Industry Veteran to Build Net-Centric Systems Engineering Division to Solve Customers’ Most Sophisticated Engineering Challenges

February 11, 2008 – Chantilly, VA – AMERICAN SYSTEMS, an employee-owned government and commercial IT solutions provider, today announced the appointment of Edward Ghafari to government consulting director and vice president of the company’s new Net-Centric Systems Engineering Division. In this position, Ghafari will lead the development and advancement of the high-end systems engineering practice dedicated to solving a wide range of customers’ net-centric challenges, including those associated with federated systems and engineering, service oriented architecture (SOA) and other net-centric technologies and infrastructure.

“Ed’s distinguished track record of building and managing engineering business units will prove invaluable as AMERICAN SYSTEMS moves forward in building out the Net-Centric Systems Engineering Practice,” said William C. Hoover, president and CEO, AMERICAN SYSTEMS. “The division will offer best of breed technology solutions and strategic counsel to help overcome our customers’ ever-evolving net-centric challenges in wired and wireless networks, tactical networks, Everything over IP (EoIP) and IPv6 technologies.”

Ghafari brings more than 20 years of experience in engineering, management and marketing to his role at AMERICAN SYSTEMS. Prior to joining AMERICAN SYSTEMS, Ghafari lead SRA International’s Enterprise Enabling Solutions (EES) Business Unit, where he provided identity management, net-centric enterprise services, enterprise-wide engineering and advanced technologies services to agencies such as the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Ghafari has also developed and commercialized a number of new technologies for various companies, including the deployment of DSL technology at Verizon, formerly known as Bell Atlantic.

The Net-Centric Systems Engineering practice will focus on addressing specific issues associated with net-centric technologies and the Global Information Grid (GIG). The practice will access the most recent technologies, tools and techniques, including modeling and simulation and performance analysis models, to provide expertise and services to a wide customer base, including DISA, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration (ASD/NII), and the Department of Defense.

Currently a member of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE), Ghafari has also served as president of the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE).

Ghafari is a graduate of Lawrence Technological University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, and of George Washington University, where he completed graduate degrees in information systems and systems engineering. Ghafari remains actively involved at George Washington University, serving as Resident Entrepreneur, member of the Board of Advisory of the school of Engineering and Applied Science, and as an adjunct professor of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering.

Ghafari will be based out of AMERICAN SYSTEMS’ headquarters in Chantilly, Va.