Senator, Intelligence Chief Join UVA Leaders To Open National Security Institute

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Sen. Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, joined University of Virginia President Jim Ryan and professor Philip Potter to cut a ceremonial ribbon Friday marking the opening of the National Security Data and Policy Institute, UVA’s sixth university-level institute. 

The new institute, backed by a $20 million government contract, will combine UVA’s expertise in data science, artificial intelligence, research computing and public policy to address important national security challenges. 

The partnership, Warner said, is a critical step in expanding national intelligence beyond “who’s got the most tanks and guns and ships and planes” to understanding the computing, data and artificial intelligence capabilities of other nations, and ensuring U.S. capabilities remain superior.

Candid photo of Sen. Mark Warner at a podium, left, and candid photo of Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines at a podium, right

Warner, left, and Haines, right, said UVA is a natural fit to host this intelligence and security institute because of its proximity to Washington and its expertise in data, artificial intelligence and public policy. (Photos by Matt Riley, University Communications)

“Traditionally, espionage, spying has been about investigating an adversary’s government and their military, and that is still needed and appropriate,” Warner said. But, the senator continued, the emerging intelligence front “is going to be who wins the battle for AI, who wins the battle for quantum computing and advanced energy….”

Haines, the national intelligence director, told the crowd of more than 100 in the Rotunda Dome Room that UVA will be the perfect collaborator for this work.

‘Inside UVA’ A Podcast Hosted by Jim Ryan
‘Inside UVA’ A Podcast Hosted by Jim Ryan

“Essentially, UVA has all the attributes of a great mission partner for us, a world-renowned institution that combines academic excellence and rigor, scientific research, interdisciplinary collaboration and ethical leadership development with a strong public-service ethos,” she said.

The institute will tap into UVA’s vast expertise to create tools capable of processing the enormous amounts of data created worldwide every day and will use artificial intelligence to help analyze it. Traditional analytical work that once took months to do – if possible, at all – now might be accomplished in moments. The goal is to use new and emerging technologies to help human analysts and decision makers address potential security threats and keep Americans safe.

“My belief is that this institute also fits squarely within UVA’s long-standing tradition of public service,” Ryan said. “Even if Thomas Jefferson could never have imagined artificial intelligence or a field called cyber security, I believe he would have been thrilled to learn that the university he founded would play a role in protecting the freedom and safety of American citizens from new kinds of threats and challenges.”

Potter, who will be the institute’s inaugural director, anticipates the new UVA institute will initially hire six people but will count on dozens already employed at UVA to contribute to the work in various capacities. The institute will be housed on 10th Street Northwest in Charlottesville.

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