ARLINGTON, Va.—The Department of the Navy’s incoming chief of naval research, set to take the helm Nov. 17, is a decorated pilot with thousands of flight hours in more than 45 types of aircraft.
Rear Adm. Matthew L. Klunder will become the 24th chief of naval research in a change of command ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard. As head of the Office of Naval Research (ONR), he will lead the Navy and Marine Corps’ science and technology community.
“Rear Adm. Klunder has a great background for this job,” said Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Nevin Carr. “He has a deep understanding of how we interface with larger programs. I’m very excited about turning over this wonderful organization to such a knowledgeable leader.”
Klunder joins ONR after serving as director of the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities division in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance in the Pentagon, where he has been responsible for overseeing naval autonomous vehicles and a number of other programs. Prior to that post, he was the 38th commandant of midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy.
At sea, Klunder was air wing commander of Carrier Air Wing 2, and commanding officer and department head of Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 115. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1982 and flew the E-2C Hawkeye and the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet.
As a lens for the Navy and Marine Corps into the world of science and technology, ONR is the organization responsible for looking at what the future might be.
“I certainly appreciate the breadth, the complexity and the value of science and technology in helping preserve and increase our warfighting advantage,” Carr said. “I’ve especially come to appreciate the value of basic research and its importance to the future. It’s been an amazing time to be in the Navy and to work among the great minds in the Navy and Marine Corps’ research community.”