Contact Information
Bio
Captain Nathan Gale serves as an Instructor in the Department of Physics and Meteorology at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He was commissioned in 2018 through the Air Force ROTC program. Captain Gale holds both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Nuclear Engineering, earned from the University of New Mexico (UNM) and the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), respectively.
After commissioning, Captain Gale reported directly to AFIT, where he worked under the tutelage of his adviser, Dr. John McClory, on his thesis research, which involved deep-level transient spectroscopy of neutron-irradiated photodiodes.
Following his time at AFIT, Captain Gale was assigned to the Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) 21st Surveillance Squadron (21SURS) Detachment 1 at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. There, he led the field analysis laboratory supporting the WC-135’s Nuclear Debris Collection & Analysis (NDC&A) and National Technical Nuclear Forensics (NTNF) missions. Captain Gale served as the Technical Event Airborne Lead for five Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff-directed missions, operating from locations including Offutt AFB, Lincoln Airport (NE), Kadena Air Base (Japan), and Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley (Australia).
In addition to his deployed role, Captain Gale served as the Commander of the Advanced Atmospheric Research Equipment (AARE) Maintenance Flight before transitioning to the role of Chief of Quality Assurance for 21SURS/Det 1.
Education
Master of Science: Nuclear Engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH (2020)
Bachelor of Science: Nuclear Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (2018)
Professional Experience
Chief, Quality Assurance, Air Force Technical Applications Center /21SURS/Det 1, 2022-2023
Flight Commander, Maintenance, AFTAC/21SURS/Det 1, 2021-2022
Assistant Flight Commander, Field Analysis, AFTAC/21SURS/Det 1, 2020-2021
Student, Department of Engineering Physics, Air Force Institute of Technology, 2018-2020
Honors & Awards
CGO of the Quarter (Dean of Faculty Level, Q4 2024)
Language Capable Airman of the Year (Wing Level, 2022)
Air Force Commendation Medal
Research and Scholarly Interests
Radiation effects in electronics
Small modular reactors
Space nuclear engineering
Nuclear fallout transport
Novel radiation detection techniques
Indigenous American languages
Publications
N. Gale “Bring Back the Code Talkers! Counter-Intelligence Advantages of Indigenous Languages” Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture Symposium, Maxwell Air Force Base (2024).
N. Gale, J.W. McClory, M. Hogsed, and B. Wang, “Neutron Displacement Damage in Germanium-Tin Photodiodes,” Journal of Radiation Effects, Research and Engineering, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 116-123, April 2021.