Georgia Tech Research Institute
- MS, Naval Postgraduate School, Mechanical Engineering
- MS, Naval Postgraduate School, Applied Physics
- BA, University of California, Berkeley, Physics
Mike “Scratch” Fitzpatrick is a principal research engineer for the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) where he actively leads and directs the activities of more than 52 GTRI researchers and scientists and 13 industry partners to develop advanced systems and capabilities for the Department of Defense. Prior to joining GTRI, Mike held numerous positions of responsibility within the U.S. Navy and has extensive experience in joint military operations, training, project management, concept development and application for rapid insertion of advanced commercial capabilities into military systems. His experience was gained as an E-2C Hawkeye Naval Flight Officer, Marine Corps Weapons and Tactics Instructor (MAWTS-1), Nuclear Aircraft Carrier Operations Officer, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) Program Manager and Commanding Officer. Fitzpatrick started his military career and enlisted in the Navy as an Aviation Machinist’ Mate (Jet Mechanic) in 1982. Shortly after graduation in 1990, he attended the Navy’s Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) and accepted a regular commission as a Distinguished Naval Graduate.
Fitzpatrick commanded a squadron of the Navy’s premier E-2C Hawkeye Command & Control (C2/ISR) aircraft with 179 outstanding officers/enlisted in peacetime and war. He has diverse operational, staff, technical and engineering background and experience gained over a 32-year military career and has flown 2,300+ hours in multiple aircraft including the E-2C, P-3C, RC-135, E-3B, KC-130, CH-46, S-3B, MH-60, AH-64, UH-72 and others.
An E-2C Mission Commander, he developed Navy-Wide Air & Missile Defense Combat Identification Procedures and led development and integration of the Automated Identification System (AIS) into airborne command and control surveillance platforms. He also developed the Navy’s first seismo-acoustic sonar to successfully detect buried mines in the surf-zone. He guided development of modeling & simulation systems for training applications and operational course of action analysis and decision-making. As Pacific Fleet’s Air & Ballistic Missile Defense Syndicate Head and Subject Matter Expert at Tactical Training Group Pacific (TTGP), he was responsible for mentorship and certification of all Western Pacific Naval Forces.
He is very excited to be a part of the SMSE Executive Advisory Board and has been a very active proponent and sponsor of USD’s Senior Design Capstone Project program for a number of years. The partnership that GTRI [a nonprofit University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) and the applied research unit of the Georgia Institute of Technology] enjoys with USD’s engineering students enhances the collective accomplishment of our organizational vision and mission, to help educate and develop our people, the leaders and innovators who will help create a secure and prosperous nation, and a sustainable world.
FItzpatrick is currently focused on Operations Research, Operational Concepts, Systems Integration, Modeling & Simulation, Verification and Validation (V&V) of systems and models, Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC), Synthetic Training Environments and applied research in Infrasound (Air Acoustics).
He lives in San Diego and his hobbies are hiking, biking with his spouse Laure…and dabbling with his 3D printer.