David S . Alberts David Stephen Alberts ( 1942 ) is a former American Director of Research for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense ( OASD ) for Networks and Information Integration ( NII ) . Biography . David S . Alberts undergraduate work was at City College of New York where he received a BA in Statistics in 1964 . He received a Masters ( 1966 ) and a Doctorate in Operations Research ( 1968 ) from the University of Pennsylvania . Alberts ' academic career has included serving as first Director of the Computer Science Program at NYU and has held professional rank posts at NYU Graduate School of Business , CUNY , and most recently as a Research Professor at George Mason University . He was the Director , Advanced Concepts , Technologies , and Information Strategies ( ACTIS ) , Deputy Director of the Institute for National Strategic Studies , and the executive agent for DoD ' s Command and Control Research Program . This included responsibility for the Center for Advanced Concepts and Technology ( ACT ) and the School of Information Warfare and Strategy ( SIWS ) at the National Defense University . He has chaired numerous international and national conferences and symposia and has many publications , some of which are included in tutorials given by the IEEE and other professional societies . He has served as an officer in a number of professional societies and has actively contributed to AIAA , MORS , TIMS , AFCEA , and ORSA . At the local level , Alberts has served as Assistant to the Commissioner , NYPD . Recent honors have included the Secretary of Defense ' s Outstanding Public Service Award , Aviation Week and Space Technology ' s Government / Military Laurel , and the inaugural NCW Award for Best Contribution to the Theory of NCW presented by the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement ( IDGA ) . Work . He led efforts that produced the NATO NEC C2 Maturity Model the NATO Code of Best Practice for C2 Assessment , ] and the NATO Code of Best Practice : Experimentation . In his most recent book ( 2011 ) , he proposes " agility " as the measure of choice for organizations , collections of organizations , processes , systems , and individuals engaged in complex endeavors ( e . g . civil - military , cyber - security , economic development ) . He co - authored an article with Mark E . Nissen , which was published in the International C2 Journal , entitled " Toward Harmonizing Command and Control with Organization and Management Theory . " Another recent article " Agility , Focus and Convergence : The Future of Command and Control " challenges not only long - held command and control beliefs but the very language of command and control itself . In early 2010 , he developed a comprehensive educational campaign to remedy the lack of awareness and understanding of the nature of 21st century missions , Networked Enabled Capability ( NEC ) , and the implications for Command and Control ( C2 ) and intelligence . The overall objective is to develop the widespread awareness and in - depth understanding necessary to accelerate a “ network - centric ” transformation of existing C2I organizations , processes , and systems to make them more effective and efficient . This campaign involves the development of curricula , courses , educational materials , and experimental environments that provide students with “ hands - on ” opportunities to experience a variety of network - enabled capabilities and network - enabled C2 ( NEC2 ) under different mission - related scenarios and circumstances is the first such offering . The C2 - related educational materials he created , the " Network Enabled Command and Control ( NEC2 ) Short Course , " consists of 8 course modules . Each can be accessed and downloaded from the CCRP website " ( NEC2 Short Modules ) . " Outreach and Support . The CCRP sponsors the Focus , Agility , and Convergence Team ( FACT ) . FACT is a forum for bringing practitioners , theorists , and analysts together to progress in conceiving and developing new approaches to achieving the agility , focus and convergence needed to successfully prepare for and participate in complex endeavors across the spectrum of crisis to conflict . Alberts has presented at numerous FACT meetings . Alberts also chairs a NATO research group , " SAS - 085 " , which will conduct research activities to better define " C2 Agility " and recognize " Requisite C2 Maturity " for complex endeavours . Previous NATO groups he has chaired produced the NATO NEC C2 Maturity Model , the C2 Conceptual Reference Model , and the NATO Code of Best Practice for C2 Assessment . Publications . Alberts is credited with helping to provide the intellectual foundation for an Information Age transformation of military institutions . His works include : In 1999 , " Command Arrangements for Peace Operations " and " Complexity , Global Politics , and National Security " were suggested for The Airpower Professional ’ s Book Club Top Ten List .