Tony Tether, the long-time chief of Darpa, is stepping down. So who'll be the next to head up the Pentagon's premiere research agency -- and become the country's most visible defense geek? Several different names keep coming up. In no particular order, they include:
- Dr. Lisa Porter, physicist, head of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity ("Darpa for spies"), and former NASA associate administrator;
- Retired Rear Admiral Jay Cohen, DHS' science and technology chief, former head of the Office of Naval Research;
- Dr. Mark Lewis, aeronautical engineer, University of Maryland professor, and former Chief Scientist of the Air Force;
- Dr. Michael Goldblatt,
CEO of Functional Genetics, former head of Darpa's Defense Sciences
Office, former science and technology chief at McDonald's Corporation; - Dr. Jane "Xan" Alexander, physicist, former deputy director of Darpa and the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency;
- Dr. Regina Dugan, mechanical engineer, former Darpa program manager;
- Zach Lemnios, electrical engineer, Chief Technology Officer at MIT's Lincoln Lab, and former director of Darpa's Microsystems Technology Office;
- Dr. Amy Alving, aerospace engineer, Chief Technology Officer at SAIC, and former director of Darpa's Special Projects Office.
