Dr. John Ahlen was born in 1947 in Oak Park, Illinois. He received a Bachelor’s Degree from University of Illinois, Chicago, in 1969 and a PhD in physiology and bioengineering from the University of Illinois at the Medical Center in 1974. From 1974 to 1983, he worked for the Illinois Legislative Council, working with legislators on scientific issues. He moved to Arkansas in 1984 to serve as the first executive director of the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority (ASTA), a position he would hold for almost 30 years. While in that role, Dr. Ahlen worked closely with Governor Bill Clinton to develop the state’s technology economy through research, financial support, and technical assistance. He retired from ASTA in 2013.
#1: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with John Ahlen; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2012
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: John Ahlen at five years old on vacation with his family in Florida, January 1952
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: John Ahlen in his Austin High School graduation photo; Chicago, Illinois, 1965
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: John Ahlen in Brussels, Belgium, May 1989
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: John Ahlen (right) with Bob Nash; Washington, DC, 1998
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: John Ahlen, 2003
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with John Ahlen; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2012
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with John Ahlen; Little Rock, Arkansas, 2012
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
