The Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC) joined the System Engineering Research Center (SERC), Air Force, Army, and defense industry leaders such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and RTX at the Department of the Air Force and Army Digital Materiel Management (DMM) Industry Association Consortium (IAC) Kickoff in Crystal City, Virginia, on November 2 and 3.

Co-organized by SERC, AIRC, and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), the workshop provided an opportunity to introduce DMM and initiate a collaborative framework across acquisition functional and lifecycle activities to accelerate the adoption of digital practices in the development, delivery, and sustainment of major defense systems.

Day one of the workshop opened with remarks by Dr. Arun Seraphin (Executive Director of the NDIA Emerging Technologies Institute and an AIRC Fellow) and Col. Erik Quigley (Director, Digital Acceleration Task Force, Air Force Materiel Command). A fireside chat featured a distinguished panel moderated by AIRC and SERC Executive Director Dr. Dinesh Verma with panelists Ms. Kristen J. Baldwin (Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology, and Engineering), Ms. Jennifer Swanson (Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Data, Engineering and Software), and Mr. Robert Fookes (Director of Engineering and Technical Management, and Chief Engineer, Air Force Materiel Command). Their discussion delved into the challenges and opportunities surrounding DMM, addressing concerns related to data standards, policy enforcement, and integrating acquisition functions.

Next, Mr. Dan Heller (Vice President of Lockheed Martin Corporate Engineering) shared a strategic perspective on the state of practice towards DMM and digital transformation, the afternoon unfolded into three parallel sessions:

DMM Infrastructure and Environment: Led by Mr. James K. Hurst (Chief, Digital Transformation Office, Department of the Air Force), this session featured insights from industry leaders, including Mr. Jeff D’Amelia (Chief Engineer, Nuclear Enterprise Division, Air & Space Forces Center, MITRE) and Ms. Vicky O’Sullivan (Digital Engineering & Transformation Project Lead, MITRE) and perspectives from Dr. Dean Bucher (Principal Director, Digital Engineering Integration, The Aerospace Corporation), Mr. Rob Nolen (DoD Chief Technologist, Amazon Web Services) and Ms. Laura Szypulski (Director and Chief Architect, Digital Transformation, Northrop Grumman).

Data Standards, Ontologies and Style Guides: Led by Mr. Dan Andrews (Software Systems Architect, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Data, Engineering and Software), this session included a talk by Dr. Chris Benson (Chief Technology Officer, Istari, Inc.) and guiding perspectives from Dr. Jason Cook (Army DEVCOM Armaments Center), Dr. Mark Blackburn (Senior Research Scientist, Stevens Institute of Technology), Mr. Matt Seaman (Director, Data Solutions and External Engagement, Lockheed Martin) and Dr. Alberto Ferrari (Executive Director, Technology & Global Engineering, RTX).

Policy and Enforcement – IP Policy & Rights: Led by Dr. Alexis Ross (Senior Fellow, NDIA), this session included insights from Mr. Richard Gray (Director, Intellectual Property Cadre, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment), Ms. Kanna Annamalai-Brown (Chief of the Air Force Intellectual Property Cadre), Ms. Margaret Boatner (Deputy Assistant Secretary, Army for Strategy and Acquisition Reform), and Ms. Kelly Kyes (Policy and Strategy Lead, Boeing).

Day one concluded with a strategic perspectives panel featuring Col. Quigley as moderator and participants Brig. Gen. Luke Cropsey (Executive Officer, Command, Control, Communications and Battle Management, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Department of the Air Force Integrating Program), Mr. Steven Wert (Program Executive Officer Digital, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base), Ms. Kris Acosta (Director, System of Systems Engineering, Space Systems Command), and Col. Walt Bustelo (Deputy Program Executive Officer, Air Force)

Day two commenced with sessions on integrating acquisition functions and DMM workforce development and culture. AIRC Fellow Ms. Stephanie Halcrow moderated the former, featuring talks by Mr. Mark Krzysko (Principal Deputy Director, Acquisition Policy, Department of Defense) and AIRC Chief Scientist Dr. Phil Antón, while Mr. Steve Turek (Technical Director, Digital Transformation Office, Department of the Air Force) led the latter, with Dr. Olivia Pinon Fischer (Principal Research Engineer, Georgia Institute of Technology), Dr. Nicole Hutchison (Senior Research Scientist, Systems Engineering Research Center), Mr. David Pearson (Director, Engineering and Technology Center, Defense Acquisition University), and Dr. Cliff Whitcomb (Professor of Practice, Cornell University)

The workshop concluded with a debrief of the final sessions and closing remarks from Col. Quigley and Dr. Verma, setting the stage for further discussions and collaboration as the Department of Defense and defense industry evolve together through digital transformation.  Follow-on IAC meetings are being planned.

