Michael Kratsios Appointed Acting DoD Undersecretary for Research, Engineering

Michael Kratsios, U.S. chief technology officer and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, has been named acting undersecretary of research and engineering at the Department of Defense.

“In seeking to fill this position we wanted someone with experience in identifying and developing new technologies and working closely with a wide range of industry partners,” Mark Esper, secretary of DoD and fellow Wash100 awardee, said in a statement published Tuesday. “We think Michael is the right person for this job and we are excited to have him on the team.”

Kratsios assumed the duties of Michael Griffin, a two-time Wash100 recipient who stepped down from his post Friday, July 10.

Kratsios became the country’s fourth CTO in August 2019. Since then, he has helped the White House launch national programs across the areas of artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, quantum computing and autonomous vehicles. Some of those programs include the National Quantum Coordination Office, American AI Initiative and the COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium.

DoD also announced the appointment of Mark Lewis, director of defense research and engineering for modernization, as interim deputy undersecretary for research and engineering. He assumed the responsibilities of Lisa Porter, who also resigned from her role to join the private sector.

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