Merit Schumaker

Merit Schumaker currently serves as Deputy Project Manager for Energetic Materials at ARA since August 2023. Prior to this role, Merit was the Director of the Depleted Uranium Modernization Program at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) from December 2020 to August 2023 and worked as a Congressional Fellow for Representative Bill Foster (IL-11) from November 2019 to December 2020, focusing on science staffing. Previous experience at NNSA includes a position as Program Manager for Advanced Manufacturing Development and Plant Directed Research and Development from June 2016 to November 2019. Merit participated in the NNSA Graduate Fellowship Program at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory from June 2015 to June 2016. Academic credentials include a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University, where research involved the dynamic shock impact phenomena of heterogeneous materials, funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.