Christopher Kent
Program Manager
Tactical Technology Office
Dr. Christopher Kent joined DARPA in December 2022 as a program manager in the Tactical Technology Office. His current focus areas include technology development and demonstration of advanced maritime technologies with particular focus on rapid design, prototyping, and fielding.
Immediately prior to DARPA, Kent served as deputy chief engineer for systems engineering and technical authority for the Department of the Navy, supporting the Navy’s Chief Engineer and the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for Research Development Test and Evaluation. In that role he was the touchstone for systems engineering and technical authority topics. Previous to that, Kent performed naval science and technology oversight at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. He was the chief engineer and director of research for the Naval Architecture and Engineering Department at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division.
Kent earned both a doctorate in naval architecture and marine engineering and two Master of Science in Engineering degrees from the University of Michigan. He holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering physics from Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario Canada. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Ship Research.