Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo Deputy Director Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA)

Dr. Sandhoo became deputy director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Project Activity in December 2021. Dr. Sandhoo previously occupied the Distinguished Visiting Professor Robert A. Heinlein Endowed Chair in Astronautics at the U.S. Naval Academy since 2020. At the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, he headed the Spacecraft Engineering Division, and was also the acting director of the Naval Center of Space Technology. He provided executive direction and technical leadership in conducting research of space systems with advanced technologies. He was also a flight controller at NASA’s Johnson Space Center from 2000-2005, and was a research & development engineer at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory from 1997-2000, as well as in industry. Since 1986, he has served in uniform in the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy. Dr. Sandhoo is a Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve as an Engineering Duty Officer. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland, a Master’s degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University, Master’s from the U.S. Naval War College, a Master’s and a Doctorate in Aeronautics and Astronautics from George Washington University, and is a MIT Seminar XXI fellow.