1967 as senior aerospace engineer.