Authorized Access
The Frontlines of Cyber-Security
 Lisa Marvel grew up near the Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) in northern
Maryland, but the technical work done at the Army laboratory that
helped develop the world’s first digital computer seemed far away. She
admits to being a not-too-enthusiastic student and never thought about
going to college. As a high-school senior, Marvel took a half-day
internship at APG “because, honestly, I wanted to get out of classes.”
Her primary task was to make copies, of which she made tens of
thousands. She also remembers using vintage word-processor printers
that were so noisy that they had to be enclosed in acoustic cases. Her
career expectations were modest, and when she graduated from high
school, she began working at APG as a clerical employee.
As her
duties progressed and she switched employers at APG, Marvel began
picking up programming skills. “Back in the ‘80s almost anyone could
get involved in programming; it was more of a layman’s apprentice
skill -- you learned it on the fly.” She took a few courses at the
community college and as the computer revolution got into full swing,
workers with computer and programming skills were in short supply. By
then, she was working at the Army’s Aberdeen Test Center at APG. One
day, Marvel’s boss asked her if she wanted to go back to school to
learn more. “Sure, why not?” she replied almost casually, still not
fully appreciating her own intellect or the career opportunity that was
unfolding before her.
The Army paid her tuition and expenses at
the University of Pittsburgh, where in 1992 she earned her bachelor
of science degree in electrical engineering. With her new diploma, she
came back to work at the Test Center and soon got another “sweet deal”
— a GE-funded fellowship covering tuition and a stipend to pursue her
master’s degree at the University of Delaware. She worked toward her
master’s degree and with only her thesis to complete, she returned to
work at the Test Center. Then, in another serendipitous turn of events,
Marvel ran into a friend who worked at the Army Research Laboratory
(ARL) at APG. He told her that at ARL she could complete her thesis
on the job by researching an Army-relevant topic. Marvel accepted a
position at ARL, finished her thesis in 1996, and started working on
her doctorate in electrical engineering, which she earned in 1999.
“There’s
no way I would have gone to college had I not worked at Aberdeen,” says
Marvel. “I can’t imagine getting my advanced degrees if I hadn’t had an
employer who enabled and encouraged me or supervisors and coworkers who
mentored me.”
Today, Marvel helps develop tools to protect Army
networks from unauthorized access. Marvel and her coworkers are on the
frontlines of cyber-security, a highly sensitive task that continues to
evolve and become more complex with the proliferation of network
devices and wireless communications.
“I use the math and science
I learned in school to solve real-world problems,” says Marvel. “It’s
very fun work, and I feel like I’m making critical contributions every
day.”
Now married and a mother of two children, Marvel is active
in STEM educational outreach, primarily through the youth center and
child-development center on post and through ARL’s activities in
conjunction with the National Defense Education Program (NDEP). Among
other activities, Marvel is teaching a circuits class for kids this summer,
and she coordinates a distinguished lecture series that brings in
scientists and engineers to talk to young people about math and
science. Somehow she also finds time to mentor high-school students at
the Harford County Public Schools Math and Science Academy. Part of
what motivates Marvel is her own children: “I want them to be geeky
too!”
Regarding her work, Marvel is unequivocal: “This is the
best place to work on Earth!” After all, APG is where the first
electronic digital computer, ENIAC, was deployed in the 1940s in
collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania to compute World War
II ballistic firing tables. ARL was also one of the beginning nodes on
the ARPAnet, which we now know as the Internet.
“If somebody came to me early on and told me what math,
science, and engineering are all about, I might not have started out
making copies," says Marvel. "I feel fortunate to be where I am.”
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