Home Index
Brigadier General
Michael E. Van Valkenburg
Permanent Professor 2005–2018
B.S., Washington University, St. Louis
M.S., South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
Ph.D., University of Florida
Mike Van Valkenburg, the Academy’s 78th Permanent Professor, was born in West Point, New York, in 1963. He graduated from Washington University, St. Louis, MO, in 1985 with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering and a commission from Air Force ROTC. His first assignment was as Chief of Bioenvironmental Engineering Services, USAF Hospital, Williams AFB, AZ, 1985–1987, during which time he completed the Bioenvironmental Engineering Officer Course at the School of Aerospace Medicine, Brooks AFB, TX. Mike next went to the USAF Hospital at Ellsworth AFB, SD, as Deputy Chief of the large Bioenvironmental Engineering Services unit, 1987–1989. He then received sponsorship from the Academy and spent two years as a graduate student at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, Rapid City, where he earned his Master’s degree in Civil Engineering (Environmental) in 1991. His first Academy tour, 1991–1994, was as Instructor and Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, followed by an assignment as Deputy Chief, Program Development Division, HQ Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence, Brooks AFB. In 1996 he entered the doctoral program at the University of Florida and earned his PhD in Environmental Engineering Sciences (minor in Chemistry) in 1999. Returning to the Department of Chemistry, 1999–2003, Mike taught General, Analytical, Organic, Physical, and Environmental Chemistry courses and rose through positions of responsibility to Deputy Department Head for Operations. He then returned to the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, Bioenvironmental Health Division, as Associate Dean and Chief, Operational Health Division, 2003–2004, then Chief, Contingency Operations Division, 2004–2005. From that position, Mike was selected as a Permanent Professor and appointed Head, Department of Chemistry. In addition to providing all cadets with a fundamental education in chemistry, the department provides a comprehensive curriculum for cadets interested in chemistry, biochemistry, or materials chemistry. In 2007 he was deployed as a senior advisor to the National Military Academy of Afghanistan, Kabul. From 2010 to 2011 he had a sabbatical assignment as Director, Science and Engineering Workforce Strategy, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology and Engineering, the Pentagon, Washington, DC, where his work encompassed science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) initiatives; strategic management of the scientist career field; and nuclear enterprise initiatives. Mike received a prestigious American Council on Education Fellowship and spent academic year 2015–2016 working in the Office of the Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, Purdue University, gaining valuable insights for the Academy on a range of leading-edge initiatives in higher education. Throughout his faculty years, Mike was heavily involved in the Academy’s men’s ice hockey program, and for several years served as Officer Representative for the team. He also served as the Academy’s Faculty Athletics Representative to the NCAA and Chair of the Basic Sciences Division. Mike was promoted to brigadier general and retired in 2018.