Eric Sanchez

General Eric Sanchez, Director 

Physical Science Laboratory at New Mexico State University 

 

Following three decades of military service, Retired Army Brigadier General Eric L. Sanchez, joined PSL in October 2019 as deputy director. He succeeds Jim Chavez, who stepped down as director in June 2020.  

General Sanchez led White Sands Missile Range from August 2016 up until his retirement, overseeing the Department of Defense’s largest fully-instrumented open air range, which provides the U.S.’s Armed Forces, allies, partners and defense technology innovators with the world’s premiere research, development, test and evaluation; experimentation; and training facilities to ensure defense readiness.  

Sanchez’s military education includes the Air Defense Artillery basic and advance courses, the Combined Arms and Services Staff School and the Command and General Staff College. He earned Masters of Science degrees from Central Michigan University and the Naval War College in Rhode Island. 

While in the Army, Sanchez had 32 years of active-duty service, including five operational deployments with time in the Middle East and the Republic of Korea. 

Sanchez, who grew up in Santa Fe, is a 1987 NMSU distinguished military graduate and his wife, Teresa, is from Mesilla. The couple met while attending NMSU.