Ben Riley is a Principal Research Associate at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), where he founded and leads the Hives Early Career Independent Research and Development Program. Since 2015, Hives has invited researchers in their first six years at GTRI, along with junior Georgia Tech faculty, to propose and lead their own projects on national security problems that do not yet have a sponsor or formal requirement. Through Hives, Mr. Riley funds creative ideas at the seedling level and gives the next generation of researchers an early chance to run a project of their own. The most promising receive a second year of support to build the idea into something tangible. One project from the first class, a compact airborne LiDAR system for mapping underwater terrain, became part of a major sponsored program.
Before returning to GTRI, Mr. Riley was Principal Deputy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Emerging Capability and Prototyping, responsible for policy and oversight of fielding capabilities that counter unconventional threats. He worked with interagency and coalition partners, industry, and academia to speed the transition of advanced technology to meet priority operational needs. He previously directed the Rapid Reaction Technology Office and chaired the Combating Terrorism Technology Task Force.
Mr. Riley enlisted in the Navy as a sonar technician and was commissioned in 1971. A naval flight officer, he completed five patrol squadron tours and three aviation command assignments and participated in the initiation of the Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration program in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He retired as a Captain in 1997. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and master’s degrees with distinction from the Naval War College and Salve Regina University.
