Acting Deputy Director
Directors Office
Whitney Mason, PhD, is the acting deputy director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and director of the Microsystems Technology Office (MTO).
Previously, she held the deputy director role in the agency’s Strategic Technology Office (STO) from 2022 - 2023. Prior to joining STO, Mason served as a program manager in MTO from 2017 - 2022.
Her research interests include imaging sensors that provide multifunction capability. In particular, she is interested in novel device structures, optics, and electronics that enable new capabilities compared to current state-of-the-art imaging systems.
Mason joined DARPA from the Army C5ISR Center, formerly the Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, where she was the director of the Science and Technology Division within the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate at Fort Belvoir, Va. In that role, she led a team of scientists and engineers in the pursuit of new and improved focal plane array materials and devices; advanced read-out circuits; and enhanced optical materials and designs, lasers, and image processing.
Education
- PhD, Physics, University of Oklahoma
- BS, Physics, Georgetown University
