Joseph Markowitz of Harper’s Ferry, W.Va. and Great Falls, Va., died on Oct. 24. He was born in Philadelphia on June 30, 1938, to Mae and Harry Markowitz. Joe received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in psychology from Wesleyan University, and a doctorate in acoustic psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Joe started his career at Bolt Beranek and Newman as a group manager when the original ARPANET was being developed in the late 1960s. In 1975, Joe joined the CIA as a research manager in the Office of Research. In this role, Joe helped to modernize the agency’s information infrastructure.
His work as a strong proponent of technology led him to create the first open source network at the CIA, developing the agency’s first “black box” switches, which allowed users to easily work with different computers on different networks.
He was a founding member of the FBI Director’s Advisory Board under Director Robert Mueller. Joe also held teaching positions at Northeastern University, and after retirement, taught adult education classes at Shepard University.
Joe is survived by Nancy Markowitz, his wife of 53 years; his son and daughter-in-law Jeremy and Eva Markowitz, of Sterling; and his son Jonathan Markowitz of Herndon.
