Randall S. Murch, of Manassas, Va., has been named associate director for research program development at Virginia Tech effective Monday, Dec. 6.

Murch, who will be based at Tech's National Capital Region in Alexandria, will be responsible for strategic planning, and initiating and fostering research relationships between federal, state, and local agencies, Virginia Tech departments, and centers that focus on life science and bio-security. He also will work closely with The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), which recently formed a strategic partnership with Virginia Tech.

Murch joins Virginia Tech from the Institute for Defense Analyses, a leading federally funded research and development center, where he has served two years as director of the Technology Discovery and INSERTion Group and as a research staff member and study leader for the organization's Science and Technology Division. He has been responsible for planning and conducting complex, high-impact studies and analyses for intelligence, defense, and homeland security community sponsors.

His professional career includes 23 years of extensive experience in investigations, as well as research, development, and applied science and engineering programs at the FBI. He began his career as a field agent and advanced throughout his career in positions of increasing responsibility and authority. Before retiring in 2002, he was deputy director of the Investigative Technology Division, responsible for almost 800 personnel, four departments, 19 units, a $650 million budget, all tactical systems for the FBI, engineering support and training for all 56 field offices, and liaison with other U.S. Government and friendly foreign agencies. In addition, Murch created and structured programs and sought and acquired start-up or substantial increases in funding to advance research and develop, test, evaluate and acquire new technologies. He also served in the FBI Laboratory as a forensic biologist, research scientist, department head and deputy director. From 1999 to 2001, he was detailed to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Department of Defense, where he led an advanced study group which performed or directed a number of innovative efforts to seek new approaches to reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction, including the proliferation of biological weapons, biological warfare, and bioterrorism.

Murch's experience in bioterrorism includes initiating and developing the FBI's leadership role in bioterrorism planning and response beginning with the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and creating the FBI's Hazardous Materials Response Unit, the nation's focal point for the forensic investigation of crimes and terrorism involving biological, chemical, radiological, and nuclear weapons from which a Federal interagency consortium has been established. He also is a recognized leader and co-founder of the field of microbial forensics.

"Dr. Murch, with his extensive research and program development experience in the life sciences and biosecurity, will be an outstanding partner for many of our faculty members across the university and an able advocate for the expertise the university offers the nation," said Brad Fenwick, Virginia Tech's vice president for research. "He has demonstrated significant leadership during more than two decades with the FBI and is recognized for his service to several academic societies and government agencies."

Fenwick also said Murch is the first member of a growing agency relations staff.

"We welcome Dr. Murch to our staff in the National Capital Region as we move forward with our mission to establish Virginia Tech's presence here in the metropolitan area and further enhance our research capabilities, particularly in the life sciences and biosecurity," said Jim Bohland, director of operations for the National Capital Region, Virginia Tech.

Born in San Diego, Calif., Murch served in the U.S. Army Reserve. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Wash., a master's from the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

His current professional memberships include the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society for Microbiology, and Scientific Working Group for Microbial Genomics and Forensics. Murch is also a member of the Board of Life Sciences, National Research Council and serves on the advisory committee of the Gordon Research Conferences. He has held membership or an advisory role on several National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, and Defense Science Board studies. He also served on the board of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, the FBI Institutional Review Board and the Department of Justice Wireless Communications Board.

Virginia Tech has fostered a growing partnership with the greater metropolitan Washington, D.C., community since 1969. Today, the university's presence in the National Capital Region includes graduate programs and research centers in Alexandria, Falls Church, Leesburg, Manassas, and Middleburg. In addition to supporting the university's teaching and research mission, Virginia Tech's National Capital Region has established collaborations with local and federal agencies, businesses, and other institutions of higher education.

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