Randy "Laz" Gordon, Colonel (USAF), PhD

Randy "Laz" Gordon, Colonel (USAF), PhD

Colonel Randy "Laz" Gordon, PhD is a highly decorated senior commander, innovator, combat veteran, and experimental test pilot in the United States Air Force. He currently serves as the Commander of the Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC), headquartered at Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee.2

Key Facts About Colonel Gordon

• Holds a PhD in Strategy from the USAF School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, as well as Master's degrees in Aeronautical Engineering, Systems Engineering, and Strategy2
• Harvard Business School Alumnus, MIT Fellow, and Presidential Fellow1
• Served as the initial cadre director for the Secretary of the Air Force's Artificial Intelligence Accelerator with MIT and AFWERX technology innovation team2
• Commanded the F-22 Combined Test Force and has extensive flight test experience in over 70 military and civilian aircraft including the F-15C/E, A-10A/C, and F-22A23
• Decorated combat veteran with experience from Operations NORTHERN WATCH over Iraq and ENDURING FREEDOM over Afghanistan3
• Published writer for Air & Space Smithsonian and Flying magazines1
• Strategic Advisor for Space for Humanity, a non-profit that selects citizen astronauts3

As the AEDC Commander, Colonel Gordon leads a complex with over 3,000 employees across 68 aerospace test facilities in 8 states.2 The AEDC offers a wide range of test capabilities to simulate flight conditions from subsonic to hypersonic speeds and sea level to space altitudes for aerospace system developers.2