Susan Swithenbank

Susan Swithenbank currently serves as a Program Manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) since November 2022. Prior to this role, Susan held various positions at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, including Branch Head and Naval Architect from August 2016 to November 2022. Susan's academic career includes serving as a Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and as an Associate and Assistant Professor at the US Coast Guard Academy. Early experience includes roles as a Naval Architect at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, postdoctoral research at NTNU in Norway, and a research assistant at MIT, focusing on underwater structure vibrations. Additionally, Susan worked as an Engineer at Lockheed Martin on nuclear submarine design and completed a summer internship at Honeywell in Non-Destructive Testing. Susan earned a PhD in Mechanical and Ocean Engineering from MIT and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.