Thomas P. Bostick, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, NAE, the 53rd Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has been named to ASCE’s 2018 class of Distinguished Members for service spanning 38 years of dedication to the nation.
Bostick, as chief of the Corps, focused on climate change and building resilient infrastructure. Between FY13 and FY16, he successfully managed programs worth more than $104 billion, representing the largest construction program in the history of USACE. Hence, he often spoke at the United Nations High-Level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters, a group of international strategists who collaboratively meet challenges throughout the world.
In his duration as chief, Bostick led the effort to transform the Corps’ civil works program, streamlining its processes and making it more responsive to those it served. He personally led the Corps’ response to Super Storm Sandy, ensuring a successful recovery from the disaster. Not content to merely strengthen its internal institutions, he was also instrumental in reaching out to the Corps’ many stakeholders and partners, including ASCE and members from academia, the private sector, industry, and the public sector. Partnerships with the DoD, Congress, and the White House also flourished.
Passionate in the promotion of science, technology, engineering, and math education, Bostick signed an agreement with the Department of Defense Education Activity to establish a pioneering middle school designed to increase college and career readiness and student interest in STEM. Additionally, he stressed the importance of talent and knowledge management, alternative financing through public-private-partnerships (P3), and significantly bolstered USACE efforts to obtain employment for Wounded Warriors, transitioning soldiers and veterans. He spearheaded the first water infrastructure P3 in the federal government.
Since his retirement from the Corps, Bostick has joined Intrexon, a biotechnology company and a leader in the engineering and industrialization of biology to improve the quality of life and health of the planet. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Intrexon, which applies engineering principles to biology to enable products in the human and animal health, food and agriculture, energy and chemicals, environment, and consumer products industries.
As CEO, Bostick oversees operations across the Company’s multiple technology divisions, driving efficiency and effectiveness in the application of the company’s assets toward its development projects.
Before the Corps, he was the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, Personnel, during which time he initiated plans to reduce the size of the Army, served on the Comprehensive Review Working Group that made the recommendation to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and expanded opportunities for women. As Commanding General, U.S. Army Recruiting Command, he helped lead major changes such as recruiting by teams rather than individuals, improving the climate of command and the creation of the slogan, Army Strong. He was also an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at West Point.
Bostick, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy in 1978, holds a master’s degree in both civil and mechanical engineering from Stanford University, and a doctorate in systems engineering from George Washington University. He received an Honorary Doctorate after his 2014 Commencement remarks at Tuskegee University.
He was the 2015 recipient of the John W. Gardner Legacy of Leadership Award from the White House Fellows Foundation and Association, a rare honor given only to only two other military leaders, Gen. Wesley Clark and Gen. Colin Powell. In 2017, Bostick was recognized by ASCE with an OPAL award for government.
