Susan Swithenbank

Dr. Susan Swithenbank joined DARPA as a program manager in the Defense Sciences Office in November 2022. She is interested in developing technologies in propulsion, remote sensing, and fundamentals of fluids and fluid-structure interactions. Swithenbank joins DARPA from the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD), where she was the manager of the Propulsor Branch. She focused her research on the hydrodynamics of propulsion and maneuvering for submarines, surface ships, and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) while working for the U.S. Navy. Prior to working at NSWCCD, she was an associate professor at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, a lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a postdoctoral researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Swithenbank holds a doctorate in ocean engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.