Krishnendu Halder: Darpa Director Leaving Pentagonfor Google!

One of the most top-secret Pentagon departments, the same that spawned America's drones, military robots, electromagnetic guns and other sci-fi weaponry, is about to lose its top officer to Google. Regina Dugan oversaw the development of of some of the DoD's research lab is parting ways with the Pentagon to take on a role with Google. Not even three years after she took on the role as the first female director of the America's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or Darpa, Regina Dugan is now walking away to join the ranks of America's other innovative powerhouse. Dugan will be relinquishing her top role at the Defense Department's Darpa program and trading in the Potomac River for Silicon Valley, and says it is a natural decision to move somewhere where the possibilities seem endless. Apparently within the cogs of the war machine, there is only so much left to explore. Anfirming the move to a "senior executive position" with Gogle, Darpa spokesman Eric Eric Mazzacone tells Wired that Dugan couldn't refuse an offer with such an "innovative company" as the search engine giant. Until the latest news broke, however, Darpa had been touted as a creative, yet controversial research lab for space-age technology only once imaginable. Darpa has developed technologies used across the globe that can take away lives and, as seen with cutting-edge robotic limbs, practically create them. With the Defense Department scaling back on many operations and Google seemingly only growing, Dugan's departure only makes sense given the timing. Both US President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have thrown their weight behind a shift in the Pentagon's budget in an effort to save billions over the next few years. Google, on the other hand, has only increased its outreach, operating countless new endeavors and taking on new mediums.