Follow AIRC on LinkedIn for regular updates on defense acquisition research.

The DCTC Scholars Blog features stories on scholars at the four pilot program universities at North Carolina A&T, Purdue, the University of Arizona and Virginia Tech, with appearances by distinguished guests from the Department of Defense. Continue these discussions on the DCTC LinkedIn page.

The Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC) is pleased to announce three new experts to its roster of AIRC Fellows: Ms. Tory Cuff, Ms. Karen DaPonte Thornton, and Mr. John Willison. The three will contribute research and operational guidance to significant initiatives where AIRC is involved, notably the pilot of the Defense Civilian Training Corps (DCTC) and supporting the Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) Reform. 

“AIRC Fellows are leaders in the acquisition community,” said AIRC Executive Director Dr. Dinesh Verma. “They interact with extensive networks of partners in government, industry, and academia. They produce some of our most impactful research, advocate for AIRC in notable publications and at major conferences, and open doors to new projects and opportunities.” 

Thornton is a director on the Procurement Round Table and teaches at the George Washington University Law School. She previously served as counsel on the Committee on Armed Services for the House of Representatives, where she successfully negotiated hundreds of provisions in the annual National Defense Authorization Act.  

Thornton earned a B.A. in political science from Providence College, where she was a three-year ROTC scholarship recipient. She earned a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and began her legal career as an Army JAG officer and procurement attorney in the Office of the Chief Counsel of the Army Corps of Engineers. 

Thornton will play a key role in DCTC, a new Congressionally mandated program AIRC is piloting to award scholarships, specialized courses, internships, and other opportunities for students to prepare for civilian careers in the Department of Defense (DoD). “Joining AIRC as a Research Fellow is a tremendous opportunity to collaborate with experts across academic disciplines and within the DoD,” Thornton said. “AIRC’s role in facilitating the launch of the Defense Civilian Training Corps is transformative, and the work we do will ensure the Department has the talent it needs to ensure the strength and resilience of our national security.” 

Cuff supports the Office of the Secretary of Defense with research involving the PPBE Commission, workforce initiatives, and acquisition management policies and practices. She is the Chief Growth Officer at Sagely, a company that works with individuals and organizations to upskill and reskill in technology.  

Cuff was the Senior Advisor for Agile Acquisition for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, where she led the Single Appropriation Pilot for Software and Digital Technology. She played a leading role in building the Air Force’s Kessel Run software factory, where she pioneered ways to deliver software to classified networks. At Clemson University, Cuff earned a B.A. in actuarial science and applied mathematics, with a minor in business administration, and an M.S in applied mathematics. 

With AIRC, Cuff will emphasize workforce development. “Working as an AIRC Fellow allows me to support this incredible and necessary mission with a focus on how to improve processes, champion successes, and provide a voice to the difficulties individuals and teams can face,” she said. “At the same time, I am very fortunate to collaborate with top minds in academia that bring a unique perspective and insight to drive innovative ideas and solutions.” 

Willison is an expert in strategic planning, innovation and reform, and talent management. He retired in 2022 after 36 years as an Army civilian, the last 11 years among the Senior Executive Service. He served as the Deputy to the Commanding General of the Army Futures Command, Combat Capabilities Development Command. Previously, he served in a range of leadership and technical positions in Army organizations spanning research and development, acquisition, and sustainment. 

Willison earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from Lafayette College and completed the Senior Executive Fellows program at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. He received the Presidential Rank Award, the Department of the Army Superior Civilian Service Medal, the Army Infantry Association’s Order of St. Maurice, the Wilbur B. Payne Award for Excellence in Analysis, the Federal 100 Award, and the Federal Technology Leadership Award. 

