Leading an impressive career for more than 50 years, Dr. Bennett served most of those years at NIST and the National Science Foundation for a total of fifty-one years. In 2015, he retired from NIST as a NIST Fellow and Executive Advisor Emeritus and established AltaTech Strategies (ATS) LLC - a sole-proprietor consulting company in the areas of emerging technologies, international standards, materials research, and consensus-based and pre-competitive research planning (i.e., technology roadmaps).

He began in 1966 his research/management career at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) as a theoretical solid-state physicist. NBS became in 1988 NIST. He then rose through the ranks of scientist, section chief, group leader, division director, senior scientist, and executive advisor. He became in 1979 a senior scientist and executive in the U.S. Senior Executive Service (SES) and in 1998 a NIST fellow and executive advisor.

Dr. Bennett held numerous prominent positions during his diverse career that involved both research and management. He served at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), holding the titles of theoretical solid-state physicist, chief of the NBS Solid-State Materials Section, senior scientist, and leader of the Device Modeling Group and the Materials Technology Group. He additionally held positions at the Department of Commerce (DoC) and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

To prepare for his career, Dr. Bennett earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard University, magna cum laude. He transitioned to the University of Maryland where he received a master’s degree in physics and mathematics. Returning to Harvard University, he earned a doctorate degree in physics with high honors. He then worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment and the University of Illinois.

A sought-after speaker, Dr. Bennett has presented internationally and presented research plans for emerging technologies. In addition to his skills as an effective speaker, he has strong writing and researching skills and has published over 200 refereed-archival articles in professional journals.

As a testament to his success, Dr. Bennett has received numerous recognitions and awards, including:

• Maryland's Outstanding Young Scientist Award from the Maryland Academy of Sciences for his extensive and innovative theoretical work on ferromagnetic materials near their Curie temperatures, on analyses of temperatures and stresses induced in laser materials subjected to high power, and on original calculations of electronic states and lattice vibrations in the vicinity of defects in materials [1970].

• U. S. Department of Commerce Science and Technology Fellow [1971-1972].

• Charter member of the U. S. Senior Executive Service [1979].

• Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for his pioneering work on applying solid-state theories and quantum mechanics to model the effects of high concentrations of carriers and dopants in advanced semiconductor materials and devices [1997]; and Life Fellow of the IEEE [2005].

• IEEE Electron Devices Society (EDS) Distinguished Lecturer for the areas of electronic materials, computer simulations for predicting the behavior of materials and devices, and international technology roadmaps [2002 – 2015].

• Fellow of the American Physical Society for his insights into advanced solid-state materials and the development of unique physical models that led to improved performance of electronic, magnetic, and optical materials and that suggested new design strategies for devices based on such materials [2004].

• Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award for superior contributions to the first ever quantitative assessment of the U.S. Measurement System [2007].

• Fellow of the Materials Research Society for seminal contributions to computational materials science, theory of materials, and international standards [2012].

• Elected twice as voting member-at-large of the IEEE EDS Administrative Committee. [1995 - 1996 and 1997 - 1999].

• Elected twice as voting member-at-large of Board of Governors for the IEEE-Standards Association (IEEE-SA) [2012 - 2013 and 2014 - 2015].

• Received the 2014 IEEE-SA Emerging Technology Award for the rapid development of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) standard sensor parameter performance definitions that address a critical need in the industry for accelerating innovation and commercialization (IEEE Standard 2700-2014) [2014].

He remains an active member of his research and standards communities, continues to publish archival-refereed papers with his colleagues at NIST, and consults with and serves on committees/technical working groups such as those for the IEEE-SA, IEEE Societies, International Organization for Standardization, and the International Electrotechnical Commission.