STEM Shoutout: Dr. Meeko Oishi

UNM professor to serve with highly selective study group

Dr. Meeko Oishi, a UNM associate professor and regents’ lecturer in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been selected to participate in the highly prestigious and selective 2020-2021 Defense Science Study Group.

The Defense Science Study Group (DSSG) is a Defence Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA)  funded program dedicated to introducing outstanding science and engineering professors to the United States’ security challenges and issues. DSSG was created in 1986 and is directed by the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA).

Each group of the DSSG meet for two years. During this time, members focus on defense policy, research and development and the missions/operation of the armed forces and intelligence community according to DARPA.

“It is much bigger than just a single research project … it really gives the participants an amazing opportunity to participate in a bigger picture in terms of national security,” Oishi said.

At the end of the program, the groups are tasked with writing a white paper to describe the need for a policy change.

The program, “opens up new avenues for participation on future boards, advisories and other types of big policy-related thinking,” Oishi said.