Dr. Stefanie Tompkins is a geologist, technology leader and national security expert who currently serves as Provost at Colorado School of Mines. She previously served as the 23rd director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) from 2021 to 2025, where she led the agency in developing breakthrough technologies to address critical national security challenges. Before joining DARPA, Tompkins served in research and technology leadership roles at Colorado School of Mines and spent nearly 11 years at DARPA in various leadership positions, including director of the Defense Sciences Office and deputy director of the Strategic Technology Office. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade at Science Applications International Corporation conducting research in planetary mapping, geology and imaging spectroscopy. Tompkins began her career as a U.S. Army intelligence officer and holds a bachelor's degree in geology and geophysics from Princeton University and master's and doctoral degrees in geology from Brown University.