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Stephen Ouellette is the Director of the System Evaluation Division — a position he assumed in 2021. The division is IDA’s oldest research element — tracing its origins to the Institute’s formation in 1956. Its mission is to provide high-quality studies of the performance of air, land, sea, and space-based systems.

Dr. Ouellette leads a staff of IDA engineers and scientists engaged in assessing military force effectiveness, system performance, and joint and allied interoperability. Their analyses help government sponsors choose among competing programs, set force or inventory levels, and identify suitable concepts for employing systems in realistic operational environments.

After joining IDA as a research staff member in 2001, Dr. Ouellette initially specialized in force-level modeling of platform, sensor, and weapon mixes for air warfare and airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). He went on to conduct assessments of space-based ISR systems, missile defense systems, electronic warfare to counter improvised explosive devices (IEDs), advanced technologies for national defense, and a selection of Intelligence Community topics. Most recently his work has focused on system survivability in the space environment, developments in space control, and deterring aggression in the space domain. His career has emphasized collaboration across the research divisions of IDA’s Systems and Analyses Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) and partnership with other FFRDCs and University Affiliated Research Centers.

Dr. Ouellette received his doctorate in physics from the California Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Maine. He also completed the Senior Executives in National Security program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. His professional awards include the 2012 Andrew J. Goodpaster Award for Excellence in Research and the 2020 Larry D. Welch Award for Best External Publication.