People Category: AIAA DEFENSE Forum 2024

Mr. Mark Glenn has supported the Missile Defense Agency Innovation, Science, and Technology (MDA/DV) Program Office for the past 11 years. He currently serves MDA/DV in two roles, the Hypersonic Technology Lead, and recently selected as the Aegis ChiefTechnology Officer. In his position, he develops technology maturation strategies to reduce technical risks of the Missile Defense System. Beginning in 2018, he has represented the Missile Defense Agency at Office of Secretary of Defense, Research and Engineering (OSD R&E) Joint Offense and Defense Hypersonic Science and Technology Roadmapping sessions and has continued to support the Joint Hypersonics Transition Office. He actively manages and oversees multiple component technology developments specific to interceptor technologies, such as materials, structures, deployment systems, additive manufacturing, seeker windowsand aero optics testing. Mr. Glenn has presented multiple technical briefings at the National Space and Missile Materials Symposium and Hypersonic Technology and Systems Conference. During his career at the Missile Defense Agency, he has received numerous accolades including the MDA 11th Annual Individual Innovation Award, MDA 14th Annual Rising Star Award, MDA 17th Annual Individual Technology award and the Annual Team Small Business Utilization Award. He received his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alabama.

In January of 2023, Mr. Glenn became the Acting Director of the Joint Hypersonics Transition Office (JHTO). He manages a team that is located in the National Capital Region, Crane, IN and Huntsville, AL.

Dr. Neil Thurgood is a Senior Vice President at Anduril, where he oversees the Air and Ground Deterrence Division that includes Air Defense, Counter-Intrusion and Rocket Motor Systems. A member of the executive team, Neil is recognized as a global leader for leadership development, developing business strategies and strategy execution to achieve performance objectives.

Prior to Anduril, Neil served over 37 years in the Army, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant General (LTG) as a successful senior leader in solving critical problems in the defense and acquisition segments, including the integration of related activities and programs across the United States and international business segments to achieve desired outcome, culminating as the Director to Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technology Office (RCCTO).

Neil holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Utah, a Master of Science in Strategic Studies from the Air War College, a Master of Systems Management from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Doctorate of Business from University of Sarasota.

Mr. Maynard A. Holliday is Performing the Duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.  In this capacity, he oversees investment and capability analysis of the Pentagon’s critical technology areas.  He has oversight of 11 principal directors assigned to those critical technology portfolios and their roadmaps — the comprehensive strategies to manage, provide oversight and guide choices for each critical technology area.  These critical technology areas include 5G; Advanced Computing & Software; Directed Energy; Human-Machine Interfaces; Hypersonics; Integrated Network Systems-of-Systems; Integrated Sensing & Cyber; Microelectronics; Renewable Energy Generation & Storage; Space Technology; and Trusted Artificial Intelligence & Autonomy.

Mr. Holliday has more than 30 years of professional experience leading technological innovations in both government and the private sector.  Most recently, he was a Senior Engineer at the RAND Corporation working on autonomous vehicle safety metrics and policy, explainable artificial intelligence, swarm robotics and drone defense.  Previously, he served as Senior Technical Advisor and Special Assistant to Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.  Mr. Holliday helped establish the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental and was a member of the Defense Science Board.  Mr. Holliday has also worked for the Department of Energy as a project manager for the U.S.-Russia Nuclear Material Security Task Force.  He was awarded the DOE’s Meritorious Service Award, its highest, for his exceptional service in helping secure tons of weapons grade nuclear material.  Prior to his government service, Mr. Holliday was a senior engineering and robotics professional at the Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories, as well as various robotics start-ups and technology companies in Silicon Valley.

Mr. Holliday is a co-organizer of Black in Robotics, a virtual world-wide community of roboticists and their allies whose mission is to bring together Black researchers, industry professionals and students in robotics to mutually support one another to help navigate academic, corporate, and entrepreneurial paths to success.  He is also co-founder of Robot Garden, the robotics-themed hacker space in Livermore, Calif.  He also has been working with Bay Area public schools lecturing on robotics and teaching robotics through the Citizen Schools program in East Oakland.  Mr. Holliday was named Citizen Schools Volunteer of the Year for 2012 and was also recognized with a Presidential Volunteer Service Award from the White House for his efforts.  Before leaving government service in 2017, he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service recognizing his contributions to national security through his considerable and trusted advice on multiple DOD initiatives.

Mr. Holliday graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.  He later won a scholarship to attend Stanford University, where he earned a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering Design with an emphasis on robotics, international security and arms control.  Mr. Holliday also won a scholarship to attend the International Space University in France and was a two-time finalist for the U.S. Astronaut Corps.

Mr. Aaron Kofford is a technology innovator focused on national security. He has created, developed, and fielded large scale technology efforts in many challenging fields including artificial intelligence, ocean acoustics, submarine warfare, electronic warfare, autonomy, large-scale distributed systems, advanced tactical networking, military deception, and space launch systems.

Kofford joined DARPA’s commercial strategy team in February of 2024 to work with industry, government, small businesses and invetors to more rapidly adopt DARPA technology. Aaron comes to commercial strategy from DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office (STO) where he served as a program manager since 2019.

Prior to comming to DARPA, Aaron worked problems for NASA, the Intelligence Community and other DoD agencies.

Aaron earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Colorado School of Mines.

