Mikulski, Hoyer, Ruppersberger Join University of Maryland to Announce Intelligence Facility's Permanent Location

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer and Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (all D-Md.) today joined the University of Maryland (UM), College Park, to celebrate the announcement that the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) will be permanently headquartered at M Square, the UM Research Park.  IARPA is currently based at M Square's Center for Advanced Study of Language, the nation's largest foreign language research facility.  Modeled after the military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), IARPA develops groundbreaking technologies for the U.S. intelligence community. 

Senator Mikulski, Congressmen Hoyer and Ruppersberger worked for several months against attempts to move IARPA out of Maryland and to permanently establish and expand IARPA's headquarters on the university campus in Prince George's County.  Construction of a new facility will be completed in early 2009. 

IARPA will make Maryland a high-tech center for intelligence research and development.  This facility will bring together government, academia and the private sector - creating jobs and developing technology to improve our national and economic security. 

"Our intelligence community is facing new threats and new challenges everyday - IARPA develops the new innovations and technologies to keep us safe at home and abroad," said Senator Mikulski, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.  "I can think of no better place than the University of Maryland, College Park, for IARPA's headquarters.  Its innovative academic research, world-class facilities, and close proximity to federal intelligence agencies make it an excellent choice.  I will continue to fight to make sure we are making the right investments to develop the new ideas that will protect us."

"IARPA represents a revolutionary effort to enhance our intelligence capabilities through new technologies," stated Congressman Hoyer.  "The decision to headquarter IARPA at the University of Maryland speaks volumes about the quality of this world-class institution and its placement at the forefront of groundbreaking technological research."

"This is great news for Maryland and shows that the University of Maryland will continue to be a center for technology and innovation that will keep our country safe.  In order to stay a step ahead of the enemy, we must ensure our warfighters and intelligence workers have access to the latest in technology and innovation.  IARPA will help us to do that," said Congressman Ruppersberger, Chairman of the Technical and Tactical Intelligence Subcommittee.

"The University of Maryland is excited to play a role in the creation of IARPA," says University of Maryland President C. Dan Mote, Jr.  "IARPA opens a new chapter in the nation's capacity to address its security challenges both those that are known today and those that are sure to come.  The University's education and research programs will serve IARPA extremely well."

IARPA consolidates the NSA's Disruptive Technology office, previously called the Advanced Research and Development Activity, the NGA's National Technology Alliance, and the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) Intelligence Technology Innovation Center.

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