Geoffrey Ling Geoffrey S . F . Ling , M . D . , Ph . D . , is a medical doctor who retired from the United States Army as a Colonel , and is currently the Deputy Director for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA ) . He is considered to be the " US Army ' s premier subject matter expert on traumatic brain injury ( TBI ) " , and was for years the only neuro - intensive care specialist in the US military . Prominent in his research portfolio are neuroscience , specifically , Preventing Violent Explosive Neuro Trauma ( PREVENT ) , the prevention of traumatic brain injury , and development of responsive , brain - controlled , artificial arms . He also serves as the Deputy Director of the Defense Sciences Office . Ling is a recipient of the Humanitarian Award from the Brain Mapping Foundation . Education . Ling earned his BA with honors from Washington University , and earned his doctorate in pharmacology from Cornell University School of Medicine ( 1982 ) . He completed post doctoral training in Neuropharmacology at the Sloan - Kettering Memorial Cancer Center ( 1982 - 1985 ) . In 1989 , Ling earned an M . D . from Georgetown University School of Medicine , Both his neurology internship ( 1989 - 1990 ) and later residency ( 1990 - 1993 ) were completed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center . From 1993 - 1995 Ling had a Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University , Neurosciences Critical Care Unit . Professional history . Military . Ling completed two combat tours : Afghanistan ( 2003 ) and Iraq ( 2005 ) , as well as four " Gray Team " tours to study combat brain injuries . His medical studies of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq show that over 50 % of those who died of wounds had head injuries . Prior to his position as Deputy Director at DARPA Ling was a tenured professor and Acting Chair of the Department of Neurology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences ( USUHS ) . He worked at the USUHS from 1995 - 2012 and for many years was the Army ' s only neuro - intensive care physician . Ling is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology and Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a member of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy ( OSTP ) . Ling served as an Army doctor for 27 years , and retired in 2012 . Ling and his work have been featured twice on the TV show " 60 Minutes " , in 2009 and 2012 . Other . Ling is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Neurology and Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a member of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy ( OSTP ) . Ling and his work have been featured twice on the TV show " 60 Minutes " , in 2009 and 2012 . He was also one of the doctors who treated American senator Gabrielle Giffords after she had been shot in the head . Ling ' s publications include 150 peer reviewed journal articles , research reviews , and book chapters Prosthetic arm development . Because of engineering and medical concerns , arm replacement is more difficult than leg replacement . Arm replacement technology was far behind leg replacement technology when DARPA began the Revolutionizing Prosthetics team in 2006 . As of 2013 , testing these arms with input from the patient ' s brain is ongoing . The biggest problem has long been a lack of the sense of touch in prosthetic arms . Significant progress in that regard has been made because of discoveries in ways to deliver a sense of touch through a prosthtetic hand back to the nervous system . Ling has described the problem of developing a high quality artificial arm as " doggone hard " . Ling ' s Revolutionizing Prosthetics team ' s work could lead to the restoration of sight and hearing . Using his artificial arms , amputees could precisely move their artificial arms with just thought . Awards . Ling is a recipient of the Order of Military Medical Merit . In Toronto , Canada , in 2012 , Ling was awarded the Humanitarian Award from the Brain Mapping Foundation .