Like Thornton and Cuff, Willison is eager to collaborate with the AIRC research network. “After having served almost four decades as an Army civilian, I very much appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve in a new capacity,” Willison said. “I have been thoroughly impressed with the AIRC team, and I am particularly excited to lead strategic partnerships in support of the critically important DCTC initiative.” 

Read bios of these experts on the AIRC Fellows page, and follow AIRC on LinkedIn for regular updates on acquisition innovation. 

At the annual “Upphandlingskonferensen” procurement conference in Stockholm on May 5, AIRC Fellows Mr. David Drabkin of Stevens Institute of Technology and Mr. Christopher Yukins of the George Washington University Law School presented their AIRC research on bid protests and mandatory debarment in the Department of Defense.

Heat 3 of the Defense Data Grand Prix (DDGP) kicked off in September 2022 with six universities, eight teams, five DLA problems, and the addition of a new data sponsor, the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). On January 10, 2023, Heat 3 of the DDGP concluded with a virtual award ceremony hosted by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC). The DDGP provides research opportunities that allow faculty-led academic teams to engage directly with government problem owners. Heat 3 teams focused on applying advanced analytics and visualization on actual defense acquisition data to solve sponsor problems.

For the DLA division, five teams received awards during the January 10 event for their solutions to DLA-related problems, with two teams tied for fourth place. During the award ceremony, keynote speaker Mr. Nelson Alvarez, Deputy, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at DLA, highlighted the benefits presented by the DDGP, stating, “We need academia to be the connective tissue to help bridge the knowledge gap. We are considering how to bring talent and producers of products into the DLA and into the government as interns, for example, and to bring recent hires directly into government services.”

The winners of Heat 3 in the DLA division are: 

• First place ($40K): TTU Data Science team, including Drs. Alireza Zadeh (faculty lead), Eric Brown and Jaeki Song (Texas Tech University), in the area of On Time Delivery Predictive Model for a project with the Analytics Center of Excellence (ACE) that provides models and algorithms that accurately predict late-delivery contracts for DLA Aviation that risk warfighter readiness.
• Second place ($30K): UAH Chargers Fusion team led by Dr. Jacob Hauenstein (The University of Alabama in Huntsville), in the area of DLA Records Management Electronic Records Transition for a project with the Information Governance and Compliance Office and Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) that developed a web-based, interactive model to identify DLA documents to digitize for compliance with OMB Directive M-19-21.
• Third place ($20K): Brainstorm team led by Dr. Feng Liu (Stevens Institute of Technology), in the area of DLA Distribution CONUS Storage Utilization for a project with DLA Acquisition that developed predictive, prescriptive and optimization analysis that can increase DLA warehouse density by 126% and occupancy score by 28%.
• Fourth place ($10K, Tied): SSW565 team led by Dr. Ying Wang (Stevens Institute of Technology), in the area of Identifying Raw Materials for Industrial Capability Program for a project with DLA Acquisition that developed and piloted real-time and long-term risk detection and prediction approaches for clothing and textile supply chains.
• Fourth place ($10K, Tied): The Hokie Bunch team led by Dr. Christian Lucero (Virginia Tech), in the area of On Time Delivery Predictive Model for a project with ACE that developed a tool to predict what DLA Aviation orders will be late.

In the USMC division, competitors piloted the use of a CUI-compliant information system hosted by Virginia Tech. The Defense Acquisition Research Collaboration and Innovation Environment (DARCIE) enabled the Stevens Institute of Technology and George Mason University teams to access USMC-provided readiness data. These data included maintenance records, manning records, part order records, and flight hours.

In this division, the George Mason and Stevens Institute teams tied, each earning a $25K award for their outstanding efforts. The George Mason team led by Dr. Brett Berlin assessed maintenance efficiency, whereas the Stevens team led by Dr. Ying Wang demonstrated predictive relationships between flight and maintenance hours. Both projects demonstrated how data could more accurately characterize maintenance operations than traditional intuitive approaches. They also demonstrated how readiness data can be used to provide feedback on acquisition decisions such as manning, equipment use profiles, and spare parts.

On March 21, 2023, the USMC and AIRC hosted the virtual award ceremony. Mr. Russell Blauw, the Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation (Sustainment),  noted the outstanding and novel contributions of both teams and expressed the need to continue such work.

