Voices from DARPA

What will it take to move beyond the nuclear equivalent of rubbing sticks together and harness nuclear energy wherever enduring power is needed? 

For centuries, humanity has relied on heat-driven energy conversion, essentially using steam-age technology even when harnessing the power of the atom. To push further into space and power mission-critical systems in extreme, remote environments, we need entirely new ways to generate, convert, and control nuclear power. 

In this episode, we sit down with Tabitha Dodson, Ph.D., a nuclear physicist, aerospace engineer, and program manager in the Defense Sciences Office (DSO). Dodson shares her unconventional journey, from stargazing as a child on a farm in West Virginia to spearheading leading-edge nuclear space initiatives at DARPA. 

She shares how her DARPA program portfolio aims to bend the development and adoption curve for nuclear energy: 

Fat Cat: Aims to achieve a first-of-its-kind demonstration of 100% autonomous nuclear reactor control on a small, unmoderated fast-spectrum reactor. By developing predictive nuclear reactor physics models, radiation-hardened (rad-hard) electronics, and fast-acting sensors, the program seeks to enable compact, safe, self-regulating reactors for space exploration, undersea operations, and other remote environments. 

Rads to Watts: Aims to deliver ~10 times the power efficiency of traditional radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) by bypassing heat entirely. Using advanced multilayer radiovoltaic cells that function similarly to solar panels (powered by nuclear radiation particles rather than photons) the program seeks to directly convert radioactive decay into kilowatts of enduring electrical power. 

Tune in to hear how Dodson is bridging the gap between theoretical physics and practical engineering to unlock the enduring power systems that could one day take humanity to the stars. 

What happens when DARPA bets on early-career scientists with fresh ideas and gives them a chance to solve real world problems?

For 20 years, DARPA’s Young Faculty Award (YFA) has connected rising researchers at academic institutions with DARPA program managers, national security challenges, and the opportunity to pursue ambitious science. In this episode, we look back at two decades of YFA with DSO Director Bart Russell and three YFA alumni whose early DARPA-funded research and mentorship helped launch careers across academia, industry, and government. 

In this episode, we discuss how YFA:

• Helped Dr. Evelyn Wang turn early research on cooling high-power electronics into a career advancing high-impact energy technologies, including as the head of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E)
• Gave Dr. Suo Yang the mentorship and support to tackle an engineering problem that had been virtually untouched for 50 years: modeling and predicting sonic booms generated by hypersonic (Mach 5+) speeds
• Enabled Dr. Zico Kolter to explore a contrarian idea about machine-learning optimization that helped shape his work as a tech entrepreneur and thought leader in safety and security for large language models

Tune in to hear how DARPA’s Young Faculty Award has become an incubator not only for audacious ideas, but also for the people—and future generations of researchers—who bring those audacious ideas to life.

https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/communities/academia/young-faculty-award

Hear directly from Thomas Kenny, the professor who encouraged Evelyn Wang to pursue YFA, in his Life After DARPA interview https://www.darpa.mil/careers/alumni

logistics challenge sparked a movement to break a nearly century-old barrier holding back heavy vertical-lift aircraft.

Phillip “Donna” Smith is a program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office. He oversees several of the agency’s aerial drone programs, including the Lift Challenge, a national public competition that began with one simple metric: improve payload-to-weight ratio in vertical aircraft, which currently lift only as much as they weigh.

What began as a hypothesis that these aircraft could lift four times their current weight using more aerodynamic designs, new materials, and better flight controls rapidly became a path to even higher payload efficiency. 

Smith shares insights from the 2026 competition and what led to the decision to go for even bigger goals in 2028.

Additional Lift Challenge information, competition recaps, and upcoming milestones are available at www.darpa.mil/lift. 

Video playlist for DLC

As the landscape of naval warfare changes, traditional defense methods like large convoys and standard object recognition are becoming impractical. New, scalable solutions are needed to help U.S. Navy Sailors identify maritime threats, track potential targets, and safeguard the massive commercial and military logistics vessels that form the backbone of global trade and defense.

In this episode, we speak with Christopher Kent, a program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office. With a background in naval architecture and as the former Deputy Chief Engineer for the Department of the Navy, Kent came to DARPA to solve real-world problems. He shares his work on developing innovative technologies that provide a new layer of security for vessels at sea as well as other parts of the battlefield, including:

• Pulling Guard: A semi-autonomous, unmanned system towed behind a ship that acts as a dedicated mobile sentry. It can detect and neutralize threats, providing military-grade protection to commercial vessels without the insurance and regulatory burdens of arming the host ship itself.

• Heimdall: Advanced tracking software, inspired by human vision, that can lock onto and follow potential threats in cluttered and chaotic environments. Originally designed for maritime use, this technology has proven so effective that the U.S. Army is also adopting it for ground-based defense systems.

At some time in our lives, most of us have learned that matter is made of molecules, molecules are made of atoms, and atoms are made of protons, electrons, and neutrons. But what’s less commonly learned is what’s going on inside those atoms and molecules, such as when a bond breaks or internal components are rearranged through a chemical reaction.

