Melissa Choi has been named the brand new director of MIT Lincoln Laboratory, effective July 1. Choi, currently deputy director of the laboratory, succeeds Eric Evans, who will step down as director on June 30 after 18 years.
In a letter to MIT faculty and staff today, Ian Waitz, vice chairman for research, shared the news and recognized Choi's 25-year profession of “outstanding technical and advisory leadership” each at MIT and in service to the defense community.
“Melissa has wonderful technical breadth in addition to excellent leadership and management skills and has presented a compelling strategic vision for the lab,” Waitz wrote. “She is a thoughtful, intuitive leader who prioritizes communication, collaboration, mentoring and skilled development as the inspiration for an organizational culture that advances her vision of lab-wide excellence in service to the nation.”
Choi's appointment marks a brand new chapter in Lincoln Laboratory's illustrious history of working to maintain the nation protected. As a federally funded research and development center operated by MIT for the Department of Defense, the Laboratory has provided the federal government with an independent perspective on critical science and technology problems with national interest for greater than 70 years. Unique amongst national R&D labs, the Laboratory makes a speciality of each long-term systems development and rapid demonstration of working prototypes to guard and defend the nation from sophisticated threats. In addition to its role in developing technologies for national security, the Laboratory's close relationship with the MIT campus community enables high-impact partnerships in basic research, teaching, and workforce development in critical science and technology areas.
“At a time of great global instability and rapidly evolving threats, Lincoln Laboratory's mission has never been more necessary to the nation,” said MIT President Sally Kornbluth. “It can be critical that the Laboratory applies federally funded cutting-edge technologies to unravel critical problems in areas starting from space exploration to climate change. With her extensive experience, sharp vision and no-nonsense style, Melissa Choi has earned tremendous trust and respect throughout the Lincoln and MIT communities. As Eric Evans steps down, we couldn’t ask for a greater successor.”
Choi has served because the deputy director of Lincoln Laboratory since 2019 and leads five of the lab's nine engineering divisions: Biotechnology and Human Systems, Homeland Security and Air Traffic Control, Cybersecurity and Information Sciences, Communications Systems, and ISR and Tactical Systems. Deeply aware of the needs of the broader defense community, Choi served on the Air Force Science Advisory Board for six years, including a term as vice chair. She was also appointed to the Department of Defense's Threat Reduction Advisory Board. She currently serves on the National Defense Science Advisory Board's standing subcommittee on threat reduction.
Choi has dedicated her entire profession to Lincoln Laboratory and says her long tenure reflects her commitment to the lab's work and community.
“Throughout my profession, I even have been fortunate to work with incredibly modern and motivated people to unravel critical national security challenges,” says Choi. “As director, having the ability to proceed to work with such a robust, lab-wide team is one of the exciting facets of the job for me.”
Success through collaboration
Choi joined Lincoln Laboratory as a technical staff member in 1999 with a doctorate in applied mathematics. As she later led research teams, including the Systems and Analysis Group and later the Active Optical Systems Group, Choi learned the worth of pooling the expertise of researchers from across the lab.
“Very early in my profession, I used to be capable of switch between many alternative projects, from radar systems to sensor networks. Since I wasn't an authority in any of those areas on the time, I learned to contact the many alternative experts within the lab,” says Choi.
Choi maintained that attitude in all her roles on the lab, including as chief of the Homeland Security and Air Traffic Control Branch, which she led from 2014 to 2019. In that role, she helped bring together diverse technology and human systems expertise to form the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Group. Among other things, the group supported FEMA and other emergency agencies after the 2017 hurricane season caused unprecedented flooding and destruction across much of Texas, Florida, the Caribbean, and Puerto Rico.
“We were capable of quickly prototype and deploy multiple technologies to support the recovery effort,” says Choi. “It was a tremendous example of how we are able to extend our give attention to national security to other critical national issues.”
In addition to her technical and consulting services, Choi has also made an impact at Lincoln Laboratory through her commitment to an inclusive workplace. In 2020, she co-led the study “Preventing Discrimination and Harassment and Promoting an Inclusive Culture at MIT Lincoln Laboratory.” The work was a part of a long-standing commitment to supporting colleagues within the workplace through extensive mentoring and participation in worker resource groups.
“I felt a way of belonging within the lab from the start and have enjoyed the support of leaders, mentors and advocates ever since. Improving support systems could be very necessary to me,” says Choi, who will likely be the primary woman to steer Lincoln Laboratory. “Everyone should feel like they belong and may thrive.”
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, Choi helped the lab navigate disruptions – as operations were deemed essential – and she or he says she learned so much about the right way to lead in difficult times.
“We solve difficult problems within the lab on a regular basis, but being faced with an issue we've never faced before was an academic experience,” says Choi. “We saw your complete lab come together, from leadership to individual departments and disciplines.”
This synergy has also helped Choi form strategic partnerships inside and outdoors the lab to reinforce its mission. Drawing on her knowledge of the lab's capabilities and its history of developing high-impact systems for NASA and NOAA, Choi recently led the creation of a brand new Office of Civil Space Systems and Technology.
“We've seen this convergence between the Department of Defense and civilian space initiatives as travel to the Moon, Mars, and the cislunar region (between the Earth and the Moon) has grow to be a significant focus across the country,” Choi explains. “It gave the look of a great time to bring those two sides together and expand our NASA portfolio. It gives us an awesome opportunity to work centrally with MIT, and it suits with our other strategic directions.”
Building on success
Choi is confident that her profession path through the technical ranks at Lincoln Laboratory will help her lead the lab now.
“This experience gives me insight into the several levels of the lab,” says Choi. “I saw what worked and what didn't, and I learned from different perspectives and leadership styles. Strong leaders are critical, however it's necessary to acknowledge that nearly all of the work is finished by the technical, support and administrative staff in our divisions, departments and offices. When you remember being an early worker, you understand how hard and exciting the work is and the way necessary these contributions are to our mission.”
Choi says she can be looking forward to expanding the lab's collaboration with MIT's major campus.
“There are so many areas, from AI to climate to space, where we are able to come together,” says Choi. “We even have some great models of progress, comparable to the Beaver Works Center or the Department of the Air Force – MIT Artificial Intelligence Accelerator program that we are able to construct on. Everyone here could be very enthusiastic about that, and that will likely be an absolute priority for me.”
Ultimately, Choi plans to steer Lincoln Laboratory using the approach that has proven successful throughout her profession.
“I'm a firm believer that I shouldn't be the neatest person within the room, and I depend on the smart individuals who work with me,” Choi says. “I'm a part of a team and I work with a team to steer. That's all the time been my style: I set a vision and goals and empower and support the people I work with to make decisions and construct on that strategy.”
