Regina E. Dugan

Regina E. Dugan
Regina E. Dugan, circa. 2010
19th Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
In office
July 20, 2009 – March 2012
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byAnthony Tether
Succeeded byArati Prabhakar
Personal details
Born
Regina E. Dugan

(1963-03-19) March 19, 1963 (age 61)
New York City, US
Residence(s)Los Altos, California, US
Alma materVirginiaTech (BS, MS)
Caltech (PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsEngineering
Institutions
ThesisAxisymmetric buoyant jets in a cross flow with shear: Transition and mixing (1993)
Doctoral advisorE. John List[1]

Regina E. Dugan (born March 19, 1963), is an American businesswoman, inventor, technology developer and government official. She was the first female director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), where she served from July 2009 until March 2012.

Dugan began working for DARPA in 1996. Over the next 4 years, she led numerous multimillion-dollar research programs. Her most notable research project, known as the 'Dog's Nose,' involved the development of an advanced portable system that could detect the explosive content of landmines. In 1999, she was awarded 'Manager of the Year' for her work at DARPA and in 2000, she was honored with the Bronze de Fleury Medal by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. She has also received awards from the United States Secretary of Defense; specifically, the Awards for Exceptional Service and Outstanding Achievement.[2]

Dugan left DARPA in 2000 to become a special advisor for the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army. Her work included a study titled 'Quick Reaction Study on Countermine,' which was briefed to senior members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and implemented in Operation Enduring Freedom.[3] Dugan also took positions on the Naval Research Advisory Committee, Threat Reduction Agency and Technology panel. Prior to DARPA, she founded a company called Dugan Ventures. In 2005, Dugan Ventures began a new investment, RedXDefense LLC.

After leaving DARPA in March 2012, she was appointed to an executive position at Google. There, she led and created Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) at Motorola Mobility, a subsidiary of Google. In January 2014, it was announced that Motorola Mobility would be acquired by Lenovo. Dugan and her team were retained by Google. She later moved to Facebook, joining a team called Building 8. In October 2017, she announced that she would be leaving in early 2018 to pursue other endeavors.[4][5][6] In May 2020, she was announced as the CEO of Wellcome Leap.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference duganphd was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Regina E. Dugan | CSU". www2.calstate.edu. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  3. ^ "Regina Dugan". Washington Post. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  4. ^ "Facebook's Building 8 head, Regina Dugan, is leaving the company". October 17, 2017.
  5. ^ Gayomali, Chris (January 30, 2014). "Google is Selling Motorola Mobility, But Keeping the Most Interesting and High-Tech Division". Fast Company. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  6. ^ "Ex-Darpa Head Regina Dugan Leaves Google for Facebook". Wired.
  7. ^ "Wellcome Leap announces leadership team". Retrieved June 9, 2020.