From a chemistry cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) to a program officer at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the basic research arm of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Major Derek Barbee ’19 has forged a career at the intersection of science, strategy and service. His path reflects not only technical excellence and academic resilience but also a deep commitment to mentoring and growing the Air Force’s scientific workforce—values rooted in his time at Rice University’s Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering.
Currently stationed in Washington, D.C., Major Barbee manages the Energetic Solid State Physics and Mechanical Chemistry portfolio at AFOSR, overseeing research into high-performance batteries, reactive materials, solid propellants and energetic composites. His work has direct implications for national defense and, increasingly, for civilian technologies like electric vehicles and ultra-high-temperature aerospace systems.
His work, Major Barbee explains, sits at the “nexus of chemistry and material science,” often tackling questions so cutting-edge that there is no reference book or precedent. “You're trying to understand highly non-equilibrium, nonlinear processes,” he said. “Everyone knows what a battery fire or an explosion looks like, but it's very hard to actually describe them as processes.”
Major Barbee’s passion for materials chemistry began at USAFA, where he first encountered the field through coursework. “What I really wanted to do was understand the physics and chemistry behind the materials and tools we use every day,” he said. Initially ranked last among eight cadets eligible for graduate study his senior year at USAFA, a series of unexpected turns landed him a last-minute spot in Rice’s graduate program, where he studied under the late Dr. Wade Adams. He earned his Ph.D. in materials science and nanoengineering in 2019.
“My experience at Rice really opened the aperture of my perspective on how, epistemologically, you can tackle problems in material sciences. I had a kiddie pool, and I went to an Olympic-sized swimming pool in terms of the surface area and depth of my understanding of these difficult problems,” he said.
Though Major Barbee now jokingly describes himself as “a bureaucrat” since he no longer conducts research directly, his current role calls on deep technical expertise. He works closely with principal investigators to strengthen project proposals and research white papers—offering feedback on scientific merit and feasibility.
Among his professional milestones, in 2019 Major Barbee became the first first lieutenant to receive a Chief Scientist Seedling Award for research when he was a lead research chemist at AFRL in San Antonio, Texas. In 2021, Major Barbee was named recipient of the Lester L. Lyles Award, a highly competitive AFRL-wide honor that recognizes outstanding contributions to recruiting, retaining and developing the Air Force’s scientific and engineering workforce. With more than 10,000 personnel eligible for the award, it highlights Major Barbee’s broader leadership impact in science and mentorship. In addition to the Lyles and Seedling Awards, Major Barbee’s military decorations include the Air and Space Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Air and Space Longevity Service Award (1 Oak Leaf Cluster) and Air and Space Training Ribbon.
Major Barbee’s connection with Rice has remained strong. His oversight has supported multiple Rice-led efforts, including projects by materials science and nanoengineering professors Ming Tang and Boris Yakobson. One Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) grant, for example, helped the materials science and nanoengineering department acquire a micro-CT imaging system for advanced materials characterization. In addition to his primary portfolio, he also is managing AFOSR’s Aerospace Composite Materials research area, further deepening ties with Rice projects.
“It’s readily apparent to me on a daily basis how lucky I was to have the level of professionalism and expertise that Rice has in its professors … At Rice, teachers take their discipline very seriously, and they care a lot about their students. They helped me develop intellectual discipline and critical thinking skills that I rely on every day,” he said of his studies at Rice.
For students currently studying at Rice, he advised: “Pick problems that are challenging but not impossible. If you’re in graduate school, you are one of a very privileged number of humans that have ever had the opportunity to go and learn to be a carrier of hard-fought human knowledge. It is a unique time in your life where society’s only expectation of you is to grow and get better. You wake up smarter, more skilled in research, more disciplined intellectually. Take that seriously and really exploit it, because it’s a very rare opportunity that only comes once for the overwhelming majority of people.