Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Dr. Dugan is the first women to direct the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Founded in 1958, DARPA”s mission is to prevent strategic surprise for the United States as well as create strategic surprise for our adversaries. This mission implies one imperative for the agency: radical innovation for national security. Today DARPA is the principal agency within the U.S. Department of Defense for research, development, and demonstration of high-risk, high-payoff projects for combat forces. Experienced in counterterrorism and defense against explosive threats, Dr. Dugan first served the nation as a DARPA program manager from 1996 to 2000. She directed a diverse $100 million portfolio of programs. She led a counterterrorism task force in 1999 and, from 2001 to 2003, she served as a special advisor to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. Dr. Dugan obtained her doctorate degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology and her master”s and bachelor”s degrees from Virginia Tech.