Mark Drapeau

From understanding the evolutionary origins of new species, to performing research on the genomics of sleeping disorders and animal social behavior, to studying how people interact and collaborate in social networks, Dr. Mark Drapeau has spent his life thinking about some of the most profound topics stretching the limits of human knowledge today.

An influential thought leader, Drapeau’s ideas carry weight in numerous communities. He is a sought-after speaker at conferences whose topics encompass everything from local and state government operations, to science and technology advances, to public relations and marketing innovation, to federal government, international relations, and military issues. He also has spoken at numerous private events, and additionally co-hosted or co-organized small events across the country. His online writing about technology first reached popularity while he was a regular blogger for Mashable.com in 2008.

Drapeau is currently a regular feature writer for Washington Life magazine and a regular print columnist for Federal Computer Week. He currently blogs at the popular sites O’Reilly Radar and PR 2.0 and Mediaite. He is a vocal proponent of on-the-go blogging and writes short pieces at a site named Cheeky Posterous, and for fun, he writes a food & drink column called “Cheeky Tastings” at the blog Justin Loves Food.

While earning bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Rochester and the University of California – Irvine, respectively, Drapeau probed large, complex questions through the eyes of an animal behaviorist. His undergraduate research involved understanding the behavioral cues underlying species recognition during the elaborate courtship behaviors that animals perform. Drapeau’s graduate work primarily involved the neurogenetics of animal instincts; he also studying the evolutionary physiology of aging. His laboratory research resulted in many peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.

As a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow at New York University, Drapeau adapted cutting-edge techniques in genomics and cell biology to probe the mysteries of the brain. Specifically, he sought to better understand the neural circuits underlying the sleep-wake cycles of animals, and associated behaviors. Combining genomic techniques with genetic manipulations and controlled behavior studies, he was able to paint a better picture of the genes and proteins underlying these critical processes than ever before.

During his time at New York University, Drapeau was also asked to participate in the International Honeybee Genome Consortium, where he studied a family of proteins likely to underlie the complex social behavior that bees exhibit in their hive colonies.

Following his passion to apply his technical knowledge and rigid thought process to larger societal issues, Drapeau accepted a prestigious fellowship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and moved to Washington, DC. While researching the interface between science and technology and strategic defense policy at the U.S. Department of Defense, he worked on issues ranging from the applications of biological metaphors to counterinsurgency warfare to the problem of how to operate military forces in the middle of a pandemic influenza incident. The poster he designed on the latter topic is especially pertinent during the current H1N1 flu spread, and it can be found hanging in the offices of military bases, embassies, and large companies around the world.

Among his publications through the Center for Technology and National Security Policy, a think tank within the National Defense University that directly reports to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Drapeau co-authored a chapter about future ‘trends and shocks’ in the life sciences for the book Fighting Chance: Global Trends and Shocks in the National Security Environment. He is also the co-editor of a forthcoming volume about the diverse applications of the biology to national security.

Additionally, he published pieces on biological science and national security for a more general audience in the New York Times, the Washington Times, and numerous other outlets.

Returning to his scientific roots in animal behavior, Drapeau turned his interests to the human dynamics underlying social networking as it applies to the government. Leveraging extensive contacts in the science and technology community outside of Washington, DC and within the government and business sectors within the District, he quickly became a thought leader on the many ways in which social software was affecting how the government operates – something now affectionally called Government 2.0 – coining the term “goverati” to describe tech-savvy people passionate about more transparent, collaborative, and participatory government. His co-authored research paper Social Software and National Security: An Initial Net Assessment continues to be influential throughout government as agencies adapt to the Obama Administration’s philosophy of open government.

Drapeau’s wide ranging interests and talents have him involved in an interesting range of current activities in academia, business, and the community.

In the private sector, Drapeau was recently named Director of Innovative Social Engagement by Microsoft, acting within their U.S. Public Sector division based in Washington, D.C. There, he will leverage a variety of methods to diplomatically engage audiences ranging from government and educational customers to local citizens and social influencers. Drapeau is also on the Board of Advisors of Strategic Social, which is working to leverage the real-time communication, collaboration and command visibility possibilities of the social web for national security missions.

In academia, Drapeau serves as Adjunct Faculty in the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University in Washington, DC, where he offers an elective class about sustainable journalism in a digital age. He also continues to advise colleagues at New York University on two research projects about the genomics of circadian rhythms and sleeping disorders and the neurogenetics of animal decision-making.

In professional service to the community, Drapeau co-founded Government 2.0 Club, an international umbrella for organizing events at the intersection of social technologies and the government. To varying degrees, he has been involved in planning numerous events including Government 2.0 Camp (which was subsequently duplicated and improvised upon in countries around the world), the ACT/IAC Executive Leadership Conference, the Computers Freedom and Privacy Conference, and the Gov 2.0 Summit. He is currently the program co-chair for the Gov 2.0 Expo in May 2010, co-produced by O’Reilly Media and TechWeb.

Recently, Drapeau was named to a list of the most creative people working in the field of new media in Washington, DC.

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