Biographies

Dr. Vahid Majidi was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Matters in December 2013.  In this position, he was responsible for all aspects of nuclear weapon surety and the management, integration, and coordination of activities relating to the acquisition and modernization of the nuclear weapons stockpile.  His office approved procedures and requirements relating to all facets of the nuclear weapons logistics and establishes procedures for review, approval, and transmittal to the Department of Energy on nuclear weapons matters.

Just prior to joining the Department of Defense, Dr. Majidi served as the Chief Scientist for TASC Inc., and was the Director of University Multispectral Laboratories. His work focused on national security, homeland security, and issues concerning advanced technologies.

From 2006 to 2012, Dr. Majidi served as the Assistant Director for the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Directorate at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  His Directorate was responsible for coordinating and managing FBI's equities, activities, and investigations involving WMD. Specifically, the Directorate was charged with developing and executing an integrated approach to deny access to WMD materials and technologies, prevent WMD attacks, and respond to WMD threats and incidents.

Dr. Majidi was appointed by the Deputy Attorney General to serve as the Chief Science Advisor to the Department of Justice. Dr. Majidi was detailed from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to the Department of Justice, and he was responsible for coordinating science and technology policy among the Department's component agencies and with state and local law enforcement entities. He served as the lead Department representative for biosecurity, pathogen forensics, DNA technologies, biometrics programs, and as the liaison to the scientific community.

Dr. Majidi also served as the Chemistry Division Leader at LANL before he began his assignment with Department of Justice. The Chemistry Division at LANL is a premier scientific organization with extensive research capabilities essential to national security and civilian research programs. Chemistry Division's strategic programs included nuclear weapons-related research, non/counter-proliferation, homeland security, isotope science, applied energy, and nanoscale science & engineering.

Dr. Majidi was a tenured associate professor of chemistry at the University of Kentucky. His research activities were focused on measurement science and technology.