Pardee Research Seminar: Woodward on a Spy’s Guide to BU
John D. Woodward, Jr., Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, gave a talk as part of the Pardee School Research Seminar Series on October 3, 2017.
The presentation, entitled “A Spy’s Guide to Boston University,” focused on the numerous ties between Boston University and United States intelligence and espionage history.
Woodward discussed the “Boston Camera” that Boston University developed for the United States Air Force in 1951 that was installed on aircraft and used in reconnaissance missions flown along the borders of Eastern European nations. The camera made an 18 x 36 inch negative and was so powerful a golf ball could be detected at an altitude of 45,000 feet.
Woodward also highlighted the vast collections of materials related to the history of intelligence and espionage held by the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University — one of the preeminent non-governmental repositories of such materials.
Woodward is a former Central Intelligence Agency officer who, during his twenty-year CIA career, served as an operations officer in the Clandestine Service and as a technical intelligence officer in the Directorate of Science and Technology, with assignments in Washington D.C., East Asia, Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. He also served as the Director of the U.S. Department of Defense Biometrics Management Office from 2003-2005 where he received the Army’s third highest civilian award for his work on using biometric technologies to identify national security threats.
The Pardee School Research Seminar Series is a forum for faculty and students to discuss and receive feedback on ongoing research. The series is a mix of presentations, works-in-progress sessions, and research workshops. Faculty and students based at BU and elsewhere are invited to present and attend the Research Seminar Series. Anyone interested in presenting should send an e-mail with name, affiliation, and a presentation description, with “Pardee Seminar” in the subject line, to: Mahesh Karra or Jayita Sarkar.