William McGill
Assistant Professor of Information Sciences and Technology
Post-Graduate Intelligence Program, National Defense Intelligence College, Washington, D.C.
M.S., University of Maryland
B.S., University of Southern California
ist.psu.eduEducation
Ph.D. in Reliability Engineering, University of MarylandPost-Graduate Intelligence Program, National Defense Intelligence College, Washington, D.C.
M.S., University of Maryland
B.S., University of Southern California
Biographical Information
Prior to joining IST, McGill served as an intelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C., from 2007 to 2008. In this role, he developed training courses and analytical capabilities within the intelligence and homeland security community in the areas of risk analysis, uncertainty modeling, and logical reasoning. His duties also included researching and evaluating new methodologies in the field of intelligence analysis, and evaluating and developing approaches to solving challenging intelligence problems, including those related to the protection of defense critical infrastructure.Beginning in 2005, McGill has worked as a consultant risk engineer and uncertainty analyst, providing structured analytical methodologies in support of intelligence, risk, reliability, and uncertainty analysis for the intelligence, defense, and homeland security communities. His recent work includes participating in the development of a risk assessment engine for the New Orleans hurricane protection system. As a consultant, McGill also has performed technology assessments for various emerging technologies, with recent work focusing on brain-computer interface and grey systems theory to support national policy decisions.
At the same time, McGill worked as a research assistant at the University of Maryland, where he is completing his Ph.D. in Reliability Engineering. His research there focused on risk, uncertainty, and reliability analysis, including both probabilistic and non-probabilistic methods with applications in the areas of structural engineering, homeland security, and intelligence analysis. He developed innovative methodologies for target capabilities performance assessment and security system effectiveness assessment under a research grant from the Maryland Emergency Management Agency.
As a technology intelligence analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2004 to 2005, McGill produced technology assessments of emerging foreign technologies with a focus on structural materials, infrastructure, and disruptive technologies. He also developed methodologies for assessing emerging terrorist technologies in regard to the risks faced by U.S. critical infrastructure.
McGill was appointed American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Federal Fellow to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for 2003-2004 and assisted DHS in developing first-generation approaches to critical infrastructure risk assessment and management for defensible resource allocation decisions. For DHS, he also developed and applied terrorism risk analysis methodologies to establish priorities for critical infrastructure protection and conducted vulnerability assessments of critical infrastructure systems with respect to modern terrorist tactics.
McGill began his career in 2001 as a structural engineer with Swales Aerospace, Inc., in Beltsville, MD. There he assessed the performance of mechanical and structural systems, oversaw and created test plans for structural environmental tests, and provided training in finite element modeling and analysis to company engineers.
He is a member of the Security Analysis and Risk Management Association (SARMA), the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA), and the International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE). McGill also is the recipient of best paper award, 2006 Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting, Economics and Benefits Section, and the recipient of the student travel award at the 2007 Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting.
