Two of the Army's Lead Technology Researchers Retire

October 14, 2025

Dr. Scott E. Schoenfeld (center) holds his Length of Service certificate commemorating his 30-year federal service career alongside his wife, Leslie I. Skelley (right), and DEVCOM ARL director, Dr. Patrick Baker (left). (Image: U.S. Army)

The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory (ARL) recently announced the retirements of two of its longest standing researchers: Chief Scientist and Senior Research Scientist for Terminal Ballistics, Dr. Scott E. Schoenfeld; and Dr. Patrick J. Baker, Director, ARL. Check out some of the highlights from their long-standing careers below.

Dr. Patrick J. Baker

Baker's retirement ceremony was held Sept. 26 with an audience of colleagues, friends, family and senior leaders who reflected on the impact Baker had on the Army and the scientific community. Maj. Gen. Stephanie R. Ahern, director of Strategy, Plans, and Policy for the U.S. Army hosted the event in which Dr. Baker reaffirmed his oath to the U.S. Constitution to punctuate his nearly life-long commitment to the nation.

Maj. Gen. Stephanie R. Ahern, director of Strategy, Plans, and Policy for the U.S. Army (right) hosted the retirement ceremony in which Dr. Patrick Baker (left) reaffirmed his oath to the U.S. Constitution to punctuate his nearly life-long commitment to the nation. (Image: U.S. Army)

Ahern emphasized the lasting impact of Baker’s leadership during her speech. “Your ability to lead with wisdom and humility has inspired countless individuals and shaped the Army Research Laboratory into the premier institution it is today,” she said to him during the ceremony.

“You’ve had an absolutely critical impact on so many for so many years. Your wisdom, expertise and leadership will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come,” she added.

Baker began his Army career 41-years ago on July 26, 1984, as an intern at the Ballistic Research Laboratory, which later became part of ARL. During his retirement remarks, he reflected on the lessons he learned early in his career.

“My first team leader taught me simplicity, clear intent and the importance of mentorship,” Baker said. “BRL was pretty much the coolest job possible, even as a freshman. I could clearly tie what I was doing to defeating something, at the time a BMP or a future Soviet tank. You’re at the nexus of research and warfighting.”

Baker’s early work focused on ballistic research, and he led technical programs on lethality and protection as team leader, branch chief, division chief and directorate director. His leadership during Operation Iraqi Freedom was particularly impactful. Under his guidance, ARL researchers developed expedient armor for increased protection for up-armored combat vehicles.

Ahern read a message from a long-time colleague who said, “Under his leadership, ARL researchers used its high-performance computing and range experimentation capabilities to model, design, test, evaluate and field these art solutions faster than industry could. Dr. Baker is directly responsible for saving countless lives and preventing injuries.”

Having been selected in the Senior Executive Service in May 2012, Baker served in leadership positions for much of his career. However, he always maintained a deep connection to the science that drives ARL’s mission.

His tenure as director saw ARL achieve significant milestones in areas such as high-performance computing, materials science and autonomous systems. His vision ensured that ARL’s research aligned with Army priorities and addressed the evolving needs of the warfighter.

Baker thanked the Army Research Office for his graduate school education, where he says he learned that “You have to prove you can do something hard that you don’t want to do.“

Dr. Scott E. Schoenfeld

Schoenfeld, who has received numerous accolades for his leadership abilities and scientific expertise, was widely recognized by the Army for his contributions to the field of terminal ballistics and his role in advancing innovative solutions that keep Soldiers safe.

His impact on the Army’s understanding of lethal projectiles and its development of new protection technologies is reflected in the success of the numerous Army programs that he helmed over the course of his 30-year career at DEVCOM ARL.

Thinking back on his journey and his many years of service dedicated to supporting the warfighter, the retired ARL Chief Scientist explained that one core memory had largely shaped how he approached his work.

The moment took place after he had completed his doctorate in applied mechanics at the University of California, San Diego, shortly before he started his career at ARL in 1995 as a research engineer.

“During my interview before I was hired, I was asked a question by one of the researchers, Dr. Ingo May,” Schoenfeld said. “He said to me, ‘I think you’re a great scientist. Can you be an Army scientist?’”

Schoenfeld admitted that he nodded but initially had no idea what that question meant. But over time, he began to understand the difference between being a scientist and being an Army scientist.

The turning point, according to Schoenfeld, came during the early 2000s at the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom when he served as the chief of ARL’s Armor Mechanics Branch. Soldiers overseas faced lethal threats that became deadlier with every evolving iteration, and the Army desperately needed better armors for its major combat vehicles.

“There was a huge urgency to spin out armors, and I had to not only quickly apply my foundational work to develop armors, but I also had to coordinate very rapidly with folks from the Intel communities and other groups to understand what was happening,” Schoenfeld said. “At that point, my career became less individually intellectual and more focused on trying to help people get a sense of urgency and organize themselves to address these challenges. I mean, people were getting killed over there. It was almost a decade of very high intensity armor developments.”

Schoenfeld explained that one of his favorite experiences at ARL was contributing to the production of mine-resistant ambush protected armored vehicles as part of the MRAP Armor Weight Reduction Spiral program and seeing so many people work together in a synchronized fashion to meet this very important Army need.

“The vehicles all needed to be armored differently and very quickly, but there was not enough material in the world, nor the capacity to develop the material, to keep up the production rate of these vehicles,” Schoenfeld said. “I think the most memorable thing for me was seeing how quickly not just ARL but all the partners at Aberdeen Proving Ground did everything they could to get every facility all working in parallel, in one coordinated effort, to make the materials available on a national level to maintain the rapid production of different vehicle armor variants. We were able to do it because anybody who could contribute would contribute.”

Schoenfeld gradually went on to mobilize larger and larger teams for the purposes of overcoming the Army’s challenges in ballistics and terminal effects, managing programs as a Force Protection Capability Research Manager, then as the Senior Campaign Scientist for Lethality and Protection and finally as the Senior Research Scientist for Terminal Ballistics in 2019.

In 2023, he assumed his position as the Chief Scientist for ARL, which made him responsible for the top-level scientific and technical strategy of the entire laboratory.

Over time, he became a recipient of numerous honorary awards including a Department of Army Research and Development Award for Leadership Excellence, two Army Greatest Invention awards and the FY23 Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Senior Professional.

Schoenfeld named many people whom he felt shaped his career at ARL and empowered him to reach such heights: Dr. Tim Wright, the previous senior research scientist for Terminal Effects who recruited him from graduate school; Dr. Rick Morrison, then-chief of the Terminal Effects Division; Dr. Drew Dietrich, his first branch chief; Jill Smith, who encouraged him to take on more leadership roles; Dr. Patrick Baker, ARL director who has always supported him over the years; and many others.

Reflecting once more on the question posed by May three decades ago, Schoenfeld affirmed that he can now clearly say what it means to be an Army scientist.

“It means not just being wonderful in your art but learning how to apply that state-of-the-art to some of the country’s most challenging problems,” Schoenfeld said. “Those problems are weighty and important, and that’s what gives us our sense of mission. People’s lives depend on the work we do.”

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