Narang was the Frank Stanton Professor of Nuclear Security and Political Science at MIT, as well as a member of the university's Security Studies Program

FREMONT, CA: Vipin Narang, an MIT nuclear science professor, was sworn in as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy on March 29. He will report to Dr. John Plumb, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy. Interagency coordination and international participation in space policy and strategy, which encompasses nuclear, cyber, and missile defense policy, are the responsibility of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy. Narang is now on leave from MIT to serve in the Department of Defense as the Frank Stanton Professor of Nuclear Security and Political Science. Vipin Narang announced that he would be taking a public service leave from the university to be sworn in as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy. It is a high-ranking civilian position in the US Department of Defense. Narang tweeted that this job would involve nuclear, cyber, and missile defense policies.

Narang was the Frank Stanton Professor of Nuclear Security and Political Science at MIT and a member of the university's Security Studies Program. He was born in the San Francisco Bay region to Indian parents. He graduated with honors from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in chemical engineering. In addition, he received an M Phil in international relations with distinction from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar. He graduated from Harvard University with a Ph.D. in 2010 and taught nuclear security and political science at MIT. His research interests include nuclear proliferation and strategy (particularly concerning North Korea) and security in South Asia.

He has authored and published two books: Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era: Regional Powers and International Conflict (2014) and  Seeking the Bomb: Strategies of Nuclear Proliferation (2022). His first book, "Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era," won the 2015 ISA International Security Studies Section Best Book Award to examine regional nuclear powers' deterrent policies. In early 2022, his second book, "Seeking the Bomb: Nuclear Proliferation Strategies," was published by Princeton University Press. He received the International Studies Association's 2020 ISSS Emerging Academic Award, which is given to the scholar who has made the most significant contribution to security studies.