SRI taps Robert Mandelbaum for growth initiatives

SRI has named Robert Mandelbaum senior vice president of strategic initiatives, putting the former Lockheed Martin ATL leader in charge of institute-wide programs tied to AI, autonomy, healthcare, space and security. The hire underscores SRI's push to turn research across its divisions into larger commercial and government programs.

Why it matters: - SRI is trying to convert more of its research breadth into large programs that can scale across government and commercial markets. - Mandelbaum's background spans DARPA, Lockheed Martin and Sarnoff, giving SRI a leader with experience moving advanced technology from lab work to fielded systems. - The role is aimed at connecting SRI's divisions around high-growth opportunities in AI, autonomous systems, healthcare, space-based architectures and security.

What happened: - SRI named Robert "Robbie" Mandelbaum senior vice president of strategic initiatives. - Mandelbaum will lead institute-wide growth efforts and help create, scale and run new programs across SRI's research divisions. - The announcement was made Sept. 29, 2026, from Menlo Park, California. - Mandelbaum most recently served as general manager and director of Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Laboratories.

The details: - Mandelbaum led applied research labs focused on spectrum systems, informatics, AI, human systems augmentation and autonomy at Lockheed Martin ATL. - As ATL chief technology officer, he set technical direction, managed research investments and worked with customers at the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Office of Naval Research and DARPA. - Mandelbaum spent the start of his career at Sarnoff Corporation, now part of SRI, where he worked on real-time computer vision, early self-driving car research, robotic autonomy and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. - He also served as a program manager in DARPA's Information Processing Techniques and Tactical Technologies offices. - Mandelbaum holds a PhD in computer and information science from the University of Pennsylvania and a BSc in electrical engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand. - SRI says its work spans AI, quantum, biosciences, education, space and security. - SRI says its technologies include ARPANET, personal computing, early AI systems and Siri. - SRI is an independent nonprofit R&D institute headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices across the U.S. and in Japan. - SRI says it has an 80-year history of delivering technology used by billions of people. - More information is available on SRI's website.

Between the lines: - The hire suggests SRI wants a senior operator who can bridge internal research teams and outside customers. - Mandelbaum's return to an organization connected to his early career at Sarnoff gives SRI a leader with institutional history and outside market experience. - The appointment also signals continued competition among research organizations to package deep tech into larger, cross-disciplinary offerings.

What's next: - Mandelbaum will work with SRI leadership, principal investigators and business development teams on major programs. - SRI expects those efforts to focus on customer needs where multiple technical disciplines overlap. - The institute is likely to use the role to accelerate program creation across its research portfolio.

The bottom line: - SRI is betting that a veteran of DARPA and Lockheed Martin can help turn its research depth into bigger, faster-growing programs.