Dr. Arun Seraphin is the Executive Director of the Emerging Technologies Institute (ETI) at the National Defense Industrial Association. In his role, he leads a nonpartisan institute that focuses on advancing technologies crucial to the future of national defense. He provides research, analysis, and strategic recommendations to inform the development and integration of emerging technologies and policies that support defense missions.
From 2014 to 2021, Dr. Seraphin served as a Professional Staff Member with the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. His areas of responsibility included acquisition policy, Department of Defense science and technology programs, information technology systems, technology transition issues, and Pentagon management issues. He played a key role in assisting Senators with their oversight of DoD policies and programs, including budget authorization, civilian nominations, legislative initiatives, and hearings. He rejoined the committee staff in 2014 after previously serving there from 2001 – 2010. In 2009, he was recognized by Roll Call as one of 10 Defense “Staffers to Know” for his influence and expertise in defense policy.
In 2010 to 2014, Dr. Seraphin served as Principal Assistant Director for National Security and International Affairs at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). He both led (in an Acting capacity) and served as the deputy director of the OSTP National Security and International Affairs division. His responsibilities included developing and implementing White House initiatives related to defense research, weapons of mass destruction, the defense manufacturing industrial base, STEM education, cybersecurity, and promoting innovation in government research and engineering. He also spearheaded interagency efforts to improve small business programs and elevate the quality of the Federal STEM workforce. During this time, he was on detail to OSTP from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), where he was the Special Assistant for Policy Initiatives to the Director of DARPA.
His career working in Congress began as a professional staff member on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science’s Subcommittee on Research. He also served as the 1999-2000 Materials Research Society – Optical Society of America Congressional Science and Engineering Fellow in the Office of Senator Joseph Lieberman.
From 1996 to 2000, Dr. Seraphin worked in the Science and Technology Division at the Institute for Defense Analyses, where his research focused on defense technology transition, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), export controls, and technology forecasting. He conducted detailed technical analyses that supported programs, including DARPA’s MEMS initiative and the Military Critical Technologies Program.
Dr. Seraphin holds a Bachelor of Arts in American Government and a Bachelor of Engineering in Engineering Science from Stony Brook University. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Electronic Materials from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.