Mark V. Arena

Mark V. Arena is a senior physical scientist at RAND who has worked on a variety of research projects for the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard; the Office of the Secretary of Defense; the Australian DoD; and the UK MoD. Some of Arena's recent research includes a study of other transaction use in the U.S. Air Force, bid protests of DoD procurements; shipbuilding capabilities and costs for Australia; cost assurance for maritime programs in Australia; “framing assumptions” as a way to track program risk; drivers of the long-term price changes for ships and fixed-wing aircraft; an evaluation of cost-risk assessment methodologies; and the historical cost growth of major weapon systems. Arena has also developed analytical models to understand the shipyard and budget impacts of various force structure choices and procurement plans. Another of Arena's recent research activity is developing cost estimate validation methods for public assistance grants.

Arena graduated from Yale University with a B.S. degree in chemistry. Subsequently, he pursued graduate studies at Stanford University in the Department of Chemistry. His thesis work focused on the diffusion of molecular adsorbates on single-crystal metal surfaces. He was granted a Ph.D. in physical chemistry.