Google Hires DARPA Head Regina Dugan

Regina Dugan, the director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is leaving her post at the Pentagon to work for Google.

"Regina is a technical pioneer who brought the future of technology to the military during her time at DARPA," a Google rep said. "She will be a real asset to Google, and we are thrilled she is joining the team."

Dugan, who headed up DARPA for less than three years, was "offered and accepted a senior executive position" with Google, agency spokesman Eric Mazzacone told Wired, which first reported the story. The outgoing DARPA boss felt she couldn't turn down such an "innovative company," Mazzacone added.

Google would not specify exactly what role Dugan will take on at the company.

Of her time at the research agency, Wired said Dugan's "emphasis on cybersecurity and next-generation manufacturing earned her strong support from the White House, winning her praise from the President and maintain the agency's budget even during a period of relative austerity at the Pentagon. Her push into crowdsourcing and outreach to the hacker community were eye-openers in the often-closed world of military R&D. Dugan also won over some military commanders by diverting some of her research cash from long-term blue-sky projects to immediate battlefield concerns."

Despite Dugan's achievements with DARPA, she was a bit of a controversial figure at the agency. During her time, she awarded contracts to RedX Defense, a defense research company she co-founded and still partially owns. The Pentagon's Office of Inspector General (OIG) is currently investigating that deal. However, Lt. Col. Melinda Morgan, a spokesperson for the Office of the Secretary of Defense claimed Dugan's exit "is not related to an OIG investigation."