Thad B. Welch, Ph.D., P.E. received the B.E.E., M.S.E.E., E.E., and Ph.D. degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Postgraduate School, and the University of Colorado in 1979, 1989, 1989, and 1997, respectively. He was commissioned in the U.S. Navy in 1979 and has been assigned to three submarines and a submarine repair tender. He has deployed in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Arctic Ocean.

From 1994 – 1997 he was an Instructor and Assistant Professor teaching in the Electrical Engineering Department at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO. During 1996 – 1997 he was recognized as the Outstanding Academy Educator for the Electrical Engineering Department.

From 1997 – 2007 he was an Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Permanent Military Professor teaching in the Electrical Engineering Department at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD. During 2000 – 2001 he was recognized as the Outstanding Academy Educator for the Electrical Engineering Department. During 2001 – 2002 he received the Raouf outstanding engineering educator award. During 2002 – 2003 he was recognized as the Outstanding Researcher for the Electrical Engineering Department. He was an invited scholar at the University of Wyoming, fall 2004, where he was recognized as an eminent engineer and inducted into tau beta pi. In 2006 he co-authored "Real-time Digital Signal Processing, from MATLAB to C with the TMS320C6x DSK."

He is currently a Professor and the Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Boise State University, Boise, ID. His research interests include real-time digital signal processing (DSP), the implementation of DSP-based systems, communication systems analysis, IED defeat, efficient simulation of communication systems, spread-spectrum techniques, and ultra-wideband systems.