Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Andrew Langholf | 240508-N-FA490-1187 MONTEREY, Calif. (May 8, 2024) Nickolas Guertin, Assistant...... read more read more
Throughout the first day of the 21st annual Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Acquisition Research Symposium on May 8, speakers hit a common theme: the critical importance of learning to lead effective change and increase impact. The event’s keynote speaker, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN RD&A) Nickolas Guertin, reminded the audience that research “makes our Navy and our nation stronger.”
Guertin himself has a long history of presenting research at the symposium, and it has prepared him well for his current role. When tasked to conduct the recently released shipbuilding review, for example, he said he felt “just like I was writing an NPS acquisition research symposium paper. Because we had to grapple with hard problems, make sure that it was rigorously researched, that it would stand up against scrutiny in a peer-reviewed environment, and I think we know better now what we need to do differently.”
Guertin challenged the audience to be lifelong learners, teach each other through experience, and push boundaries to accelerate change and results.
In a plenary panel on the defense industrial base, panelists shared data, policy updates, areas for improvement, and success stories demonstrating effective cooperation between the Department of Defense and industry partners. Maynard Holliday, Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies, gave an overview of 300-plus critical technologies that have transitioned to development or to the warfighter during the past three years. These include directed energy systems that have been used in the Red Sea, space capabilities such as DIU’s small responsive launch program, hypersonics, AI and autonomy, and microelectronics. These programs align to the 14 critical technology areas identified in a 2021 memo issued by Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, showing that focused, data-driven efforts can quickly produce real results in technological superiority.
The day concluded with the student research poster session, where dozens of NPS warrior-scholars in the Department of Defense Management discussed their theses and real-world solutions with attendees. Presenters included NPS students from the U.S. as well as international representatives from Germany, Djibouti, Brazil, and Ukraine.
Among the presenters were U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Daniel Lim and U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Hans Lauzen, who shared their research on resilient satellite communications architecture and autonomous systems – a project that delivered not only research but a fieldable solution developed in coordination with industry partners and completed in less than two years. Additionally, German Navy Cmdr. Sidney Gottwald and U.S. Army Capt. Brady Van Hoff conducted a comparative analysis of German and American acquisition systems, and were pleased to learn that their findings were corroborated by research presented separately at the symposium from members of the Planning, Programming, Budget and Execution (PPBE) Reform Commission.
The symposium concludes on Thursday, May 9, with a plenary panel featuring service acquisition flag officers, a briefing from the PPBE Reform Commissioners, and two panels on AI in acquisition. Attendance is open to both in-person and virtual participants.
| Date Taken: | 05.09.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.09.2024 13:48 |
| Story ID: | 470811 |
| Location: | MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 57 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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