Defense Sciences Office
Gautam Parthasarathy, Ph.D., joined DARPA in August 2026 as a program manager in the Defense Sciences Office. He is interested in fostering interdisciplinary concepts in materials science to challenge conventional limits and open new performance regimes.
Prior to joining DARPA, Parthasarathy spent more than 20 years at General Electric Global Research and GE Aerospace Research where he originated and led interdisciplinary research spanning electronic, optical, structural, and architected materials. He built cross-functional teams to translate early-stage scientific ideas into technologies for aerospace, energy, and healthcare applications.
His early research focused on light-emitting and light-harvesting materials for solid-state lighting and photovoltaics and later expanded to radiation detection and imaging. He subsequently worked on architected materials, ceramic scaffolds, and materials and manufacturing approaches for sensing and operation in extreme environments.
Across these areas, his work explored how composition, architecture, processing, and structure can be combined to create new functionality and performance.
Education
- Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, Princeton University
- B.S., Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University