Christine Tysor named research program manager at institute
Christine Tysor has been named program manager at the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science for its research thrusts devoted to national security and to cognition and communication.
Tysor will work closely with national security thrust leader Jon Greene, the institute's associate director for strategic planning and development, and with cognition and communication thrust leader Jeff Reed, a professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering and director of Wireless@VT. She will assist Greene and Reed in developing, organizing, and implementing program objectives and goals aimed at increasing external research funding that supports their thrusts.
A 1999 graduate of Old Dominion University, Tysor earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science and her commission into the United States Navy from the Hampton Roads Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps.
After graduation, she embarked on a military career as a pilot for the CH-46 helicopter, also known as the “Frog.” Her service involved her in the transport of combat troops, supplies, and equipment; search and rescue support; casualty evacuation; and tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel.
Tysor attended flight school and completed both primary and intermediate flight training with the Air Force. In addition to flying helicopters, she earned her Wings of Gold; completed Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape School; and joined the HC-8 Dragon Whales, a combat deployable unit of active-duty servicemen and service women.
Tysor completed her operational sea tour in Norfolk, Va., with more than 800 mishap-free flight hours and held the designations of helicopter second pilot, helicopter aircraft commander, and aerial gunnery pilot.
In 2004, she served as a naval reserve officer training corps instructor at Virginia Tech while she earned her master's degree in education with an emphasis in health promotion. She was honorably discharged from the Navy in 2007.
Tysor joined the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science in 2011 as research project manager for the Center for Naval Systems. In this position, she identified research funding opportunities, assisted principal investigators in developing opportunities, worked with the Office of Sponsored Programs to facilitate contract research, assisted principal investigators with project management, and helped develop Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security projects that achieve research and education goals common to these federal agencies and to Virginia Tech.
Her project management efforts for the Center for Naval Systems included overseeing $14.2 million in contract funding.
She also led project management efforts for EMBERS, a research project supported by a potential $13.3-million three-year contract from the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, a research arm of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
“We are pleased Christine will serve as program manager,” said Bob Moore, associate director for research and scholarship. “As research project manager for the Center for Naval Systems, she demonstrated her problem-solving skills, worked effectively with principal investigators from multiple disciplines, and managed both single investigator and large collaborative research projects. I am confident Christine’s effort as program manager will help Virginia Tech establish and promote a research culture that meets society’s most challenging needs for a sustainable future.”
Written by Melissa Wade.
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