Clark School of Engineering and DARPA Launch Pilot Academic Fellows Program

Seek Blend of Military and Academic Personnel Perspectives to Generate New Technologies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  June 23, 2011

CONTACT:
Melissa Corley
301 405 6501
mcorley@umd.edu

COLLEGE PARK, Md.—By bringing together military service officers and engineering and science researchers in a pilot program this summer, the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will take a first step toward developing a new method for revolutionizing future defense technologies—a method based on the interaction of people who normally work from different agendas and perspectives.

“The Clark School, by virtue of its proximity to and close relations with major federal agencies, is well prepared to assist DARPA in establishing a new basis for creating the advanced technologies our armed services will need in the future,” states Clark School Dean Darryll Pines, whose office will administer the pilot program. “We are building a new way for military and academic personnel to interact that will challenge both and derive innovations neither would achieve by working alone.”

The pilot program will support four postdoctoral researchers as DARPA Academic Fellows. They will spend three months full-time at DARPA interacting with their counterparts from the military, called DARPA Service Chief Fellows, as well as with DARPA program managers; they will also visit with current DARPA technology performers (academic and industrial labs). Through this process they will work with military officers to conduct a limited and focused research project with specific deliverables; form professional relationships with those officers and learn about their perspectives and needs; gain an understanding of DARPA technology development efforts and impending changes; and become “ambassadors” who can return to their campuses with in-depth knowledge of DARPA projects and requirements and in the future return to DARPA to serve as program managers.

The Clark School will administer the program in collaboration with DARPA and regional universities. Each participating academic fellow must have earned a doctoral degree in science or engineering or a closely related field, be a U.S. citizen, and be clearable to “secret” level.

About the A. James Clark School of Engineering

The University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering is a premier program, ranked among the top 20 in the world. Located just a few miles from Washington, D.C., the Clark School is at the center of a constellation of high-tech companies and federal laboratories, offering students and faculty access to unique professional opportunities.

Our broad spectrum of academic programs, including the world’s only accredited undergraduate fire protection engineering program, is complemented by a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, early hands-on educational experiences, and participation in national and international competitions.

The Clark School is leading research advancements in aerospace, bioengineering, robotics, nanotechnology, disaster resilience, energy and sustainability, and cybersecurity. From the universal product code to satellite radio, SMS text messaging to the implantable insulin pump, our students, faculty, and alumni are engineering life-changing innovations for millions. Learn more at www.eng.umd.edu.