P.M. “Pooch” Picucci is a Research Staff Member for the Joint Advanced Warfighting Division at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA). Dr. Picucci is a political scientist by training having received a PhD from the University of Kansas and a Masters in National Security Studies from California State University: San Bernardino. Primary work for IDA has focused on the incorporation of human, social, cultural and behavioral factors into the military’s operations and modeling & simulation (M&S) communities. Secondary portfolio elements range across COIN doctrine, biometrics, non-lethal weapon systems, service personnel diversity management, wargaming, and population influence operations. He serves as Chair for IDA’s Innovation and Experimentation working group and portfolio lead for support to DARPA on Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications of AI/ML enhanced and autonomous capabilities. Prior to coming to IDA, Dr. Picucci’s work focused on computer-aided content analysis in the study of Islamic radicalism: applying operational code analysis to the leadership of al-Qaeda and Hamas. While at the University of Kansas he also assisted in the dictionary and coding development of various event data projects including the Integrated Crisis Early Warning System (ICEWS). He is the author of articles on the challenges of integrating social science methods and, more broadly, socio-cultural knowledge and data into DOD modeling efforts; one of which was nominated for the 2013 Larry D. Welch Award. He has twice been nominated for the InterService / Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) Best Tutorial award.
