He is an interdisciplinary computational scientist who has published more than 100 research articles exploring all aspects of large multiscale interaction systems. Over the past 35 years, Barrett has conceived, founded and led large interdisciplinary complex systems research projects and organizations, established national and international technology programs, and co-founded organizations for federal agencies such as the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and the Department of Homeland Security. He has served in various advisory and collaborative scientific roles internationally.
He has received Distinguished Research, Service, Advisory and Security Awards from the U.S. Navy, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Alliance for Transportation Research. He has served as advisor to U.S. government agencies, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the European Commission and others. He holds seven patents and has ten pending.