DSU names interim director of DSU Applied Research Lab

Dakota State University has named an Interim Director for the Madison Applied Research Laboratory (or ARL).  Joel Wohnoutka has been named to the position. He is a two-time DSU alumnus from Luverne, Minnesota, receiving his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in 2014, and a master’s degree in 2016.  After graduation, Wohnoutka moved to Maryland to work at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab for five and a half years. He began researching cyber security vulnerabilities, then moved into a project management role. 

When the Madison Cyber Labs Applied Research Lab opened in 2021, he was interested in returning to the Madison area to be closer to family, while continuing to do this type of government contractor work.  The new facility gave Wohnoutka the opportunity to come back to Madison and help grow the organization, using his expertise in project management, along with his technical background. He was hired in September of 2021 as a Research Engineer at the Lab.  

As interim director, Wohnoutka will use his experience in program management to develop future programs and build relationships with agencies and people he’d had contact with while working in Maryland, and  spark new relationships with agencies on the coasts.

The previous ARL director, Dr. Josh Pauli, resigned this spring.