Tompkins appointed new DARPA director

Stefanie Tompkins is the new Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) director.

Tompkins, who possesses nearly eleven years of DARPA service, is the 23rd person to hold the post, noting the former Army military intelligence officer has an exceptional understanding of the agency’s culture.

“Stefanie is someone who really knows and respects the agency and its importance to our national security,” said Peter Highnam, DARPA’s current acting director, who will continue to serve the agency as its deputy director.

From 2007 through 2017, Tompkins held multiple positions that include program manager and deputy director of the Strategic Technology Office – a systems-oriented technical office; DARPA chief of staff; and director of the Defense Sciences Office, a highly exploratory office that identifies and accelerates new technologies. In 2017 and into the beginning of 2018, she served as the agency’s acting deputy director.

“I am honored and thrilled to return to DARPA, where breakthrough technologies are a near-daily occurrence,” Tompkins said. “Such breakthroughs could not be more consequential for our national security, economic competitiveness, and our personal lives.”

A common theme throughout Tompkins’ professional accomplishments has been her ability to inspire creative scientists and engineers to develop new capabilities. She began her industry career as a senior scientist and later in leadership roles at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), where for a decade she conducted and managed research projects in a variety of fields, including her own specialty, imaging spectroscopy.