Randall Murch joined Virginia Tech in 2004 as associate director, Research Program Development, Research Division, National Capital Region. He works in the areas of life science research program development, microbial systems biology, microbial forensics, biosecurity, and university strategic planning. He is also an adjunct professor in the School of Public and International Affairs, College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

From 2002 to 2004, Murch was a research staff member, Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), a leading Federally Funded Research and Development Center, where he led and participated in studies for the defense, intelligence and homeland security communities. He remains an adjunct staff member at IDA.

Following graduate school and brief service in the U.S. Army Reserves, Murch joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a Special Agent and performed counterterrorism, counterintelligence and other investigations. He later moved to the FBI Laboratory where he held assignments as a forensic biologist, research scientist, department head, and deputy director. He also served in the Bureau’s technical investigative program: as a program manager for complex operations planning, Intelligence Division; unit chief for a technology development and deployment group, Technical Services Division; squad supervisor, New York Field Office and deputy director, Investigative Technology Division (formerly Technical Services Division).

In 1996, Murch created both the FBI’s WMD forensic investigative program, serving as science advisor to the 1996 Olympic Games, and the FBI’s Hazardous Materials Response Unit, the nation’s focal point for the forensic investigation of WMD threats, events, and hoaxes. He also led forensic investigations for a number of major terrorism cases, and initiated new programs for both the FBI Laboratory and technical investigative program. Throughout his FBI career, he was involved with extensive liaison at the national and international levels in furthering science and technology for law enforcement, counterterrorism, and national security purposes. He retired from the FBI in 2002, after nearly 23 years of service

Murch also served as director of the Advanced Systems and Concepts Office, at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Department of Defense, where he was responsible for leading advanced studies on complex challenges dealing with weapons of mass destruction.

He received a B.S. in Biology from the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington, an M.S. in Botanical Sciences from the University of Hawaii, and a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

He has or still serves on several advisory boards, including the Board of Life Sciences, National Research Council; DTRA’s Threat Reduction Advisory Committee; the Defense Intelligence Agency’s BioChem 2020, the FBI’s Scientific Working Group on Microbial Genomics and Forensics and a new standing committee of the National Academy of Sciences for the Department of Homeland Security’s National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center. He has also been a member of or advised study committees of the National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, Defense Science Board, and Threat Reduction Advisory Committee.

Contact Information

E-mail: rmurch@vt.edu

Office: (703) 518-2719