2021 HENAAC Awards

In her current role at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Dr. Jonahira “Joni” Arnold oversees critical materials science research to meet the nation’s strategic defense priorities. Her areas of expertise include structural materials, composites, metals, and material state awareness.

After graduating from college with a degree in physics, young Joni became a schoolteacher in her native Puerto Rico. A former college professor who sensed her potential encouraged her to pursue graduate school, and so at 27 she left for the University of Akron in Ohio, eventually earning both her master’s and doctoral degrees.

Dr. Arnold soon landed at the Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, where she excelled researching structural composites and adhesives.  She followed that up with a stint at the University of Dayton Research Institute where she managed a $30M DARPA program. Then, in 2004, Dr. Arnold joined the Air Force Research Laboratory, a place she credits with providing both a sense of purpose and unparalleled opportunities for growth. 

After rising through the ranks, she was selected to attend Air War College – the senior professional military education school of the Air Force, which she completed in 2015.  Later, while serving on the AFRL Headquarters staff, she overhauled system-wide policies and procedures that impacted a $6B portfolio of programs and 89,000 personnel.

Today, Dr. Arnold guides the efforts of more than 290 government and contractor personnel conducting research and development in metals, composites, and nondestructive evaluation of materials.  Her work has applications in propulsion, aerostructures, weapons, and sustainment, and impacts air and space programs everywhere.