CRA Board member and Government Affairs Committee Chair Fred Schneider will testify along with Phillip Bond of Tech America and David Bodenheimer of Crowell and Moring, LLP at a hearing of the Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday, February 25 at 2:00 pm. The hearing will address private sector perspectives of the Department of Defense information technology and cybersecurity activities. The hearing will be web cast here.
On February 4, 2010, In People, By Peter Harsha
National Science Foundation Director Arden Bement will leave the agency June 1st to lead a new Global Institute at Purdue University, the agency and Purdue announced today. For much of his six year stewardship of the agency, Bement dealt with relatively flat or declining budgets granted the agency by Congress. However, priority for science grew dramatically in the last few years of the Bush Administration as Bement and others were able to make the case that basic research like that supported by NSF was a fundamental driver of U.S. innovation — a priority that has continued in the first years of the Obama Administration. As a result, Bement will leave the agency on a trajectory that could see its budget double by 2017.
It’s not known at this point who will replace Bement, but we’ll keep our eyes and ears open for all the most compelling rumors and post them here.
Update: (Feb 4, 2010) — Here’s coverage from Science
On July 2, 2009, In People, By Peter Harsha
Regina Dugan will become the first woman to head the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in its 51-year history, the Department of Defense announced today. Dugan takes the reins from acting director, Robert Leheny, who has been running the agency since Tony Tether stepped down in February 2009.
From the official press release:
“Regina Dugan is precisely the dynamic leader DARPA needs to open new technology frontiers and transition revolutionary technologies to serve our nations interests,” said Zachary J. Lemnios, director, Defense Research and Engineering. “I am delighted she will be leading this agency and look forward to working closely with her.”
Prior to this appointment, Dugan held several key positions in industry, most recently as president and chief executive officer of RedXDefense, LLC, which she co-founded in 2005, a company that develops defense against explosive threats. She has also served in senior executive positions in several additional companies in roles ranging from global sales and marketing to research and product development.
During her first tour at DARPA from January 1996 to May 2000, Dugan received the program manager of the year award for her leadership of the “Dogs Nose Program”, which was focused on the development of an advanced, field-portable system for detecting the explosive content of land mines. She is also the recipient of the deFleury Medal, the office of the secretary of defense award for exceptional service, and the award for outstanding achievement. She has participated in wide-ranging studies for the Defense Science Board, the Army Science Board, the National Research Council and Science Foundation, and currently sits on the Naval Research Advisory Committee and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency Science and Technology Panel.
While Tether’s tenure with DARPA was the longest of any DARPA director, it also caused strain between the agency and the university research community — particularly the university computing research community — who felt that under his leadership, DARPA adopted policies that discouraged university participation in defense-related research. This blog has spilled a considerable number of electrons making that case as well. With the appointment of Dugan (and with someone familiar with the computing community in Lemnios as Director Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E)) it’s fair to say the community is optimistic some of those incredibly productive ties between university researchers and the agency will get restored. We’ll let you know how it progresses!
From the CCC Blog
- NSF Searching for Assistant Director for CISE Ran Libeskind-Hadas
- MIT’s Subra Suresh reportedly to be nominated as new Director of NSF Ran Libeskind-Hadas
- Eric Brewer wins ACM – Infosys Foundation Award Ed Lazowska
- Chuck Thacker wins Turing Award Ed Lazowska