Melissa Flagg

Senior Fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) at Georgetown University

Dr. Melissa Flagg is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) at Georgetown University and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council Geotech Center. Melissa is also a non-resident senior fellow at The Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center. Previously she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research, responsible for policy and oversight of Defense Department science and technology programs including basic research through advanced technology development and the DoD laboratory enterprise. She has worked at the State Department, the Office of Naval Research, the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Army Research Laboratory.

Melissa also ran her own consulting business and was the Chief Technology Officer of a small consumer start-up. She has served on numerous boards including the National Academy of Sciences Air Force Studies Board, the Department of Commerce Emerging Technology Research Advisory Committee and the Board of Humanity 2050. She holds a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and a B.S. in Pharmacy.