Planning for DDGP 2 is in progress with Heat 1 scheduled to begin in Fall 2023, registration expected to open in Summer 2023 and Heat 2 scheduled for Spring 2024.

Further information about the Defense Data Grand Prix can be found on the website.

In support of the Department of Defense (DoD) response to Congressional concerns regarding delays in JCIDS processes, the Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC) assessed how it can improve the efficiency of developing and approving capability requirements and develop a model to show the effects of proposed alternatives.  

In a presentation titled “Assessments of the Process for Developing Capability Requirements for DoD Acquisition Programs” on research into a validation process used by the DoD to identify, develop, and meet the needs and requirements of warfighters, AIRC modeled JCIDS processes and proposed improvements such as incorporating lean approaches to the requirements validation process, rapid prototyping, changes to policy, and training for a cadre of requirements professionals.  

Currently, it takes more than two years to identify capability gaps and choose a solution approach through JCIDS, leaving interoperability between military forces at risk and warfighters vulnerable to threats. 

“That is a problem,” said Dr. Donald Schlomer, Acquisition Program Manager SOF AT&L – Policy Manager, US Special Operations Command, who spent three years researching JCIDS processes for his doctoral dissertation, “How do you use current technology if it takes you two and a half years just to get a requirement validated to address and acquire a technology?” 

Schlomer worked alongside Dr. Mo Mansouri, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Dr. Michael McGrath, AIRC Fellow, to develop a problem-focused approach to remedy JCIDS delays and identify improvements. The three researchers presented their findings at the 2022 Annual Research Review, during which they described how they modeled the requirements process based on a sample of Navy programs, assessed the interface between services and joint staff, and identified automotive industry and foreign acquisition best practices to produce a trio of recommended improvements that can potentially streamline the requirements validation process.  

“The idea was to figure out what’s causing the delays in the process and see if we can patch that in the best way using all of the optimization methodologies that we had in mind and could apply,” said Mansouri. 

Their approach relied heavily on the simulation model based on Joseph Wirthlin’s research on acquisition at MIT. “It didn’t include software acquisition programs,” Mansouri said. “We updated it, but we worked on the same level because that was a good baseline for us.” Then, they applied Value Stream Mapping based on Hugh McManus’ handbook for product development, a process first used by Toyota. “We used the same principles and methodology to make the process linear,” Mansouri continued. “The qualitative methodology was mostly focused on interviews with other companies and entities that have a similar approach to requirement development.”  

The first recommended improvement focuses on lean approaches and doesn’t require any policy changes but has the potential to reduce end-to-end time by 25 percent. The second recommendation is more intensive and requires an overhaul of the entire JCIDS process to combine the Initial Capabilities Document and Capabilities Development Document into one integrated document that, according to Mansouri, would “reduce the time by 50 percent, from 852 days to 444 days.” The third approach aligns JCIDS with the Defense Acquisition System using the Adaptive Acquisition Framework and will require significant changes in the law, policies, and manuals. 

“What we discovered here is a capability gap in the JCIDS process itself,” said McGrath. “There’s no authoring system, but authoring a requirement is a challenging thing. You’ve got this handbook that’s 341 pages. You’ve got a policy directive that’s another 114 pages. And the only professionals who really understand that in-depth are the gatekeepers in joint staff and services. The last recommendation was one that we thought was needed. Just as there are acquisition professionals and budget process professionals, there needs to be a cadre of requirements professionals.”  

McGrath continued: “When you look at the agile acquisition framework, we heard that there’s a strong incentive for middle-tier acquisition work around the delays of the JCIDS process. Rapid prototyping and putting a prototype in the hands of a warfighter and then using that as the basis for defining the requirement for what you want to go to production offers a much faster path and one that can keep pace with technology.” 

As is the case with many exploratory research projects, there were constraints. Because of how the project was defined, the team had to look at this problem from the perspective of gatekeepers. “That was one caveat of this research: the level of abstraction was set for us,” said Mansouri. And the model relied on a limited data set. “That’s another restriction of this research. Obviously, they couldn’t give us a lot of these cases, and it has to be sanitized and categorized based on the type of program as well.” 

As further developments occur, success will hinge on embracing better end-to-end governance processes, streamlined documents and staffing, agile requirements, and missions and systems engineering solutions — indicating that digital transformation is integral to improving JCIDS processes. 

