Richard Wortman, Deputy Director & Head of Penn State’s Undersea Systems Office

Richard Wortman is the deputy director and head of the undersea systems office at the Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory.

Wortman, who assumed his current position in May 2020, leads an office that conducts research on undersea weapons, unmanned undersea vehicles and advanced sonars supporting national security and undersea warfare, according to his LinkedIn profile.

His team leverages expertise to take concepts from the early developmental phase through the transition to industry and the fleet.

Prior to transitioning to Penn State, Wortman spent nearly four years as a vice president at Sonalysts, an employee-owned professional services business based in Waterford, Connecticut. As VP, he was instrumental in developing and implementing the company’s business development strategy for the Washington, DC market.

He joined the private sector following a decades-long career with the U.S. Navy dating back to 1988.

In his first three years with the service branch, he was a division officer for USS Olympia.

He went on to become a combat systems officer for USS Charlotte, executive officer for USS Kentucky, commanding officer for USS Chicago and deputy commander of Submarine Squadron ONE.

Much later in his career with the Navy, he served as commanding officer of the TRIDENT training facility and head of the service’s tactical submarine branch.

Wortman holds a bachelor’s degree in communications electronics and master’s degrees in engineering management and national security strategy.