Thao Liz Nguyen

Thao (Liz) Nguyen is an associate director of the Management, Technology, and Capabilities Program within the RAND Homeland Security Research Division (HSRD), a physical scientist at RAND with expertise in the area of homeland security, requirements and aquisition, and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Nguyen's research focuses on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of complex processes and organizations, conducting capability-based assessments, and developing requirements. She has lead projects on implementing and executing the requirements at DHS Headquarters. Her team has been crucial in reviewing, standardizing, and analyzing joint capability gaps and operational needs across the Department's mission areas. Recently, she has led projects to develop capability roadmaps to combat illicit drug activities and to evaluate antiterrorism technologies. She has also provided technical analytic support on projects such as a GPS Analysis of Alternatives (AoA), advanced materials for airframes, and electronic baggage screening devices for TSA. Her cost estimation work includes assessing the cost of mission computers for future Department of the Air Force (DAF) programs and evaluating the impact of Digital Engineering on future weapon systems costs. Nguyen's scientific expertise includes the functionalization, synthesis, fabrication, application, and measurement of inorganic, metallic, and polymer-based nanomaterials. She was a postdoctoral research associate at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Maryland.