Colonel Ryan S. Simms is the Director of Engagements and Chief of the Air and Space Force Foreign Liaison Office in the office of Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs (SAF/IA). He leads principal advisors to USAF and USSF senior
leaders on security cooperation efforts with key nations through cooperative engagement with foreign senior defense officials worldwide. He also directs all foreign service attaché affairs and engagements on behalf of SAF/IA and Department of the Air Force senior leadership. Col Simms serves at SAF/IA following an overseas assignment as Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Operations for the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Force and graduation from Air War College at Maxwell AFB, AL. Prior assignments include command of the Air Force’s largest high-altitude remotely piloted aircraft squadron, and direct service to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force as ISR and RPA Policy Specialist,
Headquarters Air Force Executive Action Group. In addition to operational experience as a manned and unmanned pilot, Col Simms draws from proficiency in international and diplomatic policy to facilitate key communication and decisions among the Secretariat, Air Staff, Joint Staff, and other Services on the Air Force’s top priorities

An Air Force Academy graduate of 2001, Col Simms followed his initial tour as an airlift wing staff officer with pilot training and assignment to McChord AFB, WA as aircraft commander of the C-17 Globemaster. Logging over 1,500 hours, Col Simms flew over 100 combat airlift missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as theater airlift missions throughout the Middle East, Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Pacific. He later transferred to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale to support operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM as RQ-4 Global Hawk instructor and evaluator. Following two deployments as a launch-and-recovery pilot overseas, Col Simms distinguished himself as the Wing’s lead RQ-4 tactician and subject matter expert in high altitude ISR, creating enroute procedures and drafting unprecedented military policies that paved the way for routine transit of RPAs through international airspace. During his
time at Beale, he authored tactics, techniques, and procedures for two new airframes, the RQ-4B and EQ- 4B, enabled the historic deployment of two new forward operating locations overseas, and coordinated RQ-4 humanitarian aid/disaster relief efforts in the US, Haiti, and Japan.

Throughout his years of service, Col Simms performed numerous other roles, including Air Operations Center ISR Division Officer, Mission Planner, Standardization and Evaluation Officer, and Executive Officer for operational and staff-level commanders. He is a Command Pilot with over 2,700 flying hours.

Samuel Bendett’s research focuses on Russian defense and technology developments; uncrewed, robotic and autonomous military systems; artificial intelligence; and Russian military capabilities. Bendett’s analyses, views and commentary on Russia’s military robotics, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence capabilities have appeared in numerous global publications and news outlets.

Prior to joining CNA, Bendett worked at the National Defense University on emerging and disruptive technologies to aid the Department of Defense (DOD) in responding to domestic and international crisis situations. His previous experience includes working for the U.S. Congress, the private sector and nonprofit organizations on foreign policy, international conflict resolution, and defense and security issues.

Bendett is also an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, an honorary “mad scientist” with the Mad Scientist Initiative of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, and a Russian military autonomy and artificial intelligence subject matter expert for the DOD’s Defense Systems Information Analysis Center.

Bendett received a Master of Arts in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University as well as a Bachelor of Arts in politics and English from Brandeis University. He has native fluency in Russian.

George Rumford is the Director of the Department of Defense (DoD) Test Resource Management Center (TRMC), a field activity that reports directly to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering within the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

The TRMC mission is the readiness of DoD test and evaluation (T&E) capabilities, infrastructure, and workforce to support DoD modernization. The TRMC provides governance over DoD test resources (open-air test ranges, ground test facilities, hardware-in-the-loop laboratories, measurement facilities, software testbeds, and modeling and simulation used for testing), including the Major Range and Test Facility Base (MRTFB). In this capacity, the Director is statutorily required to review and certify the T&E resource budgets for each Service and Defense Agency for adequacy for their mission. In addition, as the Executive Agent for Cyber Test Ranges, Mr. Rumford is responsible for the Department’s cyber test capabilities, including the National Cyber Range Complex.

The TRMC forecasts future T&E needs, defining strategic investment portfolios to test hypersonics, directed energy, autonomy and artificial intelligence, electronic warfare, cyber, nuclear effects, space systems, and multi-domain operations. Addressing the highest priority test gaps, the TRMC invests in the development of new and upgraded test resources, executed in partnership with the Services and Defense Agencies, to improve Joint and multi-Service DoD test capabilities that support acquiring advanced warfighting capabilities.

Previously, Mr. Rumford was responsible for Major Initiatives and Technical Analyses in the TRMC, serving as the Program Manager for the Test and Evaluation / Science and Technology (T&E/S&T) Program. Sponsoring advanced technology research and development in industry, academia, and government laboratories, the T&E/S&T Program develops test technologies to upgrade the capabilities at test and training ranges, with a specific focus on supporting modernization priorities aligned with national strategic guidance.

Prior to joining the TRMC, Mr. Rumford worked at the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and for the Army at White Sands Missile Range, supporting the testing of missile defense systems, space systems, and several multi-range, multi-Service exercises. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. Rumford has received degrees with honors in Electrical Engineering and in Computer Engineering from the University of Missouri.

Dr. Brian Kantsiper is the Chief Engineer at the Space Development Agency (SDA), responsible for overseeing the full integration of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. Before taking the SDA position, he spent 20 years working at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory as a Space Systems Engineer focusing on Guidance, Navigation, and Control and System Engineering. Early in his career, he spent some time at Lockheed Martin as an analyst. Dr. Kantsiper received a Bachelor of Arts in Physics from Princeton University and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from MIT.

Dr. Kimberly Sablon is the Principal Director for Trusted AI and Autonomy at the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)).  In this role, she oversees AI/ML and autonomy research activities across the DOD enterprise.  She also has responsibility for shaping the strategic direction for integrated AI and autonomy with an emphasis on trust and responsible decision making.  Previously, Dr. Sablon served as the Army’s S&T Director – setting strategic direction and with responsibility and oversight of $2.6B per year budget.  She also served as the Director for Basic Research in the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology where she was responsible for formulating and defending selected basic research budgets, programs, plans, priorities and investments to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), and to Congress.  Dr. Sablon received a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from the University of Arkansas in 2009.  She has published more than 70 peer-reviewed papers and contributed to nine scientific and technical books.