Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering

Today the Department of Defense (DoD) announced the first of 35 awards for the Distributed Bioindustrial Manufacturing Program (DBIMP) in support of President Biden’s Executive Order 14081, "Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy." "This first award is a major step toward realizing the vision of Deputy Secretary of Defense Hicks when she directed establishment of DBIMP in Fiscal Year 2023. By making these investments in domestic bioproduction infrastructure, we are making a significant move toward fortifying the American industrial base," said Dr. Aprille Ericsson, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology. "The DoD is committed to leveraging biotechnology to secure our competitive advantage and keep pace with the demand for next-generation capabilities for our warfighters and allies." The remaining awards are expected to be announced throughout the coming months. More at: https://lnkd.in/esMBQv6J

Congratulations to Kerry Lunney for winning the title digital engineering (DE) champion in the digital engineering game show hosted by director of Digital Engineering, Modeling & Simulation Daniel Hettema at the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) International Symposium (IS) in Dublin, Ireland!     Kerry, the country engineering director and chief engineer at Thales Australia, emerged victorious in a fun and educational competition against two other experts. They tackled challenging topics in digital engineering, such as the number of diagram types defined in systems modeling language (SysML), and more.      DEM&S sponsored the trivia event as part of its efforts to help drive the practice of digital engineering forward, inspiring state-of-the-art capabilities for the U.S. warfighter.   Kudos to all contestants who participated at #INCOSEIS! #DEgameshow        Pictured (Left to Right): Terri Chan, M.S., MBA, Kerry Lunney, Duncan Kemp, Daniel Hettema

#ICYMI: The United States Department of Defense recently announced the selection of 11 university scientists and engineers to fill the 2024 class of the Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (VBFF), the DoD's flagship single-investigator award for basic research. The department will support the 2024 class with up to $33 million to explore the frontiers of knowledge and advance transformative, fundamental research at their respective universities. Named for Dr. Vannevar Bush, who played a monumental role in shaping the defense research enterprise as the director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development after World War II, the VBFF nurtures high-risk and innovative ideas that push scientists toward breakthrough discoveries. More at: https://lnkd.in/eahr5bXr

This month, Under Secretary Shyu and Dr. William LaPlante, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, hosted the 22nd annual Australia-United States Ministerial Defense Advanced Capability Committee (ADACC) meeting in Washington, D.C.      Australian counterparts, including Deputy Secretary of the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) Chris Deeble and Chief Defense scientist and professor Tanya Monro, joined Shyu and LaPlante in welcoming delegates from the United States and Australia to discuss current and future co-development, production, and sustainment cooperative efforts in pursuit of operationally relevant and strategically significant capabilities. Topics for discussion included maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), guided weapons explosives ordnance (GWEO), and integrated air and missile defense (IAMD). Shyu, LaPlante, and their Australian counterparts also signed the ADACC terms of reference, which oversees and promotes collaboration on defense S&T and acquisition projects between the two nations.    Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) #DODInnovates #DefensePartners  #Defensetech

Happy Independence Day! Let's take a moment to reflect on the freedoms America offers and the work we do to create a better world. R&E wishes you and your family a safe and joyous holiday celebration. 🇺🇸 #IndependenceDay #4thofJuly

R&E leaders recently attended TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo, where leaders participated in various events aimed at sharing information and creating benefits for the nation's defense strategy. The focus was on fostering collaboration and communication to support research and development that ultimately drives the growth of cutting-edge technology.    Of note were two standout events at the SBIR/STTR Spring Innovation Conference, one of the co-located events at the expo, including a panel Matthew Williams, director of OSD Transitions SBIR/STTR Technology (OTST) Program, moderated on SBIR/STTR Phase III, and an expert panel Dr. Jagadeesh Pamulapati, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology Foundations moderated on DOD Critical Technologies and SBIR.    Key Takeaways:  - It's essential to incorporate data rights into all contracts. Safeguarding these rights fall on the government, and it's the responsibility of individuals to assert them.    - All Phase IIIs across the government operate similarly. The Department of Defense (DoD) collaborates with services and components to enhance knowledge and skills related to Phase III awards. The Defense SBIR/STTR Program Office is focused on educating officers on Phase III contracting awards. - Offshore manufacturing poses a major challenge, and transitioning from lab prototyping to company-level implementation must be considered. - Looking ahead, we will require low-cost, scalable technology and infrastructure to support investment in small companies focused on emerging technologies, enabling future innovation through commercial partnerships. - Industry days serve as valuable platforms for connecting the public and private sectors, fostering broader capabilities in business and technologies.    - Quantum science and technologies are key to the future of our defense system. However, for seamless integration, there needs to be more collaboration alongside other critical technology areas. For more information about solicitations, visit SBIR.gov or the Defense SBIR/STTR Innovation Portal (DSIP), www.dodsbirsttr.mil    #SBIR #STTR #DoDInnovates #dodsbir