In this episode, we sit down with Keith Whitener, Ph.D., a program manager in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office (DSO), who discusses the inner workings of reaction mechanisms and how atoms and molecules behave at the smallest possible levels.

In this episode we discuss how key mentors influenced Keith’s career as a physical chemist, how his stent as a Jeopardy champion connects to his DARPA work, and how his DARPA program portfolio tackles some of the military’s largest operational and logistics problems:

• SeREne: Aims to make explosives safer to handle and tunable on the fly
• HNO3: Aims to eliminate a supply chain risk by enabling high-efficiency production of nitric acid directly from air and water
• ExCURSion: Aims to bypass fuel supply line challenges by generating energy at point of need
• ExPEDitions: Aims to create a new chemistry for electrically rechargeable batteries to have both the power and energy density of carbon-based fuel

As promised, you can match wits against Keith by reading through a fan-created archive of Jeopardy appearances, including all the questions and answers for the episodes in which he competed.

Music in this podcast episode includes an excerpt of “Tuesday (Groove)” composed by Keith Whitener, available on his legacy personal website.

In this episode, we sit down with David Rushing Dewhurst, Ph.D., a program manager in DARPA\'s Information Processing Techniques Office, IPTO. Dewhurst works at the complex intersection of economics, data science, and national security to develop tools that help America navigate a world where economic competition has become a primary battlefield. 

Dewhurst shares his unconventional path to the agency and takes us through two of his programs: 

Anticipatory and Adaptive Anti-Money Laundering, A3ML: An innovative program that aims to eliminate global money laundering by treating it as an economic supply-and-demand problem, while preserving privacy through a decentralized approach. 

National Security Economic Theory, NASCENT: A program focused on establishing a principled theoretical foundation for geoeconomics and building generic playbooks for economic statecraft. 

Tune in to discover how Dewhurst is redefining the tools of economic statecraft to prevent pan-domain strategic surprise. 

What does it take to solve the world's most urgent national security and economic challenges? At DARPA, it starts with questioning past assumptions. In this episode, we go behind the scenes of a major organizational pivot to hear directly from the office leaders driving the change. 

We unpack the "why" behind the new names on the doors of two tech offices: 

• The Multi X Office (MXO): Formerly the Microsystems Technology Office (MTO), MXO is breaking down the walls between physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science. Learn how this integrated approach aims to secure critical supply chains and build resilient physical capabilities. 

• The Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO): Reaching back to a legendary name from DARPA’s history, the former Information Innovation Office (I2O) is focusing on the first principles of computational power and resiliency that will be required to invent the next forward-looking breakthrough technologies for national security. 

Listen in to hear how DARPA is retooling its strategy, embracing massive scale, and transforming its structure to secure America's future. 

MXO

IPTO

Smash

Promethean Clay

Crystal Palace

IPTO history

BTO Program Manager Lt. Col. Adam Willis, M.D., U.S. Air Force, joins Voices from DARPA to share his remarkable journey from a ROTC physics major to a leading innovator in military medicine.

Dr. Willis discusses how a desire to apply science to help people led him down the dual paths of a Ph.D. in theoretical and appliled mechanics and a medical degree with a focus on neurology. He recounts the moment a demonstration of the DARPA-funded Revolutionizing Prosthetics program sparked his interest, leading him to cold-email a military doctor and future mentor, Col. Geoffrey Ling, who gave him a simple, life-changing piece of advice.

In this episode, Dr. Willis explains his work on groundbreaking programs like Golden Hour Evacuation (GOLDEVAC) and Making Anatomical Sense of Hemorrhage (MASH), which aim to revolutionize battlefield medicine by bringing critical care capabilities directly to the point of injury. He details his vision for an "ICU in a box" and autonomous surgical tools that could save countless lives when evacuation to a surgeon isn't possible. He also shares his unique perspective as a "Rosetta Stone," translating complex medical challenges into the language of physics and engineering to find novel solutions.

It started with a movie. It led to a mission.

In this episode of "Voices from DARPA," we sit down with Michael Feasel, Ph.D., a program manager in the Biological Technologies Office, to discuss his extraordinary journey to the forefront of American innovation. From a pre-med student who found his calling in an inorganic chemistry class, to career inspiration from a Nicolas Cage film, Mike's path was anything but conventional. He shares how a chance Thanksgiving conversation launched his career in chemical and biological defense, and how he was later recruited to DARPA.

Mike offers a unique look inside the agency, detailing the challenges of managing programs far outside his initial expertise and the incredible impact of fostering world-changing ideas. Discover the story behind his Protean program, which aims to revolutionize how we counter chemical threats, and hear his reflections on what makes DARPA a one-of-a-kind place for innovators.

Related Content:

DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center

ABC

Hermes

RIDDL

We go beyond the cutting-edge technology and "secret labs" to explore the most vital part of DARPA's mission: its people.

Six former Program Managers discuss their experiences and what comes after a tour of duty at the agency.

They share their initial anxieties, the challenges of working on projects outside their expertise, and the unique culture of support and urgency that defines DARPA.

Discover how they transitioned from the agency back to the private and public sectors, and how their time at DARPA continues to shape their careers and the future of technology

www.darpa.mil/careers