Prof. David A. Bader (UMD PhD 1996) is a Distinguished Professor and founder of the Department of Data Science in the Ying Wu College of Computing and Director of the Institute for Data Science at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Prior to this, he served as founding Professor and Chair of the School of Computational Science and Engineering, College of Computing, at Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, ACM, AAAS, and SIAM; a recipient of the IEEE Sidney Fernbach Award; and the 2022 Innovation Hall of Fame inductee of the University of Maryland’s A. James School of Engineering.

Dr. Stephen A. Cambone recently served as Associate Vice Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System and was the first United States Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, a post created in March 2003. Prior to that, Cambone was the Staff Director for the Commission to Assess United States National Security Space Management and Organization and previously the Director of Research at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University.

Rita Colwell is Distinguished University Professor at UMD, member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a former director of the National Science Foundation.

Steve Fetter is Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School, University of Maryland and former leadership within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Gary Flake (UMD PhD 1994) is a technology advisor, investor, and inventor, with past technical leadership roles at Salesforce and Microsoft and as the founder of Yahoo! Research Labs.

ADM (ret) Paul G. Gaffney, II, was the seventh president of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, before becoming president emeritus. Admiral Gaffney was the Chief of Naval Research with responsibility for science and technology investment for the Navy and Marine Corps then Commander of Naval Oceanography and Meteorology; he commanded the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and was appointed by President George W. Bush to the United States Commission on Ocean Policy, and served through the full term of the Commission.

Robert Kahn is founder and CEO of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI). Among other technical achievements Dr. Kahn was responsible for the system design of the Arpanet and originated DARPA's Internet Program.

Gilman Louie is a partner at Alsop Louie Partners and is the founder and former CEO of In-Q-Tel, an independent, non-profit venture capital firm established with the backing of the Central Intelligence Agency. Mr. Louie is also a commissioner to the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence and Chairman of the Federation of American Scientists.

Admiral (ret) William Moran is the former Vice Chief of Naval Operations, with previous roles as the Chief of Naval Personnel and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education.

Alton Romig is  executive officer of the National Academy of Engineering and former VP & GM   of the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Advanced Development Programs (i.e., Skunk Works) and Deputy Lab Director of Sandia National Laboratories.

Major General (ret) Annette Sobel is Associate Professor in Medical Education and Biomedical Sciences at Texas Tech University and an expert in human factors research. Past roles include senior advisor for biological defense for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Dr. Michael Vickers is a former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.  He previously served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations, Low-Intensity Conflict and Interdependent Capabilities, as a CIA Operations Officer, and as an Army Special Forces Officer.

Prof. Ellen D. Williams is Distinguished University Professor, Department of Physics, and Director of the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center at UMD and Chair of the JASONs. Her past experience includes serving as Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E).

Mr. Jason G. Matheny is an American national security expert who currently serves as president and CEO of the RAND Corporation. Previously, he was a senior civil servant in the Biden Administration. He served as deputy assistant to the president for technology and national security, deputy director for national security in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and coordinator for technology and national security at the White House National Security Council. Matheny previously was the Founding Director of the Center for Security and Emerging Technology and a Commissioner on the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, to which he was appointed by Congress in 2018. Previously, he was an Assistant Director of National Intelligence, and Director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA).

Dr. Victor R. McCrary, Jr., currently serves as Vice President for Research and Professor of Chemistry at the University of the District of Columbia. Previously, he was Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the first Vice President for Research and Economic Development and Professor of Chemistry at Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD. Prior to that, McCrary was the Business Area Executive for Science & Technology and principal professional staff at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory where he directed internal research and development (IRAD) funding to develop new core competencies and innovations in the areas of national security and space technologies for civilian and military applications.

Mr. Austin Wang is vice president, intelligence at MITRE. In this role, he leads MITRE’s efforts to drive whole-of-nation, joint, and multi-agency solutions through integration across the intelligence community and our larger national security enterprise, while shaping MITRE’s and our nation’s response to national security challenges. A senior intelligence community executive with nearly 30 years in leadership roles, Wang joined MITRE after 21 years with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), most recently as a senior executive and clandestine technical operations lead. 

Dr. Mark Lewis is the Executive Director of NDIA’s Emerging Technologies Institute (NDIA ETI), a non-
partisan think tank focused on technologies that are critical to the future of national defense. Prior to this
position, Dr. Lewis was the Director of Defense Research & Engineering in the Department of Defense
(DoD), overseeing technology modernization for all Services and DoD Agencies, as well as the acting
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering. Dr. Lewis is a professor emeritus at the
University of Maryland, where he served as the Willis Young, Jr., Professor and Chair of the Department of
Aerospace Engineering.

Jeffrey C. (“J.C.”) Dodson is a partner at Cyber Activities Group (CAG), a private international investment and solutions company advancing secure digital infrastructure for national governments and commercial clients. He is the founder of the JCARL Group, a global risk, resilience and response advisory firm. He served over 20 years as an executive with BAE Systems where key roles included Chief Security Officer (CSO), Global Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), and advanced technologies program management. Before joining BAE Systems, he was a career military officer serving as a colonel with the U.S. Air Force.  Dodson is a board member and advisor to global technology companies and non-profit organizations.

Dr. Cindy Daniell is the founder and president of technology for Mission Consulting Group. She brings senior technical executive experience from private industry at SRI and HRL Laboratories, as well as government service at DARPA, DHS, and most recently as the director of research for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Dr. Daniell has received two Distinguished Civilian Service Medals. She is a board member and advisor to several global technology companies and non-profit organizations.