Mitre Corporation

The MITRE Corporation

Type	Not-for-profit corporation
Founded	1958
Headquarters	Bedford, MA and McLean, VA, USA
Key people	Alfred Grasso (President) & (CEO)
Revenue	$1,235,000,000[1]
Employees	7006[1]
Website	www.mitre.org

The MITRE Center at MITRE's campus in Bedford

The MITRE Corporation^[A] is a not-for-profit organization based in Bedford, Massachusetts and McLean, Virginia. It manages Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) supporting the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Department of Veterans Affairs. On March 5, 2009, MITRE was awarded one of two FFRDCs supporting the Department of Homeland Security as the operator of the Systems Engineering and Development Institute (SEDI).

History

Under the leadership of C. W. Halligan, MITRE was formed in 1958 to provide overall direction to the companies and workers involved in the US Air Force SAGE project. Most of the early employees transferred to MITRE from the Lincoln Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where SAGE was being developed. In April 1959, a site was purchased in Bedford, Massachusetts near Hanscom Air Force Base, to develop a new MITRE laboratory, which MITRE occupied in September 1959.^[2]

After the SAGE project ended in the early 1960s, the FAA selected MITRE to develop a similar system to provide automated air traffic control. The result of the project formed the National Airspace System (NAS), that is still in use today. To support the NAS project and continual operations with the US Department of Defense at the Pentagon, MITRE opened a second "main office" in McLean, Virginia.

Through the 1960s, MITRE developed and supported military Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (C3I) projects, including the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS). MITRE also worked on a number of projects with ARPA, including precursers to the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network ARPANET. Since the 1960s, MITRE has developed or supported most DoD early warning and communications projects, including the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System JTIDS and the Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System JSTARS. Since 1998, MITRE has helped to modernize the US Internal Revenue Service.

During the 1980s, the German hacker Markus Hess used an un-secured MITRE Tymnet connection as an entry point for intrusions into US Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and NASA computer networks. ^[3]

On January 29, 1996, MITRE divided into two entities: The MITRE Corporation to focus on its FFRDCs for DoD and FAA, and a new company, named Mitretek Systems (now called Noblis) to assume non-FFRDC work for other US Government agencies.^[4]

Organization

Centers and research program

MITRE is organized as follows:^[5]

• The Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I) FFRDC is sponsored by the Department of Defense and focuses on national security issues.
• The Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD) FFRDC is sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration and focuses on air traffic management.
• The Center for Enterprise Modernization (CEM) FFRDC is co-sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Veterans Affairs and focuses on modernization and healthcare initiatives.
• The Homeland Security Center (HLSC) FFRDC supports the Department of Homeland Security and focuses on protection from terrorist threats, immigration and commerce, and recovery from national emergencies.
• Internal research and development explores new technologies and ways to apply existing tools and technologies.

Locations

MITRE operates branch offices around the world, most co-located with military bases.^[1]

Corporate governance

Chief executive officers

• 1958–1966: C.W. Halligan^[6]
• 1966-1969: Dr. John L. McLucas
• 1969-1986: Robert R. Everett
• 1986-1990: Charles A. Zraket^[7]
• 1990-1996: Barry M. Horowitz
• 1996-2000: Victor A. DeMarines
• 2000-2006: Martin C. Faga
• 2006-Present: Alfred Grasso

Board of Trustees

Awards, Honors, and Accomplishments

Over the years, MITRE has received awards for corporate achievements as well as for achievements of its scientists, researchers, and engineers.^[9] A sampling includes

• In 2009, MITRE’s Center for Advanced Aviation System Development's (CAASD) Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) Technology Design Team received the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA’s) 2008 Excellence in Aviation Research Award for research contributions that have improved the safety and efficiency of the national airspace system.^[10]

• In June 2008, MITRE was presented with the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service for "significant contributions in communications, command and control decision-making, intelligence, cyberspace, and warfighter field support, as well as research and development."^[11]

• In July 2008, MITRE was awarded the Air Force Association’s Theodore Von Karman award for "the most outstanding contribution in the field of engineering and science."^[12]

• MITRE was included on annual lists of three magazines
  • Fortune included MITRE in its "100 Best Companies to Work For in 2009" for the eighth consecutive year^[13]
  • Computerworld included MITRE in its "100 Best Places to Work in IT 2008" list, for the fourth consecutive year.^[14]
  • Aviation Week ranked MITRE among the top 43 companies for aerospace and defense professionals in its 2009 Workforce Study^[15]

• Robert R. Everett was named winner of the 2008 Eugene G. Fubini Award.

• Andrew Zeitlin received the 2008 John C. Ruth Digital Avionics Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

• Dorothea (Dolly) Greenwood received the 2007 Heroine in Technology Award from Women in Technology International.

• Dr. Joseph Mitola III received the 2006 Medal for Exceptional Public Service from the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

MITRE employees have created 24 exploitable technologies,^[16] generated 26 packages of downloadable software,^[17] and been granted 67 US patents.^[18]

External links

• The MITRE Corporation
• SourceWatch - MITRE Corporation profile
• MarketVisual - Mitre Corporation Market Relationships

Notes

• A^  The Wikipedia:Manual of Style (trademarks) dictates that the corporate name be spelled "Mitre" even though the corporation spells it "MITRE". Despite the spelling, the name is not an acronym.^[19]

References