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NPS Annual Acquisition Research Symposium

Hosted by the Acquisition Research Program, Department of Defense Management in conjunction with the Naval Warfare Studies Institute at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

Portions of the event will be live streamed from the local Monterey venue on ZoomGov Webinar.
— ALL TIMES ARE IN PACIFIC TIME —

Free, Unclassified Public Event

REGISTER AND LEARN MORE HERE

The purpose of the Annual Acquisition Research Symposium is to provide a forum for the presentation of scholarly acquisition research, as well as for dialogue between scholars and acquisition policy-makers and practitioners.  Research papers and presentations are given on recently completed and on-going Departments of Defense and US Navy (DoD/DON)-sponsored projects conducted by researchers at a variety of research institutions. Senior DoD/DON acquisition officials serve as panelists or keynote speakers to present their critiques and comments on research papers and priorities.

Although attendees come from many U.S. locations, as well as from some international locales, a large number are from Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) where faculty members and graduate students engage in acquisition-related research.  In particular, NPS graduate students are an integral component of the research and dialogue.  The Symposium serves an essential part of their graduate learning experience and provides them the opportunity to met with senior policy-makers, practitioners, and distinguished scholars.

Keynote Speakers

The Honorable William LaPlante
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment

The Honorable Nickolas Guertin
Director, Operational Test & Evaluation, Office of the Secretary of Defense

 

CONTINUOUS LEARNING POINTS (CLPS)

In accordance with Continuous Learning Policy for the Department of Defense Acquisition Workforce, the Acquisition Research Program at the Naval Postgraduate School awards 12 Continuous Learning Points (4 per day) for full symposium participation. 

AIRC-DAU Quarterly Research Forum: Improving the DoD Requirements Process

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The Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC) and Defense Acquisition University (DAU) are partnering on a forum series to share insight into the future of defense acquisition. In this edition, AIRC principal investigators will present their research findings and recommendations on the Requirements Definition process. DAU faculty will present the DAU learning and development opportunities supporting the Requirements Definition process. Attendees will be eligible for 1.5 Continuous Learning Points.

Speakers

Dr. David Gallop
DAU

David L. Gallop is DAU’s Director of Acquisition Workforce Education Partnerships.  He serves in this Congressionally mandated position to enhance the capabilities of the Defense Acquisition University to support educational, training, and research activities, enabling acquisition missions of the Department of Defense. Before joining DAU in 2009, Gallop was the Director of Programs at Athena Technologies. He served in various tactical and acquisition positions in his 21-year Army career, including an ACAT-1C program manager. Gallop has PhD and MS degrees in Systems Engineering from the George Washington University.

Mr. Gregory Prothero
DAU

Greg Prothero is the Requirements Center Director in DAU’s Defense Systems Management College.  He and his team manage Congressionally mandated DoD requirements training in partnership with J8.  Before joining DAU in 2009, he served in a 21 year Air Force career various operational positions in tactical airlift and training units as a navigator, planning DV Airlift for AF-1 and Congress, and serving in A5R (Requirements).  Prothero has an MS degree in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas and a MS degree in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University.  He has a BS in Public Administration from Indiana University.

Dr. Michael McGrath
AIRC, McGrath Analytics LLC

Michael McGrath is an independent consultant with broad government and industry experience in technology management. His prior executive positions include Chairman of the Board of Advanced Technology International (a technology consortium management company), VP for Systems and Operations Analysis at Analytic Services Inc. (ANSER), Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (DASN(RDT&E)), VP for Government Business at the Sarnoff Corporation (former RCA corporate lab), ADUSD(Dual Use and Commercial Programs) in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), DARPA Program Manager for manufacturing and dual use technologies, OSD Director of the DoD Computer-aided Acquisition and Logistics Support initiative, and early government career positions in acquisition and logistics management at Naval Air Systems Command and in OSD. He is active in National Academies studies, industry associations, and advisory boards for universities and non-profit organizations. He is a consultant for the University of Maryland Applied Research Lab for Intelligence and Security, a Research Fellow of the Stevens Institute Acquisition Innovation Research Center, and a Senior Fellow of Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.

