David Samuel Potter (January 16, 1925 – September 18, 2011) was an American government official who served as the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research and Development) from 1973 to 1974, and

Under Secretary of the Navy Under may refer to: * "Under" (Alex Hepburn song), 2013 * "Under" (Pleasure P song), 2009 *Bülent Ünder (born 1949), Turkish footballer *Cengiz Ünder (born 1997), Turkish footballer *Marie Under (1883–1980), Estonian poet * Under (restaurant) ...

from 1974 to 1976. After he left public service, Potter was a long-time executive at General Motors. Potter was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

on January 16, 1925. He was educated at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, receiving a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

in 1945, and at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

, from which he received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in Physics in 1951. Potter spent the next two decades as an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

at General Motors. This academic phase of his career climaxed in his election to the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

in 1973 in recognition of his work in underwater acoustic instrumentation,

ocean engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circl ...

and manned

exploration of the moon The physical exploration of the Moon began when ''Luna 2'', a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made an impact on the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of exploration had been observation ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

nominated Potter as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research and Development) in 1973, and Potter held this office from September 14, 1973 to August 16, 1974. President Gerald Ford subsequently nominated Potter as

and Potter held that office from August 28, 1974 to April 1, 1976. Upon retiring from government in 1976, Potter returned to General Motors as vice president for environmental matters. He later became GM's Vice President, Power Products and Defense Operations Group, the title he held upon his retirement from GM in 1985. Potter served as a member of many organizations' Board of Directors, including a stint as Chairman of the Board of Fluke Corporation from 1990 to 1991. He died in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

on September 18, 2011, at the age of 86.

References

Fluke Corp. SEC filing including biography of Director PotterCitation from the National Academy of Engineering
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, David S. 1925 births 2011 deaths Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering United States Assistant Secretaries of the Navy United States Under Secretaries of the Navy University of Washington alumni Yale University alumni