Work by experts from across the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) and the Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC) was presented at the 21st Annual Acquisition Research Symposium on May 8-9. This premier annual event, hosted in Monterey, California, by the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS, a SERC collaborating university) gathers acquisition professionals from across disciplines including researchers from academia, government policy makers, and industry practitioners for presentations and panel discussions.
This year’s symposium took up the theme of “Resourcing Innovation” in coordination with the final report from the Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) Reform. Contributors to and attendees of the event included AIRC researchers, among them AIRC Fellows, members of the AIRC Innovation Panel, faculty researchers, and student assistants, who were led by Chief Scientist Dr. Philip S. Antón and Deputy Chief Scientist Dr. Douglas J. Buettner in completion of a reports series with recommendations for improving the operations and impact of the commission. Many of the two-day event’s panels and papers explored the role of funding and the budget process in driving acquisition innovation. Other panels considered topics including space acquisition, supply chains and logistics, artificial intelligence, systems engineering, software-based systems, digital engineering, cybersecurity, shipbuilding, autonomous vessels, and international acquisition.
The keynote speakers were William LaPlante, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment, Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, and Nickolas Guertin, Director, Operational Test & Evaluation, Office of the Secretary of Defense.
SERC and AIRC researchers contributed toward many of the 24 topical panels. SERC and AIRC Executive Director Dr. Dinesh Verma chaired the panel on “How Systems Engineering Enables Acquisition Innovation,” during which “Acquisition with Digital Engineering” by SERC CTO Tom McDermott (Stevens Institute of Technology) and SERC researcher Philomena Zimmerman (Stevens Institute of Technology) was presented.
The panel “How Space Stays Agile” included the presentation of “Managing Resources in a DoD Space-based Agile/DevSecOps Program” by Dr. Michael Orosz (University of Southern California) and other USC and US Space Force researchers.
Work by AIRC Fellows Stephanie Halcrow and Matthew McGregor, “VCs as Transition Partners: Leveraging Networks and Expertise to Improve Fielding Outcomes,” was presented as part of the panel “Strategies for Financing Defense Innovation.”
SERC Advisory Board Member Dr. Arun Seraphin was part of the team whose work, “Accelerating the Adoption of Emerging Capabilities,” was presented during the panel on “Adaptive Acquisition Framework: Latest Lessons.”
AIRC Fellow Christopher Yukins was part of the panel on “International Acquisition: Partners and Adversaries” that highlighted “Bridging Sectors Over the Valley of Death: How DIANA’s Dual-Use, Commercially Minded, and Process-Oriented Procurement Strategy Will Help Maintain NATO’s Technological Edge.” Recent research and webinars organized by Mr. Yukins and colleague Mr. David Drabkin focus on assessing contractor labor law violations.
SERC Research Council member Dr. Jitesh Panchal (Purdue University) and former SERC Chief Scientist Dr. Dan DeLaurentis (Purdue University) collaborated with researchers also from Purdue and one from Texas A&M University on “Challenges and Opportunities in Enhancing Department of Defense Ground Vehicle Capabilities through Digital Transformation,” which was presented during the panel on “Opportunities with Modeling & Simulation.” The presentation drew from a comprehensive report authored by Panchal and DeLaurentis and the team that focuses on the opportunities and challenges of digital modeling, data utilization, and data-driven decision-making and on strategic considerations for optimizing the DoD’s operational advantage.
SERC researcher Dr. Jose E. Ramirez-Marquez (Stevens Institute of Technology) contributed to the panel on “Artificial Intelligence Across the Acquisition Lifecycle” with a presentation on “A Semiautomated Framework Leveraging NLP for Skill Identification and Talent Management of the Acquisition Workforce in the Department of Defense.” Related recent work by Ramirez-Marquez focuses on fostering innovation within the government procurement landscape, including a proposed curriculum to guide recommendations for enhancing educational offerings for the defense acquisition workforce.
Work by Edward Cardon (AIRC Innovation Panel member), Dr. Hoong Yan See Tao (SERC Research Project Manager, Defense Data Grand Prix co-Principal Investigator), and Dr. Mike McGrath (AIRC Fellow) was presented during the panel on “Innovative Ideas and Insights for Improving Program Resourcing Across Seams.” Related recent work by McGrath focuses on innovating and streamlining processes to reduce requirements review and approval times.
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