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Innovation for National Security Mission

We conduct cutting-edge research and development that accelerates the transition of technology to the DoW, delivering measurable impact in support of the national security mission.

Two employees collaborating at the SEI's first office in the late 1980's.
A US Army soldier preparing to launch a small drone.

Our History of Advancing Technology

In fulfilling our mission to help the Department of War (DoW) achieve strategic advantage for national security, the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) has evolved from pioneering the fundamentals of software engineering and incident response. Today, the SEI anticipates and solves challenges by fostering world-leading expertise in software engineering, cyber, artificial intelligence (AI), and acquisition transformation.

As our research topics have expanded and the impact of our work has grown throughout the past four decades, our history and practice of innovation show that the SEI consistently delivers novel yet enduring tools, technologies, and practices that solve difficult problems. Working with organizations in the DoW, government, industry, and academia to create groundbreaking solutions, we have used our innovations to help create a safer and more secure future.

Impact to the DoW

To support the DoW in protecting the nation, the SEI develops advancements in software engineering, AI, cyber, and acquisition transformation and shares them in our annual Year in Review.

Headshot of Lauren McIlvenny overlaid on a collage of network lines, a service member at computer monitors, and structural damage.
Leading AI Security Incident Response

The SEI established the nation’s first Artificial Intelligence Security Incident Response Team, which responded to 103 community-reported AI vulnerabilities in its first year.
Headshot of Captain Jarek Ingros, with military equipment and soldiers working in the background.
AI Eye in the Sky Improves Artillery Fire Missions

The Shrike prototype merges machine-learning threat recognition and location capability with off-the-shelf unmanned aerial systems to augment artillery forward observation.
Headshot of Robert Beveridge overlaid on a collage of a the Pentagon and abstract technology imagery.
Training the DoD to Leverage AI for Strategic Advantage

The SEI has created and delivered more than 150 hours of training materials to fill the gap on AI Engineering for the Department of War.
Headshot of Frank Smith overlaid on a collage of a bank vault door and stacked shipping containers in a blue-toned design.
CMMC Program Safeguards Information in the Defense Industrial Base.

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, which the SEI helped create, has become an official DoW rule.
Collage of a service member working at a computer, code on screens, and a close-up of an F-35 fighter jet cockpit.
Lasting Impact: SEI Core Capabilities Help Launch the F-35

Some of the SEI’s longest standing areas of expertise—software engineering, acquisitions, and Agile—have seen the F-35 fighter jet program through one of the military’s most complex weapons acquisitions.
Explore previous Years in Review

Impact to the State of the Art

By developing pioneering theories, models, and empirical methods that shape how government, industry, and academia approach software engineering, cyber, AI, and acquisition transformation, we advance the state of the art and share these advancements in our Research Review, an annual event for partners, stakeholders, and the public.

Service member wearing a helmet faces a parked F-35 jet on a runway, with the aircraft centered against a cloudy sky.
AI Robustness (AIR)

The AIR tool offers a precedent-setting capability to improve the correctness of AI classifications and predictions to help programs better evaluate their AI system’s predictions.
Close-up of a technician soldering components onto a circuit board.
Co-Design for Edge Artificial Intelligence: Application-Specific System on Chip

A project looking at Application-Specific System on Chip responds to a DoW need to not only improve efficiency in targeted edge applications, but to do so at scale.
Two US Army service members in uniform work on a laptop inside a facility, with equipment and piping visible overhead.
Techniques for Detection of Information Flows Indicative of Inserted Malicious Code

The DMC tool detects malicious code before it can compromise DoW systems.
Tiltrotor aircraft in flight with rotating propellers, shown against a clear blue sky from a side view.
Explainable Verification for Rapid Certification

Deploying critical software with certification and frequent updates is a major challenge. The SEI is developing tools to simultaneously decrease the cost of certification, achieve safety, and reduce time to fielding.
Close-up of a service member using a laptop, with their face reflected on the screen displaying a software interface.
Vessel: Modelling Container Reproducibility Failures

The Vessel project aims to secure build projects from malicious tampering and make them more reproducible so programs can deploy mission capabilities securely and reliably.
Explore previous Research Reviews

Resources for You

Use the tools, practices, and knowledge that we develop through our research to help your organization mature its software practices to better meet your goals and to secure your software operations.

Software and Tools

By producing software and tools, SEI researchers can help you improve your organization’s cybersecurity, software projects, system quality, and much more. More than 100 of these tools are freely available on our GitHub site.
Curricula and Assessment

With topics ranging from insider threat to AI engineering, our training courses allow you to expand your knowledge and skills. By earning credentials at the SEI, you can stand out to employers and show your commitment to staying current with innovations in the field.
Workshops and Conferences

To help your organization build useful software knowledge and practices, the SEI designs and delivers dozens of workshops, featuring real-world scenarios and hands-on tasks, and hosts several conferences with world-leading experts.
Academic Publications

You can freely download the thousands of publications—collected over decades—that SEI staff members have published on their extensive research.