Dr. Marcia Isakson (Applied Research Laboratories)

"Applied Research Laboratories: The University Affiliated Research Laboratory at UT Austin"

Abstract: Dr. Isakson, a 2002 Ph.D. in Physics from UT-Austin, will discuss her current role as Director of the Signal and Information Sciences Laboratory at Applied Research Laboratories (ARL). In this role she oversees approximately 100 researchers in areas including anti-submarine warfare, systems engineering, geospatial remote sensing, quantum information sciences, content understanding, nuclear security, aero-acoustics, hypersonics, modeling, and simulation. She will describe her own career trajectory and opportunities for new PhDs at ARL.

Bio: Marcia J. Isakson is the Director of the Signal and Information Sciences Laboratory at Applied Research Laboratories, The University of Texas at Austin (ARL:UT) with a broad portfolio including anti-submarine warfare, systems engineering, geospatial remote sensing, quantum information sciences, content understanding, nuclear surety, aero-acoustics, hypersonics, modeling, and simulation with a diverse sponsor base that includes the DoD, the national intelligence community, NASA, DOE and NSF. Dr. Isakson received her B.S. in engineering physics and mathematics from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1992. Upon graduation, she was awarded a Hertz Foundation Fellowship and completed a master’s degree in physics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994. CPT Isakson served in the United States Army from 1994-1997 at Fort Hood, Texas. She earned a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Texas at Austin in 2002. She has been employed at ARL:UT since 2001 and has served as the principal investigator on over 20 sponsored projects working with the Office of Naval Research, the Naval Oceanographic Office, and ExxonMobil totaling over $20M. Dr. Isakson taught underwater acoustics at the University of Texas from 2009-2017. She is a fellow and former president of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA). Dr. Isakson served on the governing board of the American Institute of Physics (AIP) from 2013-2020. She is currently a member of the Ocean Studies Board at the National Academies for Science, Engineering and Medicine, a member of the US Committee for the UN Ocean Decade of Ocean Science and a member of the Decadal Survey on Ocean Sciences for the National Science Foundation.