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Brigadier General
Erlind G. Royer
Permanent Professor 1983–1991
Dean of the Faculty 1987–1991
B.S., Montana State College
M.S., Stanford University
Ph.D., University of Illinois
Lindy Royer, the Academy’s 44th Permanent Professor, was born in 1939 in Missoula, Montana. In 1961 he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Montana State College, Bozeman, as a Distinguished Graduate of their AFROTC program. He accepted a scholarship for graduate study, entered active duty in October, and completed a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1962. He then was assigned to the San Bernardino Air Materiel Area (AMA), Norton AFB, CA, as a Project Engineer for ballistic missile flight instrumentation and analysis. In 1965 Lindy transferred to the Sacramento AMA, McClellan AFB, CA, as a Project Engineer performing engineering analysis of Thor missile launches supporting a space program. He was a Distinguished Graduate of Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL, in 1966. He entered the University of Illinois in 1967 and completed his PhD in Electrical Engineering in 1970. In 1969 Lindy was assigned to the Air Force Academy where, in addition to teaching, he was Director of the Radio Frequency Systems Laboratory in the Department of Electrical Engineering. He entered the Armed Forces Staff College in 1973. Upon completion six months later, he was assigned to the Deputy for Airborne Warning and Control Systems, Electronic Systems Division, Hanscom AFB, MA, as Navigation Guidance Functional Group Manager for the E-3A Sentry aircraft. He later also was responsible for developing a self-defense system and electromagnetic pulse protection for the aircraft. In 1975 Lindy transferred to the Over-the-Horizon Radar System Program Office as Chief, Engineering and Test Division. He next served as the program’s System Program Director, 1977–1979, accomplishing a major restructuring of the project that reduced the cost by 30 percent. After graduation from the National War College, Washington, DC, in 1980, he was assigned to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Casteau, Belgium, as Chief of the Survivability Section, Command and Control Branch, Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations. In 1981 he became Deputy Chief of the Command and Control Branch. After SHAPE reorganized in early 1983, he served as Chief of the Command and Control Requirements Section. While at SHAPE, Lindy wrote and obtained approval of the first NATO policy for electromagnetic pulse protection of war headquarters (1981) and the first NATO Command and Control Plan (1983). He returned to the Academy in 1983 as Permanent Professor and Head, Department of Electrical Engineering. In 1984 he assumed additional duty as Director of the Microcomputers in the Dormitories Project. When completed in 1986 for one-third the estimated cost, this was the first academic local area network in the world with every student, faculty, and staff member connected to all academic computing facilities. Lindy became the Dean of the Faculty in 1987 and was promoted to brigadier general. As Dean he facilitated the transition to the daily use of networked microcomputers to increase cadet learning and ease Academy-wide administrative tasks. Lindy retired from the USAF in 1991.
After retiring, Lindy worked for several companies as a Vice President managing software development projects. In 1998 he returned to the Academy as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in Electrical Engineering for five years. After a year as a volunteer mentor to cadet design project teams, he occupied The Phillip J. Erdle Chair for Engineering Science, 2004–2006, and helped establish the Computer Engineering and System Engineering majors in addition to teaching. In 2006 Lindy became a part-time researcher and cadet mentor and helped establish the Academy Center for Unmanned Aerial Systems Research (ACUASR) in 2009. He then helped guide the integration of the remotely piloted aircraft program with the ACUASR in 2014, before retiring again in 2015. He currently serves as Vice President of the non-profit The Friends of the Air Force Academy Library. Lindy has been honored with the University of Illinois Distinguished Alumni Award and the Montana State University Alumni Achievement Award.