Nuclear engineers are trained to tackle large, multi-disciplinary challenges. And Lisa Porter SB ’89 credits that perspective with helping her handle a national-security research management task that's more than a little daunting: developing innovations that have the potential to provide the U.S. with an "overwhelming intelligence advantage over future adversaries."

Porter took the reins of the U.S. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) in 2008, upon its creation as part of a broad, post-Sept. 11 initiative to make the U.S. intelligence community more collaborative, efficient and effective. IARPA's goals are both tremendously challenging and critically important in today's world: improving the value of information that is collected, maximizing insight from that information and assuring the security of information, while at rest and in motion.

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