formative impact on civilian life) with initiatives that may fundamentally change the way the military innovates. She has centered DARPA’s focus on the intersection of basic and applied research. She is so focused
on speeding up the time from blue-sky idea to delivery of product that she has embraced crowdsourcing for
both idea creation and manufacturing. Turning to the masses may seem antithetical to military secrecy, but
Dugan’s unorthodox approach fits with another goal of hers: welcoming a wider array of smaller contractors
to bid for DARPA projects (including AeroVironment, which fabricated the Nano Hummingbirds on the
previous page). In the mini-society known as the military industrial complex, none of this is simple or uncontroversial. Earlier this year, it was revealed that DARPA had awarded a private defense firm that Dugan
founded with her father and uncle $6 million in contracts over the past several years, including $1.75 million
since she became agency director. Her former firm, in which she still holds a hefty stake, also owes her
$250,000 for a loan she made. Dugan says she properly recused herself from all related decisions
(“There’s nothing more important
to me personally than ethics,” she
told Fast Company), but critics
worry that her influence played a
role; the Department of Defense’s
Inspector General is investigating.
While her past is attracting attention, Dugan is firmly focused on
the future. She shuns the spotlight,
so much so that she requested
through her deputies that Fast Company not run this story as an interview, fearing that an undue focus
on her would diminish the accomplishments of her program managers (in whose ranks she dwelled
several years ago). It’s clear that
Dugan’s ambition for DARPA is limitless; her vision audacious. But the
question remains: Will she succeed,
or will her agenda—like that hypersonic vehicle—crash and burn like
a short-lived experiment?
Three programs that
are accelerating under
dugan’s watch
Turning To
The crowd
// Cyber Fast Track
the government has had trouble
keeping up with threats to ameri-
ca’s computer networks, which
are constantly evolving. the solu-
tion: Deploy unorthodox strate-
gies divined by a motley crew of
unconventional players, including
hackers, hobbyists, and indepen-
dent researchers, while cutting
bureaucratic red tape. Developers
retain intellectual-property rights.
FC: So, Dr. Dugan, when did you first
realize you were good at math and
science?
Back in advanced calculus class in
high school. Whenever I would
speak, the other students would
make computer sounds in the back
of the room. Bleeping and fussing,
whirring, all kinds of sounds. At
moments like that I thought, Hmm,
there’s something different here.
had two of us who were split in the
age groups, so I got him every other
year as a coach. I played third base—
and I was a catcher for a while,
which I loved. You’re in every play,
and you get really dirty.
Did you play sports?
I did. My father had three girls. We
were very close in age, and he
coached us all in softball. He always
What attracted you to engineering?
For a while in high school, I thought
I would be an architect because I
liked the combination of technical
discipline with the creative side of
architecture. I was curious about
everything, pulled in all directions
by different subjects. But then I fig-
“I think that speed is
part of the innovation
process,” says Dugan.
“If ideas aren’t built
on with a sense of
urgency, time can
pass you by.”
// UAVForge
Darpa is crowdsourcing the de-
sign and construction of a porta-
ble, backpack-size unmanned
aerial vehicle to fly into “critical
environments” and conduct sur-
veillance. teams of inventors post
their plans to a Darpa website
where the crowd can weigh in with
suggestions. top teams are invited
to demo their tech at a “fly-off”
where the winning group will re-
ceive $100,000. a Darpa subcon-
tractor will build prototypes that
the inventors can demonstrate in
a war-fighter exercise.
// System F6
this crowdsourced approach to
space-worthy hardware and soft-
ware started three years ago with
the goal of restructuring the way
satellites, which run a minimum of
$100 million to launch, are built.
Instead of constructing a satellite
as one big project, the idea is to
break it into constituent pieces
that can be built by different ven-
dors of all sizes and specialties.
then each piece could be
launched separately until all the
parts join up in a virtual satellite
formation in orbit, flying for the
duration of the mission, and talk-
ing to each other wirelessly.
