In Memoriam: Johns Hopkins APL Senior Fellow Phil E. DePoy

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) mourns the passing of former Senior Fellow Phil E. DePoy, who died July 12 at the age of 89.

DePoy was a renowned naval analyst who spent more than three decades at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) and served as its president and CEO from 1985 to 1990. In 1989, he received the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, the Navy’s highest civilian honor, given for exceptionally outstanding service. DePoy also held the roles of president and CEO of the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago from 1992 to 2000.

In 2014, DePoy was named one of the Laboratory’s first four Senior Fellows. APL Senior Fellows are distinguished experts in national security and space who work together with technical experts at the Laboratory to better inform technology and policy decisions made by U.S. military leaders and senior government officials. At APL, DePoy worked on these challenges under the guidance of Christine Fox, who was then APL’s assistant director for policy and analysis and is now a senior fellow.

“Phil was a brilliant analyst and leader,” said Fox, who worked for DePoy at CNA early in her career. She later went on to serve as president of the organization from 2005 to 2009. “His impact on our nation’s security cannot be overstated, and on a personal level, he was an irreplaceable mentor and friend. We will miss him tremendously.”

At APL, DePoy contributed heavily to strategic and rapid-response studies undertaken by the Lab’s National Security Analysis Department. He also — along with other APL Senior Fellows — co-authored “A Preface to Strategy: The Foundations of American National Security.” This paper identified premises that shaped and continue to shape America’s national security institutions, processes and strategies.

“Phil played a key role in advising the Laboratory as we worked on game-changing technologies for the government,” said Director Emeritus Ralph Semmel, who led the Laboratory from 2010 to 2025. “We are so grateful to have been able to lean on him and benefit from his insights and guidance.”

APL Assistant Director for Policy and Analysis Jim Miller said, “Phil was a wonderful colleague and inspirational leader to all who knew him. We are grateful for the enormous contributions he made to APL and the nation.”

DePoy was also the founding director of the Wayne E. Meyer Institute of Systems Engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School, and served as chairman of the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Committee. He held a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Stanford University.