Research

The National Security Institute's research activities principally focus on cybersecurity, resilience, and autonomy challenges faced by the national security and homeland security communities. The National Security Institute has built deep technical expertise in a number of general areas, which can be applied across mission-focused research initiatives that change as the nature of the national security threat to the United States changes. These core technical areas are built on strong partnership that are built around specific technical disciplines with academic departments and centers.

Many of the National Security Institute's current research programs involve partnerships with faculty in engineering departments. Wireless @ Virginia Tech provides key expertise necessary for execution of programs such as resilient military communications technologies. Space @ Virginia Tech and the Virginia Center for Autonomous Systems provide opportunities for unique military and intelligence payloads to be hosted on satellites and unmanned airborne vehicles.

The National Security Institute's team of program managers provide professional management services to research programs, and the research laboratories provide research faculty to augment the faculty/student team enabling Virginia Tech to pursue and deliver upon larger, more complex programs.

Within the context of military programs, the National Security Institute focuses principally on the Science and Technology (S&T) subset of the Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E). This includes Department of Defense (DOD) budget categories 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3, with an emphasis on 6.2 and 6.3 programs.