The United States Department of Defense (DoD) is dedicated to enhancing support for advanced manufacturing processes to provide U.S., allied, and partner forces with a competitive advantage. Manufacturing plays a crucial role in delivering state-of-the-art capabilities to the warfighter. This involves creating warfighter systems that are easier to manufacture, can be delivered more quickly, meet warfighter performance, safety, and quality requirements, are more reliable, and easier to maintain.    To achieve these objectives, the U.S. Department of Defense has recently published a new Producibility and Manufacturability Engineering Guide. This guide presents a set of best practices to enhance the ease of manufacturing a product throughout the DoD system life cycle. It emphasizes design considerations for producibility and enhancing manufacturing processes and factory floor operations for manufacturability.    This guide serves as an educational tool for product teams to design and produce parts, components, and systems that can be easily manufactured, greatly benefiting the end user. While many of the concepts discussed are applicable to commercial and military products, the guide primarily focuses on the DoD acquisition life cycle. Additionally, it provides valuable definitions, references, tools, and best practices.    R&E’s office of Systems Engineering and Architecture led development of the guide, which is available here: https://lnkd.in/eRVZD_Mu .    See also the SE&A Manufacturing and Quality Page at https://www.cto.mil/sea/mq.    Information about SE&A and its other activities can be found here: https://www.cto.mil/sea/.

On 25 -26 June, Under Secretary Shyu welcomed Dr. Jaspinder Komal, Assistant Deputy Minister for Defence Research and Development Canada, and his delegation for the Defense Science and Technology Executive (DSTX) Working Group.     DSTX offers the United States and Canada ways to enhance bilateral science and technology collaboration. Presentations from the DoD and services were featured during DSTX, underscoring the commitment to fostering collaboration.     Strengthening ties between the United States and Canada is crucial for robust defense S&T development, especially in the face of adversaries seeking to outpace us. This collaboration is essential to maintain the S&T edge of the United States and its allies.

In one week, we kick off the annual Defense Technology Review Conference, taking place from July 8-9 at the University of Maryland, featuring Dr. Radha Plumb, chief Digital and AI officer and other Pentagon leaders.   The conference will feature discussions on AI scalability and federation, with the participation of experts, researchers, and leaders from government, industry, and academia. By focusing on the intersection of these two key areas, the DoD aims to revolutionize intelligent decision-making and strategic coordination across joint and multinational interconnected forces.    Don't miss this opportunity to hear from prominent DoD leaders such as Maynard Holliday, who performs the duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies, and Dr. Kimberly Sablon, principal director for Trusted AI & Autonomy. In addition, industry giants like Google, IBM, Microsoft, and more will join us to present their vision for the future of federated AI.    Register today: https://lnkd.in/gBfpGQJ3

On June 18, Dr. Frank Peterkin, principal director for Directed Energy and Dr. Jarret Lafleur, senior advisor to the principal director for Hypersonics for Strike Systems Strategy and Policy, joined the Defense One Tech Summit for a fireside chat titled “The Physics Challenge.”    Their conversation covered the future of laser and microwave weapons capabilities, as well as recent and upcoming hypersonics tests, all of which promise future capabilities for the warfighter.    Peterkin reflected on how the department is progressing in fielding and vetting directed energy capabilities and implementing the next generation of advanced technologies. Lafleur shared the progress DoD has made in developing, testing— and soon fielding — hypersonic weapons on land, in the air, and at sea, to deter and defend against threats to the homeland, U.S. warfighters abroad, allies, and partners.    To learn more about R&E’s Critical Technology Areas, visit cto.mil to download our technology roadmaps: https://lnkd.in/gudyjRcT