Defense Tech Podcast

Join Host Civilian Sydney for Episode 4 of the Defense Tech Podcast for the final episode of the Behind the Scenes of Innovation series, as she sits down with Mike Brockly, Director of Program Management at NTSXL, to take a look at security measures in the United States, security implications of the Chips Crisis and project success and evaluation for Microelectronics Commons. Using his holistic se...

How does rad-hard testing work? What does “rad-hard” mean? Join in this episode with special guest Dan Marrujo from Trusted Strategic Solutions, who gives us a behind-the-scenes look into the criticality of testing for radiation-hardened technologies and what’s being done to improve these capabilities for the DoD. Stay tuned until the end of the episode for insights on growing trends in the defens...

In the wake of President Trump's executive order prioritizing speed and agility in DoW critical technology procurement, OTAs are in the spotlight. Guest Doug Crowe joins to explain how we navigate acquiring critical and emerging technology in the modern age. Doug Crowe is the Senior Vice President of Program Management at NSTXL. Doug comes in with 40 years of expertise in the industry – he is a Na...

What is it like to market for the Government? Join in this episode with special guest Civilian Jillian who shares what she’s learned from transitioning from civilian roles to marketing for high-impact Government projects.   Jillian Honeycutt is the Program Marketing Lead for the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) at the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL). From selling cheese to runni...

Let us reintroduce ourselves! Join Civilian Sydney hosts for this special episode about the origins of the Defense Tech Podcast, who NSTXL is, and why Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs) are now at the forefront of innovation in the U.S. NSTXL is focused on building a network of innovators and creators across the most sought-after emerging technology fields. As an open-source platform, our approa...

Join Civilian Sydney in the newest Tech TALX episode, where she sits with Wyatt Taylor from Epiq Solutions to discuss successful prototype integrations. The "Neptune" project was initially awarded in 2021 under the S2MARTS OTA to 3 performers to provide a radio frequency payload for implementation into unmanned maritime systems. The project was then down-selected to Epiq solutions. Their payload s...

Civilian Sydney sat down with Jackie Janning-Lask and Dr. Matt Casto, who lead the Midwest Microelectronics Consortium, to discuss the origins of MMEC and how to define a vision for clearer mission goals. The group also did a deep dive into a few technologies, including Secure Edge and the Internet of Things. Jackie and Matt helped me better understand the criticality of collaboration to achieve c...

In this week's episode Civilian Sydney sits with Stephen Crago and Mike Haney, who help lead the California Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices, or California DREAMS, Superhub. Stephen is the Director and Principal Investigator of CA DREAMS at the University of Southern California, and Mike is the Deputy Director of CA DREAMS and the Director of the MOSIS 2.0 initiative. In this episode, we...

Tune in to this episode as Civilian Sydney sits down with the SWAP Hub's CTO, Krishnendu Chakrabarty. Krishnendu is the Fulton Professor of Microelectronics in the school of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering at Arizona State University. He also acts as the Chief Technology Officer for the SWAP Hub. In this episode, we discuss some of the projects that the SWAP Hub is currently focused o...

Join Civilian Sydney as she chats with Fred Kish and John Muth from the CLAWS Hub as they discuss commercial leap-ahead technologies, wide-bandgap semiconductors, access to cleanrooms, building a robust workforce pipeline and more.  Fred Kish is a renowned engineer who has made significant contributions to the field of optoelectronics, particularly in the development of high-performance LEDs and i...

Civilian Sydney talks with Brett Hamilton and Jalen Rollins from the Applied Research Institute, also known as ARI, who help lead the Silicon Crossroads Microelectronics Commons Hub. In this episode, they dive into technologies such as electromagnetic warfare and discuss the foundational elements for the successful integration of technologies. Brett serves as Senior Vice President of Microelectron...

This week on the DoD-Critical series, Civilian Sydney talks with H.S. Philip Wong and Tsu-Jae Liu, professors leading the California-Pacific-Northwest AI (NW AI) Hub, one of eight Hubs of Microelectronics Commons. The NW AI Hub is focused on the development  energy-efficient AI hardware and  "AI at the Edge" - enabling AI use in devices soldiers carry.  Professor Liu currently serves as the Dean a...

Welcome back! Season 3 of the podcast is kicking off with Nicholas Fahrenkopf of the NORDTECH Hub, one of eight Microelectronics Commons Hubs that was awarded in 2023. This season we are exploring the six technologies that are critical to the Department of Defense in the effort to re-onshore microelectronics manufacturing technologies, as well as ensure the security of our current technologies. Ni...

Join Civilian Sydney in this Tech TALX episode as she sits with John Cowles from Analog Devices to talk advanced packaging and System on a Chip (SOCs). In this tech deep dive, John walks us through what an SOC is as well as its history, and why the industry is moving towards advanced packaging as an effective solution. John Cowles is the Senior Director of Technology at Analog. He has over 20 year...

The Defense Tech Podcast is back! This episode is a part of a new miniseries called Tech TALX where we will intermittently release standalone episodes. Each of these special episodes will help paint the larger picture of the technology that’s imperative to the DoD mission. On this week’s Tech TALX, Civilian Sydney meets with Brad Kettner and Dan Wenk from Omni Federal. In this episode, Brad and Da...

Join Civilian Sydney for the final episode of Season 2 as she sits down with Josh Madrigal, Vice President at Millennium Space Systems. In this episode, we dive deep into space tech with Josh, who is an industry SME and SpEC member. Josh discusses the U.S. trajectory to achieving resilience in space by 2026, as well as the efficiency of OTAs, small satellite technology and more. He also discusses...

Join Civilian Sydney this week as she talks with Alonso Segura, Director of Strategy at Peraton. Do you ever wonder how the U.S. Government identifies its technology needs for the Warfighter? In this episode, Alonso utilizes his experience in program management for the Government to explain how these needs get identified and acted upon. He also shares his tips for connecting industry with Governme...

In this episode of the Defense Tech Podcast, Civilian Sydney continues the Beyond Borders series, exploring the role of space in U.S. defense tech. This episode features Patrick Barrett and Jay Kvale from Infinity Systems Engineering. Patrick and Jay delve into their backgrounds and passions in the world of space technology, as well as how Infinity Systems helps forward the DoD mission of protecti...

Welcome back to the Defense Tech Podcast! We're kicking of our second series, Beyond Borders: Space's Crucial Role in Defense Tech. This episode, Civilian Sydney sits down with Melissa Owens, Project Manager at Omni Federal. With 25 years in the military, including experience building up Space Force, Melissa shares insight into her transition to civilian life, as well as the technology developed b...

Join Host Civilian Sydney for Episode 3 of the Defense Tech Podcast as she sits down with Mike Dodd, VP of Strategic Partnerships at NTSXL, to take a look at the current climate in government innovation. Using his extensive background in both military and industry, Mike provides insights into the issues currently facing U.S. national security, such as the Chips Crisis, and how the Microelectronics...

Join Host Civilian Sydney for Episode 2 of The Defense Tech Podcast as she sits down with NSTXL President & Founder Tim Greeff to take a look behind the scenes of innovation. In this episode, Tim shares his high-level insight into the launch of Microelectronics Commons, its infrastructure and how he sees this project changing the future of Defense Contracting.   Connect with us on LinkedIn!  l...

Introducing the Defense Tech Podcast! Join Host Civilian Sydney as she explores the inner workings of government innovation from five key NSTXL players. This series, we are taking a look behind the scenes of innovation, with a spotlight on Microelectronics Commons. This week’s guest is the Director of Microelectronics Commons at NSTXL, Stephanie Lin. In this conversation, Sydney goes behind the cu...