China Aerospace Studies Institute Staff

Dr. Brendan Mulvaney

Brendan Mulvaney is the Director of the China Aerospace Studies Institute. Dr. Mulvaney served as a Marine for a quarter of a century, where he flew more than 2000 hours as a AH-1W Cobra pilot, and was an Olmsted Scholar in Shanghai, China. He served at Camp Pendleton, CA; in China as an Olmsted Scholar at Fudan University, where he earned his Ph.D. in International Relations; in Iraq; in Washington D.C. as the inaugural Director of the Commandant of the Marine Corps' Red Team, and most recently at U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis where he was the Associate Chair for Languages and Cultures and taught Chinese language and culture.

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Deputy Director (currently vacant)

Dr. Kevin Pollpeter

Dr. Pollpeter is the Director of Research at the Air University’s China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI). Kevin Pollpeter is an internationally recognized expert on China's space program and has been widely published on national security issues related to China. Before joining CASI he was the Senior Research Scientist at CNA, he previously served as the deputy director of a project on innovation and technology in China for the University of California’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. He was also the deputy director of the East Asia Program at the Defense Group Inc. and a researcher at RAND.  Dr. Pollpeter holds a doctorate in defense studies from King’s College London, a Master of Arts in international policy studies from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and a Bachelor of Arts in China Studies from Grinnell College.

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Dr.  Steve Smith

Dr. Smith is the Director of Warfighter Engagement at CASI. Dr. Smith completed 32 years of military service as a career Air Force Intelligence Officer and a long-time China Foreign Area Officer (FAO) by serving as the U.S. Air Force Attache in Beijing.  Dr. Smith was an Air Force Olmsted Scholar at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, where he studied Chinese Politics and Diplomacy.  He earned additional graduate degrees in Military Operational Art and Science and then Military Strategy before completing his PhD in International Studies at the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies.  Dr. Smith's research interests include evolution of the PRC's grand strategy, the PLA's evolving international behaviors, and PLA modernization efforts.  

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