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Watts selected as special projects officer

Published July 30, 2007

Joseph M. Watts was recently selected as the special projects officer in ERDC-TEC’s Executive Office. He will also serve as the program manager for various special projects. Watts was formerly an associate technical director in the Office of the Technical Directors.

"One of my goals in this position is to continue to inform the geospatial community of TEC’s relevance to the Army and nation in terms of our research and development efforts, our acquisition programs and our operational programs to reimbursable customers," Watts said.

Watts will focus on three programs: Mapping the Human Terrain, which is an effort to provide socio-cultural expertise and technology for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; the Preplanned Response and Emergency Action project, which involves developing a disaster response technology for use by the Southern Command as part of its disaster response mission and area of responsibility; and the development of the Overseas Humanitarian Assistance Shared Information System, which will be used to manage humanitarian assistance projects that are part of the Department of Defense mission worldwide.

Watts will also work with supervisory personnel to help find and develop the talent necessary to meet the challenges of these mission areas.

Watts is a recipient of the 2006 ERDC Award for Outstanding Team Effort and the 2006 TEC Director’s Award for Team Excellence as a member of the Asymmetrical Software Kit (ASK) team. ASK is a state-of-the-art information analysis and visualization capability which uses Geographic Information System technology. The team fielded, trained and maintained more than 500 ASK units supporting the Global War on Terrorism and humanitarian support. The team contributed significantly to TEC’s mission in supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In February 2007, he received the Superior Civilian Service Award for his two-year service as an associate technical director.

In December 2004, Watts received the Hero Award for his role as the technical lead of the ASK software and hardware program. In 2003, he was nominated for the TEC Director’s Award for Excellence in Operational Support. He was also nominated for the Wilbur B. Payne Memorial Team Award for Excellence in Analysis.

Watts earned a master’s in geodetic science and surveying from The Ohio State University, a master’s in geography from the University of Kentucky and a bachelor’s in geography from The Pennsylvania State University.


Release no. 07-010