Professor of Engineering, Professor of Applied Science, Research Scientist
Interests: Cold Fusion
David J. Nagel graduated (magna cum laude) from the University of Notre Dame (B.S. in Engineering Science 1960), and completed graduate work at the University of Maryland (M.S. in Physics 1969 and Ph.D. in Engineering Materials 1977). In 1960, he received a regular commission in the U. S. Navy after ranking first in his NROTC class. During active duty with the Navy, he was Administrative Officer and Navigator aboard the USS ARNEB on OPERATION DEEPFREEZE (1960-2), and then he served as a Technical Liaison Officer at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) (1962-4). After receiving a reserve commission and joining the civilian staff of the NRL in 1964, Dr. Nagel held positions of increasing responsibility as a Research Physicist, Section Head, Branch Head and, finally, Superintendent of the Condensed Matter and Radiation Sciences Division. In the last position for 13 years, he was a member of the Senior Executive Service, and managed the experimental and theoretical research and development efforts of 150 government and contractor personnel.
At the NRL, Dr. Nagel's research interests centered on radiation physics, especially x-ray spectroscopy, and on materials sciences, with applications to materials analysis, plasma diagnostics, integrated circuit production, environmental studies, cold fusion, and MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS). He has written or co-authored over 150 technical articles, reports, book chapters and encyclopedia articles. He is lead-author of a patent on x-ray lithography, which formed the basis of a 100-person startup company in Rochester NY. After serving 26 years in the Naval Reserve, including duty as Commanding Officer of three Reserve units and the national Technology Mobilization Program, Dr. Nagel retired as a Captain in the United States Naval Reserve in 1990. He left the Civil Service and became a Research Professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science of The George Washington University in 1998.
Dr. Nagel is a recognized authority on low energy nuclear reactions in condensed matter. Besides that, he is now working on the development and applications of micro- and nano-technologies, with emphasis on analytical micro-fluidics, wireless sensor systems and several applications to military operations and homeland security. Dr. Nagel teaches a graduate course on Applications of MEMS annually, and mentors students for their research projects that involve MEMS. He serves as a consultant to both government and industry in the areas of micro- and nano-technologies by providing technology assessments and studies, and by technical writing.
