Michael Cole Smith is an IT Cybersecurity Specialist and Program Manager at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity, where he directs a multi-million-dollar cyber resilience R&D portfolio within the Grid Controls and Communications division. His work spans protocol security, secure grid communications, time synchronization integrity, distributed ledger applications, and post-quantum cryptography readiness, executed in partnership with DOE national laboratories and industry stakeholders. He co-leads Secure Pathways for Resilient Communications (SPaRC), co-leads the Center for Alternate Synchronization and Timing (CAST), and led development of the Cybersecurity Health Assessment for Resilient Grid Evolution (CHARGE) program’s technical scope.
Cole brings hands-on roots in ICS penetration testing and vulnerability assessment from prior roles to his current strategic portfolio leadership. He co-manages cyber workforce development initiatives, has briefed senior DOE leadership, and has spoken at venues including the AFCEA Emerging Information Environment Summit and Columbia University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity from The George Washington University and is an honorably discharged U.S. Marine Corps veteran.