Dr. Candace A. Rock
Director
Recovered Chemical Materiel
Dr. Candace A. Rock has served as the Director of Recovered Chemical Materiel, U.S. Army Chemical Materials Activity (CMA), since January 2024. She is responsible for the programmatic oversight of the development and use of technology to support the Recovered Chemical Materiel Directorate (RCMD)
mission to assess and destroy recovered chemical warfare materiel in a safe,
environmentally compliant and cost-effective manner.
Prior to leading RCMD, Dr. Rock served as CMA Chief of Risk Management and Compliance. She previously worked for Program Executive Office, Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternative (PEO ACWA); Assistant Secretary of Army, Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA ALT) under the Deputy Acquisition & System Management (DASM); and Joint Program Executive Office, Chemical Biological Defense (JPEO CBD). Her areas of expertise include safety engineering, quality engineering, air filtration technology, thermal decontamination, robotics, and autonomous technology. Other areas of expertise include chemical assessment, destruction, and decontamination, as well as research, development, test and evaluation in chemical, biological and radiological defense.
Dr. Rock also has more than two decades of experience as an engineer, engineering manager, director, and plant manager in private-sector industry, including at a multinational company that supplies industrial gases and services to various medical, chemical, and electronic manufacturers.
Her career accomplishments include completion of several Army projects for which she provided subject matter expertise and program management. Notably, in 2019, Dr. Rock served as an acquisition assistant program manager and system engineer for the Sensor Integration on Robotic Platforms (CSIRP) Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), resulting in the successful execution of a soldier user touchpoint and feedback event at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. She also served with the team that completed the demilitarization of Umatilla Chemical Depot, Oregon. Destruction of former chemical weapons facilities was one of the nation’s requirements under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Umatilla effort was completed in 2012.
Dr. Rock is dual Level 3 acquisition certified in Systems Planning, Research, Development and Engineering, and in Quality, Production and Manufacturing. She was the Excellence in Federal Executive Board recipient for Technical, Scientific and Program Support in 2012 and 2017, as well as the recipient of several Army civilian awards, including the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service in 2018.
Dr. Rock earned a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from Morgan State University and a Master of Science in industrial engineering and engineering management from the University of Michigan. She holds a doctorate in engineering.
Dr. Rock lives in Cecil County, Maryland, with her family.
