Terry L. Carpenter Jr.

Terry Carpenter was appointed chief information officer (CIO) of MIT Lincoln Laboratory in April 2026. In this role, he oversees the strategic vision and ongoing modernization of the Laboratory’s information technology (IT) and digital solutions.

Prior to joining Lincoln Laboratory, he served as CIO and chief technology officer (CTO) for the U.S. National Science Foundation. Previously, he held senior leadership roles at the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, serving as CTO and program executive officer, executing annual budgets of $475 million while leading a program team of 1,000 government and contractor personnel. He has held multiple leadership roles at the Defense Information Systems Agency and U.S. Navy’s Enterprise Resource Planning Program Office. Prior to rejoining the federal government, Carpenter also served as president and CEO of NextGenData, Inc., which developed and operated telecommunications and IT systems for global customers. He conducted artificial intelligence research in natural language processing and human-computer interaction at the Applied Science and Engineering Laboratory operated by the Nemours Foundation’s Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children and the University of Delaware. He also taught courses in computer science at Albright College in Pennsylvania.

Carpenter earned an MS degree in computer and information systems from the University of Delaware and a BS degree in mathematics and computer science from the United States Coast Guard Academy. He holds a DoD Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Level III certification in program management.