Terry Thiem, Ph.D.

Dr. Terry Thiem is Director of Medical Countermeasures at the National Strategic Research Institute at the University of Nebraska, the DOD-designated University Affiliated Research Center sponsored by U.S. Strategic Command.

Dr. Thiem supports strategic planning and oversees all research intended to develop therapeutics and pre-exposure prophylactics to counter chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) threat sequelae for the Department of Defense and other federal customers. He is responsible for identifying research opportunities, securing funding, proposal writing and submission, organizing research teams, monitoring research progress and reviewing and approving products and reports.

Dr. Thiem earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry and geo-studies from Wayne State College and his doctorate degree in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. He also completed his master's in business administration from Wheeling University.

Dr. Thiem retired from the U.S. Air Force in May 2019 after nearly 29 years of military service. Throughout his military career, Dr. Thiem focused primarily on science and technology including three assignments at the Air Force Research Laboratory, a teaching assignment as an Assistant Professor in the Chemistry Department at the U.S. Air Force Academy and as the Chief Scientist and Deputy Commander on the 34th Civil Support Team. In addition, Dr. Thiem completed tours on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon and the Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellowship at SRI International. His final military assignment was as the Air Force Reserve Advisor to the Commander at USSTRATCOM.

In addition to his military service, Dr. Thiem has served in multiple positions in the chemical industry including:

• Director of the Reinhardt Technical Center for Carpenter Company in Richmond, Virginia.
• Manager for analytical services for Bayer’s Rubber Division in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.
• Research scientist and group leader for Bayer’s Polyurethane Division in New Martinsville, West Virginia.
• Advisory and assistance service for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Advanced and Emerging Threats Division, supporting programs developing prophylactic and therapeutic medical countermeasures for nerve agent exposure.

Dr. Thiem is both a Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow and an MIT Seminar XXI Fellow.

Patents & Publications

US 6,867,421 B1, In-Line Process for Monitoring Binder Dosage and Distribution on a Surface and Apparatus Useful Therefor, March 15, 2005, Robert N. Hunt and Terry L. Thiem.

US 6,066,284, Process for the production of engineered products in which curing of the wood is monitored ultrasonically and apparatus useful therefor, May 23, 2000, Robert N. Hunt, Terry L. Thiem, Timothy S. McCracken, and Howard S. Duff.

Military Cyber Defense Structures of NATO Members: An Update with a Focus on the Utilization of the Reserve Component, Lt Col Terry L. Thiem, Lt Col Rupert Lewis (UK), LCL Jean-Jacques Riviere (FRA), Lt Col Michael S. Herron (CAN), CMDR Mark Georgelin (AUS), LCDR John Merwin (USN), and MAJ Daniela Sedliakova (CZ), included as part of the NRFC Annual Report, 2017, pp. 1-33.

Extraction Efficiencies of Emulsions for 21 Elements in Oil and Transmission Fluids by Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy, Terry L. Thiem and Jeff D. Watson, Microchemical Journal, Volume 57, Issue 2, October 1997, pp. 245-250.

The Chemical and Biochemical Degradation of Hydrazine, Terry L. Thiem, Jason Brown, Johnathan Kiel, Eric Holwitt and Gerald J. O'Brien, USAFA-TR-97-01, January 1997, pp. 1-32.

Chapter 1, Analytical Atomic Spectroscopy, Joseph Sneddon, Terry L. Thiem and Yong-Ill Lee, Lasers in Analytical Atomic Spectroscopy, 1997, pp. 1-40.

The next-generation laser-induced breakdown spectrometer, Terry L. Thiem, Slavia Dementev, James H.S. Melville, Hayward S. Melville, Andrei F. Kotyuk, and Michael Ulanovskiy, American Laboratory, 1995.

Fast Metal-Atom Generation by Laser Vaporization of Cu, Zn, and Ni Compounds, Terry L. Thiem, Lyn R. Watson, Rainer A. Dressler, Richard H. Salter and Edmond Murad, The Journal of Physical Chemistry, 98(46), November 1994, pp. 11931-11941.

Quantitative simultaneous elemental determinations in alloys using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in an ultra-high vacuum, T.L. Thiem, R.H. Salter, J.A. Gardner, Y.I. Lee and J. Sneddon, Applied Spectroscopy, Vol 48, Num 1, 1994, pp. 58-64.