Renewed Mission: CMU Software Engineering Institute Leads National Security Software Innovation
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The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has renewed its contract with Carnegie Mellon University to operate the Software Engineering Institute(opens in new window) (SEI) for an additional term of five years. The contract ensures that the institute — the nation’s only federally funded research and development center focused on software engineering, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — will continue to advance innovations vital to national security while transitioning the science, technologies and practices needed to make software a strategic advantage for the DOD.
“Carnegie Mellon University’s operation of the Software Engineering Institute advances pivotal research and development that is deeply consequential to our national security and defense,” said CMU President Farnam Jahanian(opens in new window). “We are honored to build on our partnership with the Department of Defense — which stretches back four decades and has positioned the SEI as a trusted national resource at the forefront of software, cybersecurity and AI. Together, we will continue driving innovation, guiding defense strategy and helping to secure the systems that power our economy, our security and our way of life.”
As software systems evolve — including AI-enabled, socio-technical and quantum systems — the SEI conducts research that addresses emerging challenges and develops technologies and practices that support the nation’s critical infrastructure and priorities.
As part of CMU, the SEI has access to some of the world’s greatest resources and researchers working at the forefront of emerging technologies. "The institute’s R&D portfolio puts Carnegie Mellon squarely at the center of the nation’s goal to maintain world leadership in the advancement and implementation of critical trustworthy AI and other emerging software innovations," said Theresa Mayer(opens in new window), CMU vice president for research.
The DOD’s contract renewal allows the SEI to extend its record of impact, said SEI Director and CEO Paul Nielsen(opens in new window). “To continue to make a difference for the DOD as the future unfolds means anticipating change and making it work to the DOD’s advantage in its software ecosystem. Our history proves that we are always in a position to provide key guidance on the next big thing in software technology in service to the nation,” he said.
40 years of innovation
The SEI began operating in early 1985. Since then, it has pursued research, development and demonstration, collaboration, and transition objectives that address pervasive and significant problems.
- Developed the Capability Maturity Model Integration, a framework for assessing an organization’s software process maturity.
- Became a leader in cybersecurity and incident response following the 1988 Morris Worm attack.
- Advanced software architecture practices through the creation of the Architecture Analysis and Design Language (AADL).
- Helped establish AI engineering as a discipline, defining practices for trustworthy, scalable AI systems.
- Contributed to the Software Acquisition Pathway(opens in new window), now the DOD’s preferred software development framework.
- Co-created the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification(opens in new window) to secure the defense industrial base supply chain against cyber threats.
- Launched the AI Security Incident Response Team (opens in new window)to identify, analyze and respond to the threats, vulnerabilities and incidents that emerge from advances in AI and machine learning.
- Collaborates with the Defense Innovation Unit (opens in new window)to accelerate the adoption of commercial tech for defense.
- Leads a national initiative in engineering AI(opens in new window) for defense and national security.
- Supports DOD programs in adopting Agile practices(opens in new window), continuous capability deployment(opens in new window), software factories and zero-trust architectures.
