Stephen Winchell has officially been appointed director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
DARPA said Tuesday Winchell will serve as the 24th director of the agency.
Stephen Winchell’s Career
The executive was previously part of the Defense Department’s Strategic Capabilities Office and was responsible for its artificial intelligence and autonomy portfolio. Before that, Winchell served as the chief engineer for the Pentagon’s Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team, also known as Project Maven.
Winchell graduated with a bachelor of science in physics from the U.S. Naval Academy and later taught in his alma mater’s electrical and computer engineering department. The Navy Reserve officer previously served as a submarine officer in the Navy. In addition, Winchell was a Presidential Innovation Fellow at the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity. He was also employed at a venture-backed start-up focused on AI security early in his career.
“Mr. Winchell’s hard science background and warfighting experience on some of our most technologically complex weapon systems make him a fantastic pick for this critical position,” said Emil Michael, under secretary of defense for research and engineering. “We here at the headquarters welcome him to the team and look forward to working together to ensure that DARPA, as the preeminent innovation agency in DOD, stands ready to address the Department’s most challenging issues,” he added.
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