Jonathan L. “Jon” Bell, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
Jon Bell previously served as the Deputy Portfolio Leader for the Land Warfare Group in OED, where he assisted in managing a large portfolio of Army and Marine Corps programs in support of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E). Additionally, since joining IDA in 2008, Jon has managed projects covering operational test and evaluation of Army tactical vehicles, Marine Corps amphibious systems, Army rotary-wing aircraft, and counter unmanned aircraft systems. Jon has maintained strong ties with DOT&E, serving as a technical advisor in both the DOT&E front office in 2015 and in the Office of the Deputy Director, Land and Expeditionary Warfare in 2023. Prior to working at IDA, Jon earned his doctorate in materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and his bachelor’s degree in materials science at Carnegie Mellon University.
Breeana G. Anderson, Ph.D.
Acting Director, Operational Evaluation Division
Breeana Anderson is the Acting Director of the Operational Evaluation Division (OED) of the Systems and Analyses Center. In this position, she provides strategic leadership, project oversight, and direction for the division’s research program, which primarily supports the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation, within the Office of the Secretary of War.
In her previous role as Assistant Director, OED, Breeana led the Strategic Initiatives, Policy, and Emerging Technologies Group. She led analytical efforts related to multiple National Defense Authorization Act responses, performed analyses on overarching test and evaluation (T&E) trends, and assisted with the rollout of Department of War T&E manuals and issuances.
Breeana joined IDA in 2015 as a member of the research staff in OED. She is an expert in operational testing; chemical and biological weapons defense systems; and biochemistry. As a researcher at IDA, Breeana was the task leader for chemical-biological defense systems and soldier systems. On the chemical-biological task, she supported evaluations of joint chemical and biological agent detectors and identifiers, including the Next Generation Diagnostic System, the Joint Biological Tactical Detection Systems, and the Next Generation Chemical Detector. On the soldier systems task, she led evaluations of the Modular Handgun System, Integrated Visual Augmentation System, and Javelin Missile.
Breeana has a doctorate in chemical biology from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Georgetown University. She holds a certificate in risk sciences and public policy from Johns Hopkins University. She also participated in the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Education course for Emerging Leaders in 2022.
Andrew R. "Andy" Atwell, Ph.D.
Assistant Director
Andy Atwell is the project lead for fighter aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. He works with and mentors more than 50 researchers in providing analytical support for operational tests and assessments of aircraft systems for the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E). Since joining IDA in 2002, Andy has provided analytical support to DOT&E for design, observation, analysis and reporting of fighter aircraft, bomber aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and helicopters along with their associated countermeasure systems. Andy earned both a doctorate and a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Cornell University. He has a bachelor’s degree in physics and German from Southwest Missouri State University.
Walter R. Dodson, Ph.D.
Assistant Director
Walter Dodson leads a task focused on cyber assessments of Combatant Commands and other DOW enterprises and is the deputy portfolio lead for Net-Centric and Space Systems. His primary research areas of focus are cyberspace operations; cyber command, control and intelligence fusion; and countering emerging cyberattack technologies. He is particularly interested in the intersection between cyberspace operations, electromagnetic spectrum operations and artificial intelligence. Previously at IDA, he supported test and evaluation of satellite systems and systems for space domain awareness. As an assistant director, his focus is on workforce development, mentorship, training, and expertise growth, ensuring that the OED workforce is well-positioned to address areas of emerging technology and new warfighting concepts. Walter holds a doctorate in bioengineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, and bachelor’s degrees in biomedical engineering and chemical engineering, both from Washington University in St. Louis.
