Laura Itle Awarded 2024 Goodpaster Award for
Excellence in Research
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (May 2025) — Laura Itle, deputy director of the Science, Systems and
Sustainment Division in the IDA-managed Systems and Analyses Center, received the 2024
Goodpaster Award for Excellence in Research.
“Laura exemplifies the qualities of IDA’s best and highest-achieving researchers and project
leaders,” said IDA President Norty Schwartz. “Over the past 20 years, she developed a diverse
and growing portfolio of research projects. Laura is skilled at building strong relationships with
senior government officials, and she is admired and respected by her peers and the researchers
assigned to her projects.”
The award is named for retired U.S. Army Gen. Andrew J. Goodpaster, IDA’s President from
1983 to 1985. Each year, the award is presented in recognition of research excellence,
exceptional analytical achievement and intellectual leadership.
After joining IDA in 2005, Laura quickly distinguished herself with her performance on the
Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act of 2002 project for the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), one of IDA's largest and most visible continuing
projects. In 2017, she became the overall project leader and continues to serve in that role.
IDA’s contributions to the program and Laura’s outstanding leadership have been repeatedly
recognized with the DHS Under Secretary Award for Special Achievement and Outstanding
Contractor for 2007, 2012, 2014, 2019 and 2023.
Laura led or contributed to other projects on chemical demilitarization and biological detection.
She served as executive secretary for the National Science and Technology Council
Subcommittee on Resilience Science and Technology, and she designed, developed and
executed a first-of-its-kind civilian-military tabletop training exercise with a foreign partner.
Laura earned her doctorate in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University. She
also completed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Seminar XXI Program in foreign
politics, international relations and the national interest and earned a certificate in national
security studies from Syracuse University.
IDA is a nonprofit corporation that operates three federally funded research and development
centers in the public interest. IDA answers the most challenging U.S. security and science policy
questions with objective analysis leveraging extraordinary scientific, technical and analytic
expertise.
