Manager, Protection Systems RDT&E Branch
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
William J. Hughes Technical Center
Transportation Security Laboratory, Building 315
Atlantic City International Airport , NJ 08405
(609)-813-2751

Mr. Fleisher is currently the Manager for the Protection Systems Division at the Transportation Security Laboratory (TSL), Transportation Security Administration, located at the William J. Hughes Technical Center, New Jersey. The TSL is the lead federal laboratory engaged in explosives and weapons detection research, development, test and evaluation. Products developed by the TSL protect the nation’s transportation systems from acts of terrorism or criminal activity. The Protection Systems Division focuses on protection of the transportation infrastructure and conveyances (aircraft, rail, etc) in the event of an attack, and includes the conduct of vulnerability assessments, research into access control, communications, and explosives effects and survivability technologies. The division has typically operated on an annual budget of approximately $20 million spanning 40 projects.

Prior to assuming his current assignment in 2003, Mr. Fleisher managed the Commercial Aircraft Hardening Program from 2001-2003. This technology program focused on determining commercial aircraft vulnerability to internal threats, predominantly explosives and electromagnetic, that could be used to catastrophically fail the aircraft. The vulnerability assessments are used to identify appropriate detection standards for screening equipment, as well as potential mitigation strategies. One such mitigation product is the hardened unit load device (HULD), which is a blast resistant version of a standard luggage container. Mr. Fleisher has provided technical expertise in the areas of commercial aircraft vulnerability assessment and mitigation of explosive effects.

Mr. Fleisher served as the Program Lead for Air Cargo Security R&D from 1998-2001, where an initial outcome was the development of a 5-year strategic research and development plan for the program. This plan was so well received that it was used as a template on which plans for other product areas within the agency were based. The cargo security program looked at various aspects of the problem including the development of risk-based prescreening systems based on shipment/shipper characteristics, development of screening systems including concepts of operations, ground transit security, threat assessments and contingency planning.

Before his employment with the Federal Government in 1997, Mr. Fleisher spent 6 years working for Galaxy Scientific Corporation, a company specializing in Aviation Technology R&D, where he was the Program Manager of the Structural Vulnerability Group. During his tenure at Galaxy, Mr. Fleisher led the project team which developed the first blast resistant aircraft luggage container to successfully pass the Federal Aviation Administration security requirement for explosive validation testing.

Mr. Fleisher has received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, an M.S. degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Rutgers University, and an MBA from Rutgers University.