Furthering Digital Engineering at JPEO-CBRND

SERC Supports Joint Program Executive Office Goal of Enhanced Acquisition Decision Making

The Directorate of Integration of the Joint Program Executive Office (JPEO) for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (CBRND) is currently moving toward adopting digital engineering (DE) into its acquisition processes to enhance appropriate acquisition decision making. In support of this, the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) research, led by Principal Investigator Dr. Daniel DeLaurentis (Purdue University), addressed avenues for JPEO to evaluate their complete technology portfolio at the enterprise level. This extends previous research by the SERC on System-of-Systems (SoS) methodologies and analysis of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies. The research team explored SoS analysis to identify the needs of JPEO in the context of Integrated Layered Defense (ILD, a new concept being developed to holistically look at the CBRN SoS ecosystem) and investigated steps to prepare JPEO for assessing the inclusion of technology prioritization and AM throughout its entire technological portfolio.  

 This research was conducted in two phases. During both phases, the research team met regularly with JPEO to continuously assess their needs. In phase one, the team aimed to increase its familiarity with JPEO operational procedures. This enabled the identification of the best portfolio of technologies by developing an Agent-Based Model (ABM) to simulate a JPEO mission thread and analyze JPEO procedures used to inform the acquisition and procurement processes. This modeling enabled identification of bottlenecks or other weaknesses to the further development and integration of ILD.

DeLaurentis commented on the strength of the collaboration with the JPEO team, “The key to the successful completion of this project was the consistent collaboration provided by the JPEO-CBRND lead for the study, Al Wong (Lead Engineer). There were many elements of organizational context and technical specifications that the SERC research team at Purdue needed, and Mr. Wong and his team always came through with the information (and encouragement) needed. A true collaborative project!” 

Principal Investigator: Dr. Daniel DeLaurentis, Purdue University
Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Cesare Guariniello, Purdue University

In phase two, the research team focused on Advanced Manufacturing, in particular Additive Manufacturing (AM). Currently, there is an Army policy directing consideration and use of Advanced Manufacturing in acquisition activities, as well as Implementation Guidance from the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)). To address these, the team proposed SoS methodologies to analyze stakeholders and requirements at the enterprise level as well as key points based on industry state-of-the-art to identify capabilities and technologies in the JPEO portfolio suitable for implementation with AM techniques. An information-centric framework, which focused on the questions “What can we do?” and “What should we do?,” was determined an effective aid for early stage, enterprise-level acquisition decisions regarding whether AM should be considered together with, or in lieu of, traditional subtractive manufacturing.  

 For the question of “What should we do?,” it was found that the answer is problem-dependent, as the choice whether to acquire technologies and capabilities based on AM depends not only on cost and performance, but also on factors including possible scenarios for the use of the capability, the number of components required, and ease of deployment and use. The research team’s visit to an innovation center already considering and applying AM confirmed that analysis and study of the range of determining factors needs to be specialized for specific applications in order to reach a decision about the adoption of AM for each capability and technology in the whole JPEO portfolio.  

 The research allowed the team to provide initial recommendations to guide JPEO’s future efforts in meeting DE and AM implementation mandates. Potential areas identified for further activities include:  

  • Identification of current AM equipment capability for JPEO that includes creating a list of all AM equipment that JPEO can use now and can be compared with the JPEO portfolio to identify which products can be manufactured with AM without spending additional capital equipment funding.  
  • Identification of future/potential AM equipment capability for JPEO based on what AM components JPEO wants to produce.  
  • AM Portfolio Optimization that includes development of a systematic approach that will enable improvement of the System-of-Systems Robust Portfolio Optimization (SoS-RPO) tool. 

For more information on this research, contact Dr. Daniel DeLaurentis. 

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NPS’s 19th Annual Acquisition Research Symposium

Every May, the Acquisition Research Program from SERC Collaborator, the Naval Postgraduate School, hosts a diverse group of acquisition professionals in a research-focused forum that connects scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. Attendees come from around the world; about half are Naval Postgraduate School faculty and graduate students engaged in acquisition-related research. Senior acquisition officials from the Departments of Defense and the U.S. Navy serve as panel chairs and present their critiques and comments on research papers and priorities.

The 2022 symposium will be held virtually May 11-12. Proposals were due November 29, and acceptance notifications will go out in late December. The agenda will be updated in real time on the symposium website, where you can also register to attend.

The symposium provides a unique opportunity for NPS graduate students to present research and exchange ideas with senior policymakers, practitioners, and distinguished scholars. The symposium also features research papers and presentations on recently completed and ongoing projects sponsored by the Departments of Defense and U.S. Navy.