1941) served as Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) from June 18, 2001, until February 20, 2009.
Dr. Tether is on several Advisory and Corporate Boards, and is a Distinguished Fellow with the Council on Competitiveness located in Washington DC.
Prior to this, he spent six years as vice president for Technology and Advanced Development at Ford Aerospace, which was acquired by Loral Corporation during that period.
Dr. Tether has served on the Army, Navy and Defense Science Boards, and on the Office of National Drug Control Policy Research and Development Committee.
Dr. Tether is notable for initiating the series of DARPA Grand Challenges which marked the resurgence of research in autonomous vehicles.