Dr. Scott Nowlin was the featured speaker at the annual UEC dinner in February 2021. He grew up in Nevada, where his father introduced him to aeronautics and aircraft when he was fairly young. It became a shared interest.
Scotty holds a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautics from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a Master of Science in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in engineering science from Oriel College, the University of Oxford, U.K.
Scotty has lived in five different states and three different countries. He spent two tours teaching at the U.S. Air Force Academy. His last assignment before his military retirement was at Hill Air Force Base. He is currently a multidisciplinary systems engineer and career Air Force officer serving as the chief engineer of the Air and Space Force Solutions business area within the Intelligence and Security sector of BAE Systems, Inc.
At BAE Systems, Scotty holds engineering authority for a unit that provides the U.S. Air Force and combatant commands with innovative solutions to help acquire, modernize, maintain, test, and cyber-harden intercontinental ballistic missile and space systems.
He joined BAE Systems in December 2016 upon retirement from the Air Force, where he served 24 years as a developmental engineer. His career highlights include serving as an Airborne Laser Program flight test engineer, which involved multiple worldwide deployments. He also served as an assistant professor of Aeronautics, Systems Engineering program director, and Aeronautics Department Deputy Head at the Air Force Academy. His military career culminated at the rank of Colonel as the Military Director of Engineering for an Air Force Sustainment Center Operating Location supporting missile and aircraft depot maintenance activities.
Scotty’s multifaceted community service includes current or past membership on the University of Utah, Utah State University, Weber State University, and U.S. Air Force Academy engineering industry advisory boards, as well as serving as a director on the Hill Air Force Base Aerospace Museum board, and the governor-appointed Utah STEM Action Center and Economic Development Coordinating Council boards.
Scotty met his wife, Joelyn, during junior high school. They met again at the U.S. Air Force Academy and were married a year after graduation; she served in the U.S. Air Force for five years. Scotty and Joelyn have four children: Faith, a senior at Weber State University; Christina, a sophomore at Colorado Christian University in Denver; Jonathan, a senior at the Northern Utah Academy of Math, Engineering, and Science (NUAMES); and Seth, a sophomore, also attending NUAMES.
