Executive Director of AAMU Research Institute (a 100% self supporting University owned 501 c(3) entity), Campus Director of AAMU-Space Grant Consortium ( since 1989), Secretary of South Eastern Section of University Space Research Association (USRA), Director of the Advanced Propulsion Materials Center at AAMU, and a Professor Physics. A graduate of MIT (with specialty in nuclear instrumentation and nuclear structure) and U. Mass. Lowell (with specialty in condensed matter Physics), arrived at AAMU in Fall 1987. Have received trainings at the MIT Sloan School of Management for "Challenges of Leadership in Teams" and at GTRI for "Industrial Contract Management" and training at Harvard School of Law for a "Program on Negotiation for Senior Executives".

Within three years he established the Howard J. Foster Center for Irradiation of Materials (CIM) at AAMU and is prominent among materials scientists involved in ion mater interaction research. He has served as the Chairman of the Membership Committee of the Materials Research Society (MRS), Chairman of the GS Award Committee of MRS. A member of Review Panel for DoE-EPSCoR and, NASA-EPSCoR, a member of the Publications Committee of MRS, a member of Award Committee of MRS, member of Industrial Workshop Committee (MRS), Steering Committee of Alabama Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Committee, Steering Committee of Science and Engineering Alliance (SEA), Board member of USRA, Board member of Space Science and Transportation Alliance (SSTA), Management Team of Alabama Space Grant Consortium (ASGC). ILA has served as a chairman and organizer of numerous Materials related conferences, symposia, member of the user advisory committee of the Alabama Supercomputer Authority, Councilor of the AAMU-Graduate Council, and Councilor of the AAMU-Research and Development council and Supervised over 24 MS and PhD Thesis and Dissertations. ILA has over 200 publications, presentations, five books, and one book chapter in the area of ion matter interactions, both theoretical and experimental, in journals such as the Appl. Phys. Lett., Jour. of Surface Science, and Applied. Surf. Sci., Nucl. Inst. & Meth B, Vac. Sci. and Tech. Jour., VACUUM and the Proc. of MRS Conferences.

Grants and Contracts record:

Over $35,000,000 Grants and Contracts as P.D./P.I./P.M.
Over $50,000,000 Grants and Contracts as Co. I.