Mr. Ronald Kurjanowicz

Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E))

Ron Kurjanowicz is the Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD(R&E)), in the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. He leads strategic activities across the ASD(R&E) organization to conceive, develop, organize, and implement new technical and organizational thrusts that result in the delivery of innovative technical and operational capabilities for the Department of Defense (DoD).

Previously, Mr. Kurjanowicz was the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Chief of Staff and Director of the Office of Management Operations (OMO). DARPA invests $3B annually in basic science, advanced, and applied research in cutting-edge technology in support of deployed U.S. forces or the Services. As the Chief of Staff, Mr. Kurjanowicz led the DARPA Director's staff, coordinated the functions of DARPA's six Offices, and served as a senior advisor providing executive-level support and programmatic advice. As the OMO Director, he led a $100M enterprise and 400 personnel to provide essential support to the Agency's 1000 personnel in three key areas: Information Technology, Security and Intelligence, and Facilities and Administration.

From 2004 to 2005, in addition to his responsibilities as DARPA Chief of Staff, Mr. Kurjanowicz served as program manager for the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge—a $2 million prize competition that accelerated autonomous ground vehicle technology for DoD.

Prior to assuming his duties as DARPA Chief of Staff, Mr. Kurjanowicz was president of a small consulting firm providing professional services to DARPA and other organizations. Previous positions include Chief of the Air Force Battlelabs ($45M enterprise comprising six innovation centers across the United States which to introduce revolutionary warfighting capabilities into the Air Force) and Special Assistant to the Joint Staff Director for Force Structure, Resources, and Assessment, supporting the DoD Quadrennial Defense Review. He is a retired Air Force colonel, having logged more than 2,000 flight hours in F-15 and F-111 aircraft.

Mr. Kurjanowicz is a native of New York City. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business from the State University of New York at Albany (1977); a Master of Science degree in international relations from the University of Southern California (1986); and is a Harvard University National Security Fellow (1995).

Federal Computer Week selected Mr. Kurjanowicz for its 2005 Federal 100 award, which recognizes the top 100 Government and industry employees who have played pivotal roles in the Federal information technology community.