Bio
Major Foley entered the Air Force through OTS in May of 2012. He was assigned as a Chemist and has led research projects at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and course-directed chemistry classes at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and was selected to pursue his PhD at the civilian institution, the University of Texas at San Antonio.
At his previous assignment, Maj. Foley served as the Deputy Branch Chief for Mission Support in the 711th Human Performance Wing Directed Energy Bioeffects Division, 711 HPW/RHD. There, he led a flight with a mission of facilities, IT, cybersecurity, program management, finance, and logistics. Additionally, he was also the Deputy Commander for his unit, leading 250 civilians and military personnel at a geographically separated unit responsible for experimental testing of directed energy bioeffects and for directed energy range survey and certification.
Education
PhD in Chemistry, University of Texas San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas (2022)
Master of Science in Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas (2009)
Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas (2007)
Professional Experience
Assistant Professor, United States Air Force Academy, Colo. (July 2026 – Present)
Deputy Chief of Staff, 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates) (October 2025 – May 2026)
Deputy Branch Chief Mission Support, 711th Human Performance Wing Directed Energy Bioeffects Division, Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston, Texas (July 2024 – June 2026)
Acting Division Chief, 711th Human Performance Wing Bioeffects Mission Support Division, Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston, Texas (August 2023 – July 2024)
Deputy Branch Chief Radiofrequency Bioeffects Branch, 711th Human Performance Wing Directed Energy Bioeffects Division, JBSA Fort Sam Houston, Texas (June 2023 – August 2023)
Senior research chemist, 711th Human Performance Wing Directed Energy Bioeffects Division, Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston, Texas (January 2023 – June 2023)
PhD student, University of Texas San Antonio, Texas (June 2019 – December 2022)
Instructor of Chemistry, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. (June 2016 – June 2019)
Research Scientist, Air Force Research Lab, Wight-Patterson AFB, Ohio (January 2013 – June 2016)
Pilot Trainee, 14th Flying Training Wing, Columbus Air Force Base, Miss. (May 2012 – January 2013)
Honors & Awards
Meritorious Service Medal
Air and Space Commendation Medal
Air and Space Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster
Army Achievement Medal
Research and Scholarly Interests
Inorganic Chemistry
Bioinorganic / Biomimetic synthesis and application
Publications
“Tetranuclear iron (III) complexes with a carboxylate-rich ligand as synthetic mimics of phosphoesterases in aqueous media” Inorg. Chim. Acta. 2022, 543, 121195.
“Homodinuclear copper (II) and zinc (II) complexes of a carboxylate-rich ligand as synthetic mimics of phosphoester hydrolase in aqueous solutions” J. Inorg. Biochem. 2021, 225, 111589.
“Transcriptomic analyses elucidate adaptive differences of closely related strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in fuel” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2017, 83(10).
“The ligand unwrapping/rewrapping pathway that exchanges metal S-acetylated, hexacoordinate N2S2O2 complexes” Chem. Science 2015, 6, 7079-7088.
“Comparisons of Zinc with Cadmium in N2S2 Coordination and as S-Bonded Adducts to Tungsten Carbonyls” Dalton Trans. 2012, 41, 143-148.
“Zinc/Nickel Exchange and Ligand Cannibalism in N2S2O1,2 Donor Ligand Sets” Dalton Transactions 2009, 9496-9502.
“Development of Five-Coordinate Zinc Mono- and Dithiolates as S-Donor Metalloligands: Formation of a Zn-W Coordination Polymer” Inorg. Chem. 2009, 48, 5288-5295.