ODU hires new VP for national security initiatives

Old Dominion University announced last week that it has named Marty Irvine Jr. as its inaugural associate vice president for National Security Initiatives, effective June 6.

In the role, Irvine will oversee  the Norfolk-based university’s national security strategic research. The university aims to drive national and global impact in fields such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, autonomous and networked systems, computational and data science, cybersecurity, and modeling and simulation.

In a statement, Irvine said there is “tremendous opportunity for ODU to bridge the gap between Hampton Roads and Washington, D.C., becoming a visible presence, resource and catalyst for change.”

Irvine was most recently the executive director of the Naval Surface and Undersea Warfare Centers, where he managed more than 30,000 personnel and $16 billion in research, development, testing and evaluation programs for the Navy. Before that, he was executive director of Submarine Forces, where he advised on strategic deterrence.

He has more than 27 years of service with the U.S. Navy and joined the federal government’s Senior Executive Service in 2019. Earlier in his career, he was a hydrodynamics expert at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division and as a researcher at Pennsylvania State University.

Kenneth Fridley, ODU’s vice president for research and economic development, said the university designated national security as one of four research focus areas earlier this year. He said hiring Irvine is the university’s “first major step forward” in that effort, saying his experience and past leadership make him “the perfect choice.”

Irvine believes ODU’s proximity to the largest naval base in the world and Hampton Roads-based shipbuilding and defense companies will be beneficial to helping him develop a national security program. He intends to promote collaboration between the university’s centers of research and development, including the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center, the Virginia Institute for Spaceflight & Autonomy, the Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience, the Virginia Digital Maritime Center and the Institute for Autonomous and Connected Systems.

Irvine holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa and degrees in ocean engineering from Virginia Tech. He is a graduate of Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executive Fellows program and holds an MIT Sloan executive certificate in management and leadership.

His accolades include Navy Superior and Meritorious Civilian Service Awards and recognition as a fellow with the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.