Research Outside the Confines of Traditional R&D

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has had a long history in foreshadowing large scale shifts in technology. Programs currently within the Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) are on the cusp of changing several technological landscapes in the MEMS, Photonics, Processing, SiGe, and GaN communities. This talk will cover these specific technologies in detail, while attempting to predict the impact of these technologies for future National Security issues.
Dr. Chappell is the Director of MTO, the DARPA office responsible for
next generation microsystems, including advanced electronics, photonics,
and MEMS technologies. In the past decades, this office has led
fundamental developments in the underpinnings of foundational
technologies such as GaAs, GaN, Si Photonics, and MEMS inertial sensors.

The office currently has a focus on technologies for managing the complex
and crowded electromagnetic spectrum, extracting information in
constrained computing and sensing environments, and new methods for
engaging the broader global electronics market for the military.

Dr. Chappell joined DARPA as a program manager in July 2011 and was promoted to his current
position in June 2014. His interests include advanced packaging, adaptable RF systems, and
antenna arrays.

Prior to joining DARPA in 2011, he served as a full professor at Purdue University with a focus
on electromagnetic and wireless systems.

Dr. Chappell received his Bachelor of Science in 1998 from the University of Michigan, where
he also earned his Masters and Doctor of Philosophy studying in the Radiation Laboratory on
spectral isolation techniques for high frequency microwave systems using composite materials.