JOHN D. McLEAN
Posted by smahaskey
I began working at the Naval Research Laboratory as a young researcher straight out of graduate school in 1980. Although I received more lucrative offers from other first-rate research institutions, my reason for choosing NRL was simple: I had never met a more highly skilled, highly dedicated group of individuals in my life. NRL researchers believed in what they did and were willing to accept lower pay to do it.
Other research labs did great work, but there was always running underneath the great work one of two currents that were disturbing to me: Either the laboratory did work that had vision but did not have an obvious connection with the production side of the house, or the laboratory sacrificed quality and vision to get something done on time and under budget.
NRL had excellent theoretical research programs, but they were tied to a real need. Theoretical advances produced experimental prototypes, which in turn resulted in fielded products. NRL always had an eye on the bottom line and would produce short turnaround solutions to emerging problems as needed, but I never saw NRL researchers sacrifice vision or quality.
Working for the government can sometimes seem frustrating. There are days where we seem to be surrounded by bureaucrats and accountants who do not understand the research environment. However, all I have to do is leave my office and interact with the great researchers who make up NRL to turn any day into a great day.
McLean is superintendent, Information Technology Division, Naval Research Laboratory.