Professor Jones, a University Professor Emerita at the University of Virginia, taught computer science in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. The Honorable Anita K. Jones was sworn in as Director of Defense Research and Engineering for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in June 1993. In that position she was responsible for the management of the DoD science and technology program. This included responsibility for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, oversight of the DoD laboratories, as well as being the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense for defense-related scientific and technical matters.

Professor Jones is past vice chair of the National Science Board, which advises the president on science, engineering, and education and oversees the National Science Foundation. A senior fellow of the Defense Science Board, she is also a member of the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Corporation and a past member of the MIT Corporation Executive Committee.  Dr. Jones has co-chaired the Commonwealth of Virginia Research and Technology Advisory Commission and served on government advisory boards and scientific panels for NASA, the National Academies, DoD, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Philosophical Society and a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE); the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has received the Computing Research Association Service Award, the Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the Department of Defense Award for Distinguished Public Service, and the IEEE Founders Award. The U.S. Navy named a seamount in the North Pacific (51⁰ 25’N 159⁰ 10’W) for her.

Currently a member of the Board of Directors of Science Applications International Corporation and ATS Corporation and a trustee of In-Q-Tel, Professor Jones was a founder and vice president of Tartan Laboratories, a director of BBN Technologies, a trustee of MITRE Corporation, and a member of the provost’s advisory board for MIT Lincoln Laboratories.  Duke University, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Southern California have all awarded her Honorary Doctorates. She is also a founder and Council member of the Computing Community Consortium and has published more than 50 technical articles and two books on computer software, cyber-security, and science and technology policy.

Dr. Jones holds an A.B. in mathematics from Rice University, a Master of Arts in literature from the University of Texas, Austin, and a Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University. Her husband, Professor Wm. A. Wulf, is President Emeritus of the National Academy of Engineering and AT&T Professor of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia. They have two daughters, one in the Seattle area and one in Rockville, Maryland.