Ernst Volgenau is the chairman founder, and former CEO of SRA International. Volgenau came from a farm in Clarence, New York to the U.S. Naval Academy. He wrestled and threw the javelin. He graduated in 1955 and was commissioned a lieutenant in the Air Force. Later he earned a master's degree in electrical engineering, and in 1966 his Ph.D. in engineering at UCLA. He taught graduate courses in electrical engineering, computer systems, and operations research at UCLA, American University, and George Washington University for eight years.