Emerging Tech Horizons

On this week’s episode, Dr. Arun Seraphin is joined by Evelyn Kent, Program Director, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-serving Institutions, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Join us for a conversation about how the Pentagon works with HBCUs and is accelerating efforts to connect these colleges and other minority institutions to defense...

How well does the DOD innovate in science and technology, and how can it improve? Does the DOD acquisition system have some processes worth protecting?  How do we define success in acquisition?  On this episode, Dr. Mark Lewis is joined by Dr. Jerry McGinn and Eric Lofgren from the Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University. Tune in to learn more about government procurement, S&T...

How does the government workforce need to adapt to this era of technology development? Can the judicial system keep pace with technology? What is the role of academia and national laboratories in technology development? Will we ever see economic collaboration with China? Join Dr. Arun Seraphin and this week’s guest, Dr. Daniel Gerstein, for a conversation on the U.S. science and technology enterpr...

What is the blended wing body concept? Why is the BWB receiving more attention than ever before? What advantages does it provide? How can it be utilized for National Defense? Join us in this episode with Dr. Mark Lewis and Dr. Fay Collier, Associate Director for Flight Strategy, Integrated Aviation Systems Program at NASA to learn about the Blended Wing Body and the future of air superiority.

How can journalism impact national security strategies and policies? Why does the public need to be informed? Is it possible to have too much transparency? Find out more this week with Dr. Mark Lewis and Sean Carberry, Managing Editor of National Defense Magazine. Tune in to hear more about Sean’s journey from journalism to government and back, and lessons learned along the way.

How does energy impact the U.S Department of Defense’s strategies and operations? What is the Chief Sustainability Office and what are its responsibilities? Find out on this week’s episode of Emerging Tech Horizons with Dr. Arun Seraphin and Joseph Bryan, Senior Adviser on Climate, Office of the Secretary of Defense and Chief Sustainability Officer, United States Department of Defense. 

What are our current microelectronics challenges? What is the now-passed CHIPS and Science Act, and what will it do? How can the Department of Defense and the defense industrial base buy, use, and secure semiconductors? Join Dr. Seraphin and Dr. Michael Fritze for a conversation on the future of microelectronics for defense systems.

Why are Air Force Energy Programs getting more attention than ever? What is the Air Force doing to improve energy efficiency? What are the costs for improving energy usage?  Join Dr. Lewis and Roberto Guerrero, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Operational Energy in this illuminating discussion on how energy can impact military operations and strategies.

What is the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS)? What does ARLIS do? Are we at a disadvantage when it comes to informational security? How do we defend against information operations? Join Dr. Lewis and Professor Austin Branch, University of Maryland, in this riveting discussion over how we can prepare to defend against the future of information warfare.

What is the Consortia Model? Why has the defense-based industry adapted the Consortia Model? How has it affected their policies and strategies? What benefits does the Consortia Model bring to the DoD? This week, Dr. Lewis is joined by Stephanie Halcrow and Moshe Schwartz to talk about their recent report, "The Power of Many: Leveraging Consortia to Promote Innovation, Expand the Defense Industrial...

What is the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and what is the role of the Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics (STAA) team? What kind of services does the STAA provide? How does the STAA differ from the Congressional Research Service (CRS)? Join Dr. Lewis and Dr. Timothy Persons, Chief Scientist for the Government Accountability Office, in this informative discussion on how the GAO’s...

How can small businesses get involved with government contracts? How do we transition from research and development into product acquisition? Join us for a conversation with ML Mackey, CEO and a Co-founder of Beacon Interactive Systems on small business innovation, the Department of Defense as a customer, NDIA's Small Business Division, and more.

Does increased precision and speed of decision-making outweigh having a human in the loop? How do we define success in war and defense?    Join Dr. Lewis and Professor Mary Ellen O’Connell, Notre Dame Law School, in this spirited discussion over autonomous weapons systems and the ethical implications of their use, international humanitarian law, and the rules of armed conflict.

How close are we to fully autonomous flight? What barriers are there to certification and how can we overcome them? How will autonomous technology change the role of pilots? In this episode, Dr. Mark Lewis is joined by Matt George, CEO, and Ashley Pelzek, Vice President Business Operations, Merlin Labs, to discuss autonomous aircraft operations, the challenges behind implementing autonomous system...

How do we get hypersonics into the hands of the warfighter? How does industry leverage academia to field innovative solutions? How can we make sure the workforce is capable of meeting the need?   In this episode, Dr. Mark Lewis sits down with John Otto, Program Director, Raytheon Missile Systems, to discuss hypersonics, the challenges of transition, and the way forward with this emerging technolog...

How can we increase our understanding of how AI models can fit into our lives? How do we translate data science concepts to subject matter experts? How do we attract the best AI talent?  Join Dr. Mitchell Sutika-Sipus for a conversation on test and evaluation in AI, building resilience in testing models, AI ethics, and more.

How does the DoD ensure the industrial base is ready to meet the warfighter's needs? Can new manufacturing techniques be quickly transitioned to the supply chains that need them? On this episode, our host and veteran DoD expert, Dr. Lewis is joined by Tracy Frost, Director, Manufacturing Technology Program to discuss how emerging technologies are changing manufacturing and how the DoD is using thi...

On this episode, our host Dr. Lewis is joined by Dr. Laura Lindenfeld, Dean of Communication and Journalism and Executive Director, Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University.  Join us for a conversation on how the Department can better communicate to their target audiences, building trust between scientists and policymakers, overcoming fundamental barriers to communicati...

On this episode of Emerging Tech Horizons, our host, ETI Director Dr. Mark Lewis and co-host, Deputy Director Dr. Arun Seraphin, talk about Arun’s career path, including why he decided to come to ETI and his work in both legislative and executive positions in government. Arun also discusses some of the challenges that the federal government faces when it comes to attracting and retaining STEM tale...

Join us for a new type of episode, ETI On The Road, where we interview guests at various NDIA and ETI conferences and events. This special SOFIC episode features Dr. Arun Seraphin and guest Mina Khalil, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program Manager at the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Tune in for a conversation abo...

Join us for a new type of episode, ETI On The Road, where we interview guests at various NDIA and ETI conferences and events. This special SOFIC episode features Dr. Arun Seraphin and guest Chad McCoy, Co-Founder and VP of Business Development for Firestorm Labs and former Director, Doolittle Institute. Learn more about working with USSOCOM and DEFENSEWERX, increasing user input, hope for transiti...

This week’s episode of Emerging Tech Horizons features guest Gen. Arnold Bunch, USAF, Commander, Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC). Tune in for a conversation on how AFMC is supporting the Secretary of the Air Force’s operational imperatives, the impact of the Space Force AFMC efforts, notable technical successes, opportunities for the future, and more.

This episode of Emerging Tech Horizons features Craig Mundie, President of Mundie and Associates, and former Chief Research and Strategy Officer at Microsoft. Listen in for a conversation on the future of quantum computing for defense and commercial applications, post-quantum cryptography, what we need to do to maintain digital superiority, and more.

Today’s episode of Emerging Tech Horizons features guest host Dr. Arun Seraphin, Deputy Director of the Emerging Technologies Institute, and Bill Greenwalt, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Listen in for a discussion of acquisition reform, the legislative process, the AT&L split, and what could have been done differently. 

Join us this week for a conversation with Jim Faist, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Technology, Innovation, and Labs at CACI International. Listen in for a conversation about the impact of digital engineering, his recent ETI report, integrating digital engineering into the DOD business model, the call for a Defense Engineering Board, and more.