Derek Tournear
Outstanding Alumni Award 2010
- 1998 B.S., Honors Physics, Purdue University
- 2003 Ph.D., Physics, Stanford University
Dr. Tournear is a program manager for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Tactical Technology Office where he manages one of the largest portfolios in the agency. Prior to his position at DARPA, Dr. Tournear served as program manager of the DARPA X-ray Navigation Program at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Dr. Tournear earned his PhD in physics (2003) at Stanford University where he performed research on astrophysics and gamma ray detectors at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. He attained a B.S. in honors physics (1998) from Purdue University while conducting research in high-energy physics on a USN ROTC scholarship. Prior to Purdue, Dr. Tournear started his National Security career in the USN as a nuclear trained machinist mate.