US Department of Defense taps Victoria Coleman as DARPA Director

The US Department of Defense named Dr. Victoria Coleman as the director of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Established in 1958 as part of the U.S. Department of Defense, DARPA is designed to anticipate, explore, and achieve the concepts and technology on which the Nation’s future deterrent and defense capabilities depend. It does so collaboratively as part of a robust innovation ecosystem that includes academic, corporate, and governmental partners.

While its focus is always on the Nation’s military Services, which count on DARPA to create new strategic and tactical options, DARPA’s work has historically catalyzed fundamental breakthroughs that have benefited the broader society as well. “During this era of great power competition, DARPA is critical to strengthening the U.S. military’s technological dominance and advancing innovations that benefit our warfighters. We are excited to welcome Dr. Coleman as the new director and look forward to building upon DARPA’s unmatched record of achievement,” said Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Michael Kratsios. Acting DARPA Director Dr. Peter Highnam will return to his role as Deputy Director of DARPA.

Dr. Coleman’s career spans over 30 years in academia, the private sector, and government, including previous service as the founding Chair of DARPA’s Microsystems Exploratory Council and membership on the Defense Science Board. She has led cutting edge research and development across the technology sector, to include service as the Chief Executive Officer of Atlas AI; Senior Vice President at Technicolor; Chief Technology Officer of Connected Home Business; Vice President, Engineering at Yahoo!; Vice President, Software Engineering at Hewlett-Packard Palm Global Business Unit; and Director for Security Initiatives at Intel.

Her efforts have included work in artificial intelligence, microelectronics, and extensive work in the design and development of mobile devices and other consumer electronics products. Dr. Coleman has an extensive academic background leading research at the University of California Berkeley, Santa Clara University, and the University of London. She completed her undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Salford and earned her doctorate in computer science from the University of Manchester.