About
The UARC for Intelligence & Security
Established in 2018, the University of Maryland Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security’s primary sponsor is the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. ARLIS is a university-affiliated research center (UARC), serving the government as an independent, objective trusted agent. One of 15 designated Department of Defense UARCs in the nation, ARLIS conducts applied research and benefits from a sole-source contract which expedites engagement with offices throughout the DoD and IC.
ARLIS is a strategic government asset focused on sociotechnical challenges. Conducting both classified and unclassified research, ARLIS uses scientific rigor to address security and intelligence challenges in the human domain.
Just as other UARCs were established to address key technologies of their time, ARLIS’s expertise addresses 21st-century challenges to the U.S. intelligence and security communities.
Trusted Adviser
As a DoD-designated UARC, ARLIS is a trusted partner for our government sponsors, ensuring that they have the bench – the capabilities, the expertise, and the skillsets – available to them to help address their needs and solve problems.
ARLIS researchers are working to develop technological innovations to better serve as an independent, trusted advisor supporting the government in roles of
- Test & Evaluation (T&E) and Verification and Validation (V&V) partner,
- Data curation, and
- Broadly contributing to government mission as subject matter experts across a wide range of disciplines.
A key tenet of being a UARC is for ARLIS to operate in the public interest as a strategic partner with our government sponsors, rather than in the interest of corporate shareholders, and to conduct its business in a manner befitting its special relationship with DoD, combining technical excellence with objectivity. ARLIS's role as a UARC also enables a strategic relationship with our sponsors that gives it knowledge of its sponsors' needs and access to their information.
What Makes ARLIS Unique
Core Competencies
ARLIS maintains expertise in three areas: Human and Social Systems, Intelligent Human-Machine Systems and Advanced Computing and Emerging Technologies
Top-Tier Facilities
ARLIS conducts classified and unclassified research in two College Park, Md., facilities close to the main University of Maryland campus.
Experienced Counsel
The ARLIS External Advisory Board members lend their expertise to steer the broad research and impact goals of ARLIS.
Support Defense Intelligence and Security Enterprise goals with an organization that maintains world-class Science and Technology Core Competencies, establishes trustworthy research & engineering and testing & evaluation capabilities, and performs education and outreach while maintaining excellence in its operating environment, management, resourcing, and facilities.
We enable national security information advantage and decision superiority by developing scientific foundations and engineering sociotechnical capabilities in the Human Domain.
Humans First: People are at the center for all we do. We tackle complex, human-centered national security problems. We value the people focused on these challenges and who put team first.
Mission Always: The mission creates urgency in what we do. We focus on mission impact and help those who serve us to better preserve and defend our democracy.
Trustworthy Together: Our mission puts us in a position demanding trust. We hold ourselves accountable to the highest research and ethical standards. We treat each other with respect.
ARLIS’s strategic goals align with the national, defense and UMD strategies:
Improve Decision Making for National Security: Helping the human decision-maker succeed in the face of increasing socio-technical complexity.
Manage Risks to the National Security Environment: Managing risks to technology, supply chains, trusted insiders through application of social science and engineering.
Enhance the Workforce: Growing the cleared technical workforce to meet future government needs.
Build ARLIS: Improving our organization, business practices and relationships with stakeholders.
Enhance the Research and Innovation Ecosystem: Foster national security innovation, job creation and technology transition for important national security endeavors.
Join Us
Whether you are interested in collaborating on a project or would like to know more about what ARLIS has to offer, we want to hear from you.