Kathleen Griggs, BS ’86, the first woman to graduate from UD with a physics degree, built a career solving complex problems through advanced technology. From leading defense research programs to founding Databuoy Corporation and developing gunfire localization technology, she credits her UD education — particularly the Core — with giving her the curiosity, perspective, and “inner compass” that guided her career.
By Caitlin Bootsma, BA ’06
First woman to graduate as UD physics major develops technology to locate gunfire
Today, Kathleen Griggs, BS ‘86, is an entrepreneur and longtime technology executive, but more than 40 years ago she was a young woman who took what was then an unexpected path, becoming the first female to graduate from the University of Dallas with a degree in physics.
Kathleen says she didn’t have a grand plan to enter the physics field when she first chose it as her major. Instead, she was guided by a sense of curiosity, a desire to know everything about the physical world.
She recalls that it was at her oral examinations before graduation that professors told her she would make a good physicist. That was a formative moment because it showed her that achieving ambitious goals in the world of physics and engineering was truly possible. That moment of encouragement stayed with her throughout her career, as she pursued some very ambitious goals. After graduation, Kathleen’s career advanced around solving difficult problems, protecting lives, and serving the country through advanced technology.
Protecting people and spaces
Kathleen completed graduate work in systems engineering and, within a decade of graduating, was managing advanced technology programs for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense which develops new technology for national security. Her work included initiatives such as augmented reality, wearable computing, distributed robotics, and battlefield visualization.
She also served as the president of Puritan Research Corporation and in 2006, she
founded Databuoy Corporation, where she developed and commercialized an acoustic gunfire
localization system designed to help first responders rapidly identify the location
of gunfire.
The technology that emerged through her leadership and expertise has protected a variety
of spaces including city streets, housing complexes, schools, entertainment venues,
and even power substations. Kathleen shared that where her career ended up was not
a set plan that she had from her college days; instead, she took each career advancement
step by step. And at a time when the technology field was mostly populated by men,
she trusted in her ideas and had the determination to keep pushing them forward.
She emphasized that she didn’t always have the strongest voice in the room, but that
it was the “power of the idea” that ensured that people heard her message and progress
was made.
The lasting value of a UD education
Kathleen sold Databuoy recently but continues to hold a leadership position in the
new company. Looking back at her UD days, she calls her education a luxury, one that
not only gave her the tools she needed in her field, but also an “inner compass” that
helped her make decisions.
Thinking back on her philosophy and English classes, she said the Core was like a
dessert, so enriching to hold all of these things in her mind. The formation from
the Core has allowed her to see the bigger picture when there have been challenges,
enabling her not to hyper focus on problems and instead rely on that inner compass
to guide her.
In today’s world of hyper specialization, Kathleen particularly sees the value in learning how to think through a problem from many perspectives as UD’s rigorous liberal arts curriculum enables one to do. She wishes even more people had this sort of education and mindset.
Kathleen encourages today’s students to focus on doing things well and according to that inner compass, rather than constantly focusing on an “end game.” The twists and turns of a career may be surprising, but with this stance towards your work, you’ll be able to look in the mirror and be content with the way in which you approach each day.
