American Science and Engineering, Inc. Announces Appointment of Ted Owens as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 2002

American Science and Engineering, Inc. (AMEX: ASE) announced today that Ted Owens has been appointed Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Since October 2002, Mr. Owens has been AS&E's Interim Chief Financial Officer. He will be responsible for the accounting and financial reporting, financial planning, treasury, control, and information technology functions.

Mr. Owens has more than 25 years of experience in management, financial systems and controls, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, and consulting. For the past 16 years, he has been the Chief Financial Officer in organizations ranging from small, privately held, start-up companies to large, publicly traded corporations. He comes to AS&E most recently from the biotech industry where he was Chief Financial Officer for Circe Biomedical, Inc. and Marathon Biopharmaceuticals, LLC. Prior to that, he spent seven years at Groundwater Technology, Inc., an environmental industry leader in the assessment and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater, where he first served as the Vice President, Treasurer and CFO until he was promoted to Senior Vice President of International Operations.

"The challenge for AS&E is managing for profitability in a still evolving market for port and border security," commented Ralph Sheridan, CEO and President. "Given the high level of product and technology innovation at AS&E, we must do a better job of achieving financial goals while meeting performance and schedule targets. Ted Owens' background in engineering and international project management provides a strong fit with AS&E's requirements for improved financial controls. I envision Ted as being a strong contributor to the operational team of myself and Ralph Foose, Vice President, Operations. As such, Ted's initial focus will be internal, and the traditional investor relations function will remain with General Counsel Ned Lewis for the immediate future."

Mr. Owens holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Graduate School of Management at Boston University. He is a member of the Financial Executives International (FEI), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants (MSCPA).

About AS&E(R): AS&E develops and manufactures sophisticated X-ray inspection products for critical detection and security applications. These systems are solving an expanding range of inspection problems including detecting car and truck bombs, combating weapons smuggling, and imaging cargo to expose trade fraud and illegal immigration. AS&E's patented Z(R) Backscatter technology detects plastic explosives, illegal drugs, and other contraband, even when artfully concealed in complex backgrounds by terrorists and smugglers. AS&E's Shaped Energy(TM) X-ray inspection systems combine material discrimination features of Z(R) Backscatter imaging with the penetration capability of high-energy X-rays for dense cargoes. AS&E's High Energy Systems Division manufactures linear accelerators for a variety of applications including medical, scientific, security, electron beam curing and non-destructive testing. For more information on AS&E products and technologies, please visit http://www.as-e.com.

Safe Harbor Statement. The foregoing press release contains statements concerning AS&E's financial performance, markets and business operations that may be considered ``forward-looking'' under applicable securities laws. AS&E wishes to caution readers of this press release that actual results might differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. Factors which might cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements contained herein include the following: significant reductions or delays in procurements of the Company's systems by the United States and other governments; disruption in the supply of any sole-source component incorporated into the AS&E's products (of which there are several); litigation seeking to restrict the use of intellectual property used by the Company; potential product liability claims against the Company; global political trends and events which affect public perception of the threat presented by drugs, explosives and other contraband; global economic developments and the ability of governments and private organizations to fund purchases of the Company's products to address such threats; and the potential insufficiency of Company resources, including human resources, capital, plant and equipment and management systems, to accommodate any future growth. These and certain other factors which might cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are more fully set forth under the caption ``Forward-Looking Information and Factors Affecting Future Performance'' in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year ending March 31, 2002.