Keynote Speaker & Plenary Speakers

Dr. J. Willard Curtis is a Science & Technology Advisor in the Science and Technology Division of AFRL’s Munitions Directorate. He obtained is Ph.D in electrical and computer engineering from Brigham Young University in 2001, following studies in engineering physics at Cornell University. Dr. Curtis began his career at AFRL as a research scientist specializing in collaborative guidance and controls, then becoming technical lead for weapons autonomy. He later served as a technical advisor for the Robust Weapon Dynamics and Controls branch before leading AFRL’s Airframe, Guidance, Navigation and Control core technical competency. His current research focus is on leveraging machine learning and data science to advance weapon autonomy, GNC, and seeker technologies.

. Jason Jouet serves as the Science and Technology Management Division Chief, SAF/AQRT. In this role, he leads team of Program Element Monitors in support of Air Force Science and Technology Budget. SAF/AQR provides the leadership, direction, policy, and resources to acquire superior systems, supplies, and services to accomplish the Air Force mission.

Prior to this appointment, Dr. Jouet served as the Director of Munitions Technologies for OUSD(R&E) and Deputy Director for Manufacturing Technology in OUSD(AT&L).
Before coming to OSD, from 2001 to 2016, Dr. Jouet served as the Head of the High Energy Materials Branch and was a senior research scientist, and program manager at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division.

EDUCATION: Dr. Jouet holds a BS in Chemistry from the University of Texas-Austin and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Duke University.

Dr. Jouet enjoys biking to work, racing cars, and smoking large quantities of meat.

Dr. Michael Eismann is Chief Scientist of the Air Force Research Laboratory Sensors Directorate. In this capacity, he serves as the directorate’s principal scientific and technical advisor, and is responsible for a science and technology portfolio addressing critical strategic objectives for sensing and spectrum warfare for the Department of the Air Force.

Dr. Deepak Sherlekar is an Engineering Fellow in the Silicon IP division of Synopsys. His present work focuses on co-optimizing emerging semiconductor processes with circuit design and chip design automation tools. He is engaged with leading foundries in optimization of 18 Angstrom to 14 Angstrom semiconductor nodes targeted for volume production in 2025 and beyond.

Mário G. Silveirinha is a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Lisbon. He is an IEEE Fellow, and OSA Fellow and an APS Fellow. He is a member of the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon.

Dr. Bunning is the Chief Technology Officer for Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). He is responsible for assisting the AFRL Commander with the planning and execution of over $5 billion for Air Force science and technology programs by a workforce of ~6000. He has a PhD in Chemical Engineering and is a Fellow of seven professional societies.

Dr. Amanda Bullock is an AI Lead at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), driving digital transformation and innovation in AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics. She holds a BS in Statistics from Eastern Kentucky University, an MS in Applied Statistics from Wright State University, and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) with a specialization in Statistical Signal Processing.

Amanda has a strong background in academia, having taught at Wright State University, Central State University, and AFIT, and has held various roles in government, including Project Engineer for the LEGACY program, Lead of the Enterprise Architecture Modeling team, and AFRL Deputy Chief Data Officer. Her research interests include Enterprise Architecture, STEM education, Advanced Analytics, AI, Machine Learning, and Signal Processing.

Dr. Elisabetta L. “Betta” Jerome, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is Technical Advisor, Armament and Weapons Test and Evaluation, Eglin Air Force, Florida. She is the senior technical advisor to the Air Force Test Center Commander and serves as the senior Air Force technical advisor and national/international authority in armament and weapons test and evaluation. Dr Jerome also has responsibility for providing technical advice and guidance to the highest levels of the Air Force, the DoD, as well as nationally-important conventional weapon system development efforts with regard to test infrastructure, test capabilities and best practices, modeling and simulation, and interpretation of test results.

Dr. Jerome worked in private industry for the first 27 years of her career. During this time, she provided technical guidance and subject matter expertise in the areas of structural analysis, penetration mechanics, and all aspects of conventional weapons test and evaluation and lethal effects. Dr. Jerome joined civil service in 2010 as the subject matter expert for air-delivered conventional weapon system lethality for the Armament Directorate at Eglin AFB, Florida. In this capacity, she provided authoritative technical direction in the areas of conventional weapons technology, weapons effects, and contributions towards the resolution of complex technical problems for the broader Eglin weapons acquisition community. Dr. Jerome was appointed a senior level
executive in April 2014.