DARPA’s podcast series, "Voices from DARPA," offers a revealing and informative window on the minds of the Agency's program managers. In each episode, a program...
Microelectronics are the foundation of technology today, but what about tomorrow? Ten years from now? Twenty?Real breakthroughs don’t come from simply refining what already exists—they come from reimagining what’s possible. In this episode, Dr. Whitney Mason, Director of DARPA’s Microsystems Technology Office (MTO), takes us inside the research that is pushing microelectronics beyond conventional thinking. She explores the potential of organic circuits to revolutionize computing, not by replacing existing technology, but by opening entirely new frontiers in electronics design. From assessing the potential of quantum computing to novel material innovations that could redefine performance and efficiency, MTO is driving advancements that go far beyond conventional chipmaking.Dr. Mason also shares her perspective on how DARPA’s risk-taking culture enables groundbreaking discoveries, and why the speed of innovation is critical to maintaining U.S. technological advantage. She discusses MTO’s focus on next-generation manufacturing approaches that integrate best-of-breed materials to achieve disruptive performance leaps. By moving beyond traditional microelectronics and embracing unconventional ideas, MTO is working to create the future of technology—one where microelectronics aren’t just smaller and faster, but smarter, more resilient, and capable of things we have yet to fully envision.Show notes and links:Dr. Whitney MasonMicrosystems Technology OfficeVoices from DARPA Episode 42: The Infrared VisionaryVoices from DARPA Episode 72: The Quantum MechanicQBI: Quantum Benchmarking Initiative AMME: Additive Manufacturing of MicrosystEmsNGMM: Next-Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing Episode 85 posting date: January 31, 2025
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Episode 84: Hackable Code & the Formal Fix
U.S. national security depends on an aging IT infrastructure that supports a vast network of systems spanning the globe. Over the past three decades, traditional security practices—like virus scanning, patching software, and intrusion detection systems—have led to a landscape of vulnerable systems. The Department of Defense is no exception, where legacy IT systems and even the most advanced fighter jets and weapons platforms are susceptible to exploitable weaknesses.But this doesn’t have to continue being our reality.In this episode of Voices from DARPA, we explore the agency’s groundbreaking work on revolutionizing software development. At the forefront of this transformation is the use of formal methods—a powerful, mathematical approach that ensures robust security and guarantees the absence of vulnerabilities in software systems. Join experts from DARPA and its strategic partners as they explore how these cutting-edge tools are reshaping the security landscape and paving the way for a future where vulnerabilities are not just minimized but provably absent—across the U.S. military and beyond.Show Notes· Current DARPA programs leveraging formal methods: o AI Quantified (AIQ)o Assured Autonomyo Assured Micropatching (AMP)o Automated Rapid Certification of Software (ARCOS)o Intrinsic Cognitive Security (ICS)o Pipelined Reasoning of Verifiers Enabling Robust Systems (PROVERS)o Provably Weird Network Deployment and Detection (PWND2) o Safe Documents (SafeDocs)o Verified Security and Performance Enhancement of Large Legacy Software (V-SPELLS)· High-Assurance Cyber Military Systems (HACMS) overview, research paper, and Little Bird demo video· National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Workshop on Secure Building Blocks for Trustworthy Systems (segment at 7:23:49)· Voices from DARPA Episode 51: The Cybersecurity Sleuth, featuring former DARPA program manager, Dr. Sergey Bratus· DARPA Forward: Engineering Secure Information Systems video presentation
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Episode 83: When Should Machines Decide?
What characteristics make a person trustworthy? Under what circumstances would a person delegate life or death decisions to artificial intelligence (AI)? Does it matter that AI systems reflect trustworthy humans’ decision-making preferences, morals, and ethics? If so, what characteristics are most important?These are some of the fundamental questions DARPA researchers are exploring for the In the Moment (ITM) program, which aims to support the development of algorithms that are trusted to independently make decisions in difficult domains, particularly in significant trauma events such as battlefield triage.DARPA’s research has identified the need for fundamentally different approaches to advance AI technology to a place where we’re willing to trust it and not be foolish to do so. Continuing themes from our mini-series on ELSI – ethical, legal, and societal implications of new technologies and capabilities – we meet with DARPA’s ITM program manager, Dr. Patrick Shafto, and the ITM performers and ELSI advisors, who break down how they’re tackling the fundamental question of alignment in the context of human decision-makers and autonomous decision-making tools.In case you missed them, check out our previous ELSI series episodes at the following links:Episode 79: Integrating ELSIEpisode 78: Introducing ELSIOur special thanks to the following ITM performers and advisors for their contributions to this episode (in order of their appearance):· Alice Leung, RTX BBN· Joseph Cohn, SoarTech· Matthew Molineaux, Parallax Advanced Research· Arslan Basharat, Kitware Inc.· Jennifer McVay, CACI· Dave Cotting, Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA)· Sarah Daly, IDA· Lauren Diaz, University of Maryland Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS)· Ellie Tyler, ARLIS
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Episode 82: Acquisition Awesomeness
Accomplishing DARPA’s mission of creating and preventing strategic surprise is as much a business challenge as it is a technology challenge.In this episode, team members from DARPA’s Contracts Management Office – Office Director Effie Fragogiannis and Deputy Director Catherine Stevens, along with Senior Advisor Scott Ulrey – explore what it takes to innovate contracting processes and mechanisms to enable the development of breakthrough technologies at the speed of relevance.From DARPA’s pioneering work with Other Transactions, to fast-pitch proposals, to the exploration of previously unrealized authorities, hear how the agency is breaking down the barriers of government contracting, providing companies a clearer path to the national security mission.Links:Acquisition Innovation Collaborative Disruption at DoD – Kathleen Hicks – American Dynamism SummitAcquisition Innovation: From Other Transactions to Fast-Pitch ProposalsOffice of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Other Transactions GuideDARPAConnect
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Episode 81: DTC - Revolutionizing Triage
In this episode, Dr. Jean-Paul Chretien and Elissa Rupley from our Biological Technologies Office provide an exciting update from the recent DARPA Triage Challenge (DTC) workshop at the Guardian Centers in Perry, GA. The DARPA Triage Challenge, or DTC, aims to drive breakthrough innovations in identification of “signatures” of injury that will help medical responders perform scalable, timely, and accurate triage. Of particular interest are mass casualty incidents, in both civilian and military settings, when medical resources are limited relative to the need. We also hear from Alix Donnelly, from the U.S. Army's Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) and some of the participating DTC Team Members on their experience thus far in the competition. There are still opportunities to get involved – listen to learn more!Links:DARPA Triage ChallengeDr. Jean-Paul Chretien bioDTC Workshop 1 highlight video DTC YouTube Playlist
DARPA’s podcast series, "Voices from DARPA," offers a revealing and informative window on the minds of the Agency's program managers. In each episode, a program manager from one of DARPA’s six technical offices—Biological Technologies, Defense Sciences, Information Innovation, Microsystems Technology, Strategic Technology, and Tactical Technology—will discuss in informal and personal terms why they are at DARPA and what they are up to. The goal of "Voices from DARPA" is to share with listeners some of the institutional know-how, vision, process, and history that together make the “secret sauce” DARPA has been adding to the Nation’s innovation ecosystem for nearly 60 years. On another level, we at DARPA just wanted to share the pleasure we all have every day—in the elevator, in the halls, in our meeting rooms—as we learn from each other and swap ideas and strive to change what’s possible.
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