Mitre Corporation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The MITRE Corporation (stylized as MITRE) is an American 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 (DOD), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on behalf of the Federal Judiciary, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST).
History[edit]
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 ForceSAGE project. Most of the early employees were 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 precursors 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).
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 July 10, 1985, mitre.org was the first .orgdomain name registered, and it remains in use by the company today.[4]
On October 1, 1990, the FAA selected MITRE to operate its FFRDC, the Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD).[5]
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.[6]
In July 1998, the Internal Revenue Service selected MITRE to manage its FFRDC, the Center for Enterprise Modernization (CEM).[7]
In 2005, a team from MITRE competed in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, and qualified in 23rd place for the final race.[8]
On March 6, 2009, the Department of Homeland Security selected MITRE to operate the Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute (HS SEDI).[9]
On December 2, 2010, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts selected MITRE to operate the Judiciary Engineering and Modernization Center (JEMC) FFRDC.[10]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services selected MITRE to operate an FFRDC in October 2012.[11]
On September 24, 2014, The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) selected MITRE to support the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE).[12]
Organization[edit]
FFRDCs and research program[edit]
MITRE is organized as follows:[13]
- The National Security Engineering Center (NSEC) FFRDC is sponsored by the Department of Defense and focuses on national security issues.[14]
- The Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD) FFRDC is sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration and focuses on air traffic management.[15]
- The Center for Enterprise Modernization (CEM) FFRDC supports enterprise modernization within the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Veterans Affairs.[16]
- The Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute (HS SEDI) FFRDC supports the Department of Homeland Security and its mission partners to safeguard people in the United States against terrorist threats, aid the flow of legal commerce and immigration, and recover swiftly from natural disasters and other national emergencies.[17]
- The Judiciary Engineering and Modernization Center (JEMC) FFRDC supports the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on behalf of the federal judiciary.[18]
- The CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare FFRDC is sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).[19]
- National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) FFRDC sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
- Internal research and development explores new technologies and ways to apply existing tools and technologies.[20]
Corporate governance[edit]
Chief executive officers[edit]
- 1958–1966: C.W. Halligan[7]
- 1966–1969: Dr. John L. McLucas
- 1969–1986: Robert R. Everett
- 1986–1990: Charles A. Zraket[21]
- 1990–1996: Barry M. Horowitz
- 1996–2000: Victor A. DeMarines
- 2000–2006: Martin C. Faga
- 2006–present: Alfred Grasso
Board of Trustees[edit]
Awards, honors, and accomplishments[edit]
Over the years, MITRE has received awards for corporate achievements as well as for achievements of its scientists, researchers, and engineers.[23] A sampling includes
- In 2015, Forbes Magazine named MITRE one of America's Best Employers.[24]
- In 2013, MITRE was named a 2013 CSO40 Award winner by the International Data Group's CSO Magazine. The CSO40 Awards recognize 40 organizations for security projects and initiatives that demonstrate outstanding business value and thought leadership.[25]
- In 2011 and 2012, InformationWeek named MITRE to its InformationWeek 500, an annual ranking of the nation's most innovative users of business technology.[26]
- In 2011, for the second time, MITRE's knowledge management successes have earned the corporation a North American Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) award, which recognizes organizations for exceptional knowledge management and knowledge sharing practices.[27]
- 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."[28]
- 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."[29]
- In July 2008, MITRE’s Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD), as part of an ADS-B team of 26 public and private sector groups, was selected for the 2007 Collier Trophy for its efforts in conceptualizing, developing, and implementing a fundamental, so-called "cornerstone capability" for the future of the national airspace system.
- MITRE has been included on annual lists of several magazines:
- Glassdoor.com has named MITRE one of the “50 Best Places to Work” for five consecutive years;[30]
- The Boston Globe has named MITRE to its “Top Places to Work” list for four years;[31]
- Fortune included MITRE in its "100 Best Companies to Work For" for ten consecutive years[32]
- Computerworld included MITRE in its "100 Best Places to Work in IT" list, for eight consecutive years.[33]
MITRE employees have created more than 30 technologies available for licensing, generated more than 60 packages of downloadable software, and been granted more than 110 US patents.[34]