Andre Slonopas is a technologist-in-residence at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has a diverse background as a decorated combat veteran, academician, public servant, and industry leader.
Enlisting in the Army on his 17th birthday, he began a career that would span several decades, include multiple deployments and overseas tours, Ranger and Sapper schools, and a flurry of other highly specialized work across a range of Commands. He was in one of the first army officer cohorts selected for transition into Cyber Branch, where he quickly rose through the ranks to lead the U.S. Cyber Command’s most sensitive and classified missions.
Shortly after earning his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, Slonopas took faculty position at his alma mater before transitioning into the government as a Presidential Management Fellow. Throughout his subsequent career, he served in a range of scientific and leadership roles, overseeing teams of researchers and multi-deca-million-dollar projects focused on semiconductors, operational energy, cyber, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Later in life, Andre pursued a second doctorate degree from Johns Hopkins University. He also co-founded ElMaKor, a company focused on perovskite semiconductor manufacturing, following breakthroughs in perovskite stability achieved by his research collaborators and co-founding team. Slonopas chaired the American Public University System Cybersecurity Department, where he spearheaded the revamping of the cybersecurity program to address the threats of tomorrow. During his tenure, the Department nearly doubled its enrollment to over 2,000 students, experienced unprecedented faculty growth, and underwent accreditation as an NSA Center of Academic Excellence.
He has authored dozens of publications and conference papers on semiconductors, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and emerging national security technologies. His work contributed to the NATO Science & Technology Organization (STO), was recognized with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Best Paper recognition and was featured across defense and national security research forums.