David E. Lambert, Ph.D. is the Chief Scientist, Munitions Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. He serves as the principal scientific and technical adviser to the director and is the primary authority for the technical content of the directorate’s science and technology portfolio.
Lambert joined the Munitions Directorate in 1987 as a mechanical engineer in the Bombs and Warheads Branch. He has fulfilled a variety of technical positions, ranging from bench level scientist, team leader, technical adviser and core technical competency leader while in ARFL/RW and its predecessor organizations (Air Force Armament Laboratory and then Wright Laboratories.)
His research and widespread collaborations in detonation shock dynamics, non-ideal explosives and high-rate material response studies has spearheaded the foundations of tomorrow’s scalable and selectable effects munitions.
Lambert has published over 100 technical papers and proceedings in national and international journals and forums. He has an extensive experimental background in the areas of fundamental characterization and advancement of detonation physics, focused energy warheads, penetration mechanics and ordnance integration.
Lambert has received a multitude of awards and honors, including the Wright Laboratory, Munitions – Engineer/Scientist of the Quarter in 1992, Air Force Commendation medal in 2001 and 2012, Science and Technology Achievement Award in 2006, LeRoy Collins Distinguished Graduate – Northwest Florida State College in 2015 and Distinguished Alumnus Lecture, University of Florida in 2015.
Lambert earned his BS in mechanical engineering from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering.
In April 2018, Henderson was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni by the College’s department of mechanical engineering.