People Category: AIAA DEFENSE Forum 2021

Dr. Steven H. Walker is Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of the Lockheed Martin Corporation, where he is responsible for the company technology strategy, global research,   mission development, and emerging operations technologies. He assumed the role in January 2020, and under his direction the organization is shaping the next era of operational capability and innovation for Lockheed Martin. As the primary liaison to the US and international science and technology community, he manages strategic partnerships with government, industry, and academia to ensure the maturation and deployment of cutting-edge technologies.

Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Dr. Walker was the Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) where he was responsible for driving development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Throughout his 30+ years in government, he also served in a variety of increasingly responsible positions as DARPA’s Deputy Director and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology and Engineering. In the later role he was responsible for developing the technology investment strategy for the Air Force’s annual $2 billion science and technology program and for providing functional management of more than 14,000 military and civilian scientists and engineers.

Dr. Walker is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; he received the AIAA Hap Arnold Award for Excellence in Aeronautical Management in 2014. He has also been awarded the Presidential Rank Award, the Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service medal, and the DoD Exceptional, Meritorious, and Distinguished Civilian Service medals. In Feb 2020, Dr. Walker was elected as a Member of the National Academy of Engineering.

He holds a Ph.D. and B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Dayton.

James F. Carlini is the chief technology officer at Leidos, where he is responsible for the development and implementation of corporate technology and engineering strategies, including the capture, execution, and transition of contract research and development through the Leidos Innovations Center (LInC).

Prior to joining Leidos, Carlini founded a consultancy where he provided services to a wide range of industry and government national security organizations. He also served as the chair of the Georgia Tech Research Institute External Advisory Committee and co-founded Zeteo Tech, LLC, a small business that develops advanced solutions to medical diagnostics and chemical and biological defense challenges.

Prior to founding his consultancy, Carlini served at Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems, with his most recent position being vice president of Advanced Development Programs. He was responsible for the strategic planning, capture, and execution of advanced development programs in the Electronic Systems Sector. He had responsibility for advanced development programs in the areas of force protection, strike and combat, advanced surveillance systems, chemical and biological defense, land combat, and navigation systems. He also served as the vice president of Products and Technology, where he was responsible for the strategic planning and execution of advanced research and development efforts, intellectual property management, and strategic technology agreements for the Electronic Systems Sector.

Prior to Northrop Grumman, Carlini was the director of the Special Projects Office (SPO) at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). He was responsible for the strategic planning and execution of science and technology investments totaling approximately $250 million annually. He formed the SPO to develop, focus, and apply advanced technologies and systems to emerging national security and military challenges. Specifically, SPO invested in high-risk technologies to address tactical sensing from space, space control, hard and deeply buried target characterization, GPS jamming mitigation, cruise missile defense, chemical and biological warfare defense systems, and mobile target engagement. Prior to DARPA, Carlini was a senior engineer at Science Applications International Corporation.

Carlini is a member of the Defense Science Board and a former member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and the Army Science Board. He has received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service and the OSD Medal for Exceptional Public Service. Carlini holds a Master of Science in electrical engineering from The Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Drexel University.

John Zolper leads Defense Technology Strategy within Technology & Global Engineering’s Defense Technology group. He contributes to defining and executing a technology strategy for the defense side of Raytheon Technologies in partnership with the commercial aerospace side. He is a member of the company’s Technology Council and Research Council. Prior to the merger with United Technologies in 2020, Zolper was the vice president of Technology and Innovation in Corporate Technology & Research at Raytheon Company, which he joined in 2007.

Previously, Zolper served in roles of increasing responsibility at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) from 2001 to 2007. As the director of the Microsystems Technology Office (MTO), he was responsible for the strategic planning and execution of a portfolio of more than 75 research programs with an annual budget of more than $400 million. Before his appointment as director of MTO, Zolper was the chief scientist/deputy director and a program manager, where he oversaw DARPA’s multiyear $250 million Wide Bandgap Semiconductor program and the Technology for Frequency Agile Digitally Synthesized Transmitters program.

Before joining DARPA, Zolper was a program officer at the Office of Naval Research from 1997 to 2001, where he managed a portfolio of basic and applied research in advanced electronics. From 1989 to 1997, Zolper was a principal member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories.

Zolper holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Gettysburg College, and he earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Delaware. From 1988 to 1989, Zolper performed his post-doctoral research on high efficiency silicon solar cells at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

Zolper was awarded the Exceptional Public Service Award from the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2007. He is also a fellow of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and an associate fellow of the AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics). He served on the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board from 2010 to 2014 for which he was awarded the Department of the Air Force, Commander’s Public Service Award.

Naveed Hussain is Boeing’s chief technology officer (CTO) and vice president and general manager of Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T), Boeing’s advanced central research and development unit. In his role as CTO, Hussain accelerates Boeing’s innovations and technology by leading the development and implementation of the company’s enterprise technology investment strategy.

As a trusted research, technology and technical leader, BR&T develops innovative technologies that break barriers, enabling the development of future aerospace solutions while improving the cycle time, cost, quality and performance of existing Boeing products and services. Named to his BR&T position in 2018, Hussain leads a team of scientists, technologists, technicians and engineers who collaborate with research and development partners worldwide to solve the aerospace industry’s toughest challenges.

This also includes Boeing subsidiary, Aurora Flight Sciences, which specializes in creating advanced aircraft through the development of versatile and intuitive autonomous systems. Additionally, Hussain has oversight of operations at five research centers in the U.S. including Alabama, California, Missouri, South Carolina and Washington, as well as seven international research centers in Australia, Brazil, China, Europe, India, Russia and South Korea.

Prior to this assignment, Hussain was the vice president of Aeromechanics Technology for Boeing. Previously, he led Platform & Networked Systems Technology for BR&T, launched the BR&T – India research center in Bangalore and directed Boeing Defense, Space, & Security Flight Engineering. He holds seven patents and joined the company as a Howard Hughes Doctoral Fellow in 1990.

Hussain earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Science degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Stanford University, all in mechanical engineering. He also completed a master’s degree in business administration from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.