Mark A. Archer, Ph.D. : Biography

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Woodstock, Connecticut

: Family: Married, lives with wife and teenage daughter. Has grown son and two daughters, and two grandchildren

: Residence: Stafford Virginia. Midway between Washington DC and Richmond.

: Childhood Interests: Robots, Space,all things scientific,and Rock 'n Roll

: Mark is an expatriate Yankee living in Virginia. He was born in the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts and raised in the hills of Woodstock Connecticut. As a Boy Scout and Explorer Scout he learned to love the outdoors, and was an avid backpacker and camper. A voracious reader, he was particularly fond of Science Fiction and the biographies of famous scientists and inventors. Mark soloed on his 16th birthday in a vintage airplane he had rebuilt with his father. In High School he was active in Fencing, and the performing arts. He also played bass guitar in a successful local blues rock band.

: An habitual problem solver, in college Mark wanted to focus on one of what he felt were the two great unsolved scientific mysteries: the origin of the universe or the mechanisms of the human brain. His interest in artificial intelligence led to his majoring in Psychology at the University of Massachusetts; graduating summa cum laude with High Honors. He continued his studies in human cognition and motivation at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, where he earned his PhD.

: Dr. Archer's graduate school experience with statistical analysis, data base management and developing neural network modeling systems led to his lifelong involvement with computer science and Information Technology (IT). As a Senior Scientist with SAIC he worked on Command and Control, Nuclear Power Plant Computer Systems and Artificial Intelligence. He was an NRC Inspector for Nuclear Power Plant systems as a private consultant before joining the Federal Government as a computer scientist for the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA).

: His technical and leadership skills quickly moved Dr. Archer up the ranks in DISA. His analyses were used by the President and Joint Staff to help establish critical US policies. He developed a wide range of state-of-the-art models and simulations as well as Command and Control, messaging and global network management systems. As a leader and executive manager he was Chief of a Global Support Division and functioned as the Chief Operating Officer one of the Agency's most technically sophisticated directorates. His expertise as a Senior Strategist, Enterprise Architect and Enterprise System Integrator led to his being appointed Chief of Cross Program Engineering for the Agency.

: Dr. Archer is currently the Owner and Principal Consultant at ARC, an IT consulting and R&D firm. He has used his broad experience to conduct independent Technical and Systems Engineering Assessments of over 100 government and private IT projects and programs.

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