The short tenure of DARPA technical staff (Program Managers, Deputy Program Managers, Office Directors, Deputy Office Directors, Directors and Deputy Directors), means that even though the technical staff numbers at around 120 any given year, the number of Scientists and Engineers who have done a 3-5 year turn at DARPA, is a generous and well-placed group. The majority of the DARPA alumni consider their tenure at DARPA a life-changing experience.
The DARPA Alumni are loyal to DARPA and the DARPA mission. They continue to contribute to the DARPA mission and they continue to be useful to each other and to the United States global leadership in scientific and technical disciplines through their ongoing promotion of DARPA’s research investment.
There are several formal events that permit DARPA alumni to learn about the current ‘state of DARPA’. These events help the Alumni in their roles as ambassadors of DARPA. They reacquaint current DARPA technical staff with technical staff from other years to facilitate the sharing of lessons learned, useful contacts and new ideas. DARPA Alumni are the living repository of DARPA history: the successes, the failures, the challenges, the experiments and the archives. For formal exchange and substantive discussion between DARPA and the DARPA alumni, DARPA is sponsoring regular workshops.
DARPA is also a moderator of the LinkedIn group “DARPA Alumni” (Join Group), where DARPA alumni can discuss things that interest them and can raise discussion topics for the DARPA Alumni Workshops. DARPA alumni are always welcome to send questions and comments to alumni@darpa.mil.