Ernst Volgenau is a retired United States Air Force officer and founder and former CEO of SRA International.

As Director of Inspection and Enforcement for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 1976–1978 he managed 700 engineers.

[7] He subsequently consulted for the Indian Head Company, a firm with a subsidiary supplied pumps to nuclear power plants in the United States.

[8] After retirement from the Air Force in 1978, he founded SRA International and operated it initially in his Reston basement.

[3][9] In August 2020, the Nature Conservancy named its Virginia Coast Reserve in honor of multiple gifts by the Volgenau family over 30 years.