Military (center) presents an award to Dr. Tegnelia (left) as LTC Haraburda (right) reads the citation in 2005. (ASB Photo Archives.) Colonel Scott S. Haraburda spent nearly three decades serving in the
US Army, providing significant contributions to
military logistics,
CBRNE defense, and
military science. In 1991, while he was teaching chemistry at the
United States Military Academy, the Army Astronaut Nomination Selection Board nominated Haraburda as a
NASA astronaut candidate. A few years later, by means of a competitive selection at the rank of Major, he served as a representative of the
United States to
Germany in 1995 through the ''Army Reserve's Foreign Exchange Program'' with the
Bundeswehr, Germany's army. In 2005, he served as the Executive Secretary of the
Army Science Board, helping its distinguished members of corporate
executive managers, senior academians, and retired military
flag officers formulate recommendations to scientific and technological matters of concern to the Army.
Military Logistics In late 2007, Colonel Haraburda deployed to
Kuwait for a year to help correct the contingency contracting problems plaguing the
war zone. The Army deployed him to
Camp Arifjan to lead a small military team of logistics officers in applying the
LOGCAP methods as part of the
Gansler Report's second recommendation solution.
CBRNE Defense As the commander of the 472d Chemical Battalion from 2002 through 2004 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he integrated his units' training with civilian agencies, such as
fire departments,
police stations,
hospitals, and
non-governmental organizations (e.g.,
American Red Cross) to improve the
Defense Support of Civil Authorities capabilities for large-scale chemical defense missions. As a result, he was the first commander selected to provide operational command and control over nearly 400
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high- yield Explosives (CBRNE) defense soldiers in
Operation Red Dragon in 2004. While commander of the
464th Chemical Brigade from 2006 to 2007, Colonel Haraburda provided command and control over the same exercise in 2006, this time commanding over 1,100 chemical, military police, and medical soldiers. Another major contribution he provided to CBRNE soldiers was his recommendations on ways to improve their leadership capabilities, using ideas he derived from his various military leadership assignments and theories learned as a graduate of the
Army War College and the
Army Command and General Staff College, military colleges that prepare officers for senior leadership assignments and responsibilities.
Engineering The
National Society of Professional Engineers named Dr. Scott S. Haraburda a Fellow in 2013 in recognition for long-term service with the Society, as well as to the engineering profession and the community (an honor given to less than 1% of its members). And from 2014 until 2015, he served as the president of the Indiana Society of Professional Engineers (ISPE). While president of ISPE, he publicly led an effort to oppose a state governmental panel recommendation in 2015 to eliminate licensing of engineers in the
State of Indiana, causing Governor
Mike Pence to soon issue a statement opposing the recommendation as well. Furthermore, in 2001, he earned a doctorate in
chemical engineering from
Michigan State University.
Plastics As an inventor, he holds two
United States patents and seven patent publications. One of Dr. Haraburda's patents involved a measurement system to be used in the
plastics industry, which he used in a project identified by Chemical Processing magazine with its
Project of the Year award in 1998 as one of the best projects in the
chemical industry. In the 1990s, he worked as a plastics engineer for
Bayer Corporation and
General Electric Plastics. ==Personal life==