VISE Fall Seminar with Christopher Bettinger, PhD 9.23.24
VISE Fall Seminar to be led by
Christopher J. Bettinger, PhD
Program Manager
Biological Technologies Office (BTO)
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Date: Monday, September 23, 2024
Location: Student Life Center Meeting Room 1&2
Time: 11:45 for lunch; noon start
Title:
Breakthrough Biological Technologies for Warfighter Protection
Abstract:
For more than fifty years, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has had a singular and enduring mission: to make pivotal investments in breakthrough technologies for national security. The genesis of that mission and of DARPA itself dates to the launch of Sputnik in 1957, and a commitment by the United States that, from that time forward, it would be the initiator and not the victim of strategic technological surprises. This talk will discuss the mission of DARPA as it applies to leveraging biological technologies for warfighter protection. Progress on ongoing programs that are designing protein-based medical countermeasures and biohybrid devices to reduce threats and maximize warfighter readiness will be presented.
Bio:
Christopher Bettinger is currently a Program Manager in the Biological Technologies Office (BTO) at DARPA. Here, Chris manages a portfolio of research programs aimed at leveraging medical devices and biomaterials to protect and enhance warfighter performance. Prior to this role, Chris was a Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the Departments of Materials Science and Engineering and Biomedical Engineering. Chris has published approximately 100 articles and has been issued over 10 patents. Chris has received honors including the MIT Tech Review TR35 Top Young Innovator under 35 and the DARPA Young Investigator Award. Chris received an S.B. in Chemical Engineering, an M.Eng. in Biomedical Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering as a Charles Stark Draper Fellow, all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed his post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford University in the Department of Chemical Engineering as an NIH Ruth Kirschstein Fellow.