Dr. Armstrong moved to Amherst from Westchester County, N.Y., following his retirement from IBM in 1993, where during a 30-year career his positions included vice president for science and technology and IBM director of research. He is a member of the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees. In 1996 he joined the Dean's Advisory Council of the College of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He and his wife, Elizabeth, founded the Armstrong Endowment to support a full-time professor within the College. Armstrong has served as a presidential appointee as a member of the National Science Board, and is a former chair of the Governing Board of the American Institute of Physics. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Armstrong has an A.B. and a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University and was a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers from 1990 to 1996.