ARLINGTON, Va (Diya TV) — Defense technology company GRVTY has appointed Indian American technology leader Dr. Vikram Manikonda to its strategic advisory board. He will advise the company as it expands advanced capabilities for the U.S. Department of War and the intelligence community, supporting development of new technology for national security missions.
Manikonda most recently served as chief technology officer at BlueHalo, where he chaired the Science and Technology Council, created the company’s Cloud Center of Excellence, and guided research across defense, space, counter-drone and autonomous systems programs.
Before BlueHalo, he spent 23 years at Intelligent Automation Inc., serving as its president and chief executive officer, and co-founded cybersecurity company Cryptonite LLC. He also created FalkonEye, a free platform for space domain awareness that supports tracking and understanding activity in space.
The appointment comes as GRVTY, backed by Arlington Capital Partners, continues building out its executive team. The company recently named Mark McNeely chief administrative officer and Peter Ranks chief strategy officer; Ranks previously served as an assistant director at the CIA. Manikonda joins fellow advisers retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Tom James and former Air Force leader Dave Abba, who advise GRVTY on cyber, space and spectrum technologies.
Manikonda is also Professor of the Practice in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering, and chairs the Industry Advisory Board for the university’s Matrix Lab.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, followed by a master’s and a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park. His honors include the Clark School’s Glenn L. Martin Medal and a NASA Team Achievement Award for his work on the Airspace Concept Evaluation System.
