Isaac R. Porche III
Overview
Biography
Isaac Porche is a senior engineer at the RAND Corporation. His areas of expertise include cybersecurity; network and communication technology; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR); information assurance; big data; cloud computing; and computer network defense. He has led research projects for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Joint Staff, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He is a member of the U.S. Army Science Board, serving on the data-to-decisions panel. He is also exploring the Army role in cyberspace. In addition, he has assessed collaboration and information-sharing issues, and modeling and simulation of tactical network communication technologies. For the Navy, he studies ISR issues and led the TCPED study as well as the AoA for the DCGS-N and MTC2 programs of record. He has published articles in the Military Operations Research on "The Impact of Networking on Warfighter Effectiveness" (2007) and "Game-Theoretic Methods for Analysis of Tactical Decision-Making Using Agent-Based Combat Simulations" (2009). His RAND publications include The Impact of Network Performance on Warfighter Effectiveness (with Bradley Wilson, 2006); Navy Network Dependability: Models, Metrics, and Tools (Porche et al., 2010); and, most recently, Finding Services for an Open Architecture: A Review of Existing Applications and Programs in PEO C4I (Porche et al., 2011). Porche also studies auto industry technology trends as a consultant for Automotive News.
He received his Ph.D. from The University of Michigan in 1998.
Research Focus
Concurrent Non-RAND Positions
Member, Army Science BoardPrevious Positions
Project Engineer, General Motors Electric Vehicles; Transportation Research Engineer, Environmental Research Institute of Michigan; Associate Engineer, General Motors Advanced EngineeringRecent Projects
- Maritime Tactical Command and Control AoA
- Role of the Army in Cyberspace
- TCPED Intelligence Cycle Process Study
- Navy Network Reliability
- Rapid Acquisition of Computer Network Defense Systems
Selected Publications
Isaac R. Porche III, Christopher Paul, Michael York, Chad C. Serena, Jerry M. Sollinger, Elliot Axelband, Endy Min, Bruce J. Held, Redefining Information Warfare Boundaries for an Army in a Wireless World, RAND (MG-1113-A), 2013
Isaac R. Porche III, Shawn McKay, Megan McKernan, Robert W. Button, Bob Murphy, Kate Giglio, Elliot Axelband, Rapid Acquisition and Fielding for Information Assurance and Cyber Security in the Navy, RAND Corporation (TR-1294-Navy), 2012
Isaac R. Porche III, Jerry M. Sollinger, and Shawn McKay, A Cyberworm That Knows No Boundaries, RAND Corporation (OP-342), 2011
Isaac R. Porche, III, et al., Finding Services for an Open Architecture: A Review of Existing Applications and Programs in PEO C4I, RAND (MG-1071), 2011
Isaac R. Porche, III, et al., Navy Network Dependability: Models, Metrics, and Tools, RAND Corporation (MG-1003), 2010
Yevgeniy Vorobeychik and Isaac R. Porche, "Game-Theoretic Methods for Analysis of Tactical Decision-Making Using Agent-Based Combat Simulations," Military Operations Research, 14(4):21–39, 2009
Isaac R. Porche, III, and Bradley Wilson, The Impact of Network Performance on Warfighter Effectiveness, RAND Corporation (TR-329), 2006
Leland Joe and Isaac R. Porche, III, Future Army Bandwidth Needs and Capabilities, RAND Corporation (MG-156), 2004
Honors & Awards
- 2011 and 2012 Silver Award, RAND
- 2008 Bronze Award, RAND
- 2005 Finalist, Best Paper, 10th International Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium
Recent Media Appearances
Interviews: Defense News; Investor's Business Daily; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; Washington Times
Commentary: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Could Bin Laden's Death Prompt a Cyber Attack? — May 6, 2011