“Automating whatever we can is a principle of lean systems — an AI-assisted workflow management that enforces a schedule and is also useful in collecting data,” said Mansouri. “Digitalization is upon us, and that’s probably one of the most important things we should invest in.” 

View the recording from the third quarterly AIRC-DAU Research Forum to learn more about this ongoing research. Follow AIRC on LinkedIn for updates on acquisition innovation.

The Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Douglas J. Buettner as Deputy Chief Scientist, his latest role in a distinguished 30-year career with industry and government experience in the engineering of aerospace and software-intensive systems.

Buettner will serve alongside Chief Scientist Dr. Philip S. Antón. “Dr. Buettner brings a wealth of practical experience, insights, and ideas into the challenges facing defense acquisition programs,” Antón said. “We look forward to leveraging his expertise to help guide AIRC’s engagement of innovation from academia to improving acquisition.”

Buettner’s role will involve collaborating with faculty across the AIRC university network and guiding the scientific and technical content, quality, and peer review of research projects; interfacing between AIRC and the Department of Defense, including the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, and other entities; articulating the critical needs that AIRC research is addressing and the value proposition in improving acquisition outcomes; and ensuring the transition and application of AIRC results in acquisition policies, guidance, practices, and workforce development.

Buettner spent 20 years with the Aerospace Corporation, where he was the flight software systems director and formed a new department that steered the software acquisition for multiple spacecraft payloads, the space vehicle bus, and ground-test simulators in support of an acquisition category program for the Space Systems Command. His recent experience includes software cost and schedule analysis with software and systems engineering advising for the Sentinel missile program.

Buettner also worked in the Pentagon for the Acquisition Policy Analysis Center, performing analytical studies directly for the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition Technology and Logistics (ATL). He was a consultant for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), helping to build JPL’s initial aerogel fabrication facility. His hardware automation, flight integration, and terminal ballistics investigations supported planning and concept verification, leading to the selection of the Stardust probe for NASA’s fourth Discovery mission. Later, he was the principal investigator supporting Stardust’s aerogel fabrication team. The laboratory also produced aerogel for the Mars Sojourner rover insulation, numerous space shuttle flights, and the Mir space station to capture micrometeoroids and characterize space orbital debris.

Buettner is an adjunct professor teaching space mission engineering at the University of Utah. He previously taught software-intensive space systems engineering at the University of Southern California (USC) and space systems engineering at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Buettner earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in physics, with a minor in atmospheric science, from Oregon State University. He earned a Ph.D. in astronautical engineering from USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering. Buettner’s doctoral research examined issues with software-acquisition strategies, providing insights into approaches for optimizing the cost and schedule for software-intensive system acquisitions. This research appears in a book, Acquisition Games and Software Defects: Dynamics of the Software Developer’s Dilemma.

The addition of Buettner reflects the growing research portfolio within AIRC since it was established in 2020. “Dr. Buettner joining our team signals growth and a greater potential for impact,” said AIRC Executive Director Dr. Dinesh Verma. “With Dr. Buettner’s expertise, our research network will continue to tackle challenges and produce innovative results for the Department of Defense.”

Recent breakthroughs in additive manufacturing (AM)— the process of creating an object by joining materials to make parts from 3D model data, usually one layer at a time—are shedding new light on ways the Department of Defense (DoD) can enable innovation and modernization of defense systems, support readiness and enhance warfighter readiness. 

Led by Drs. Dan DeLaurentis and Jitesh Panchal of Purdue University, the Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC) is supporting the adoption of an additive manufacturing supply chain strategy in military departments by developing a decision support tool.  This “Decision Engine” provides users, such as DoD decision makers, with an algorithmic view of the variables to make an optimized decision regarding where and how additive manufacturing can have the most impact.  

“Additive manufacturing is becoming increasingly popular in sustainment-related decisions,” says Panchal. “When parts break, they need to be replaced. Additive manufacturing allows us to make one-off parts that can be built in the field or on a ship, which makes it easier for the DoD to manufacture replacement parts as needed, as opposed to keeping an inventory of all the parts that might fail in the service.” 

The Decision Engine was demonstrated using three use cases. Use case one, aircraft fleet maintenance using additive manufacturing, found a correlation between the cost of utilizing additive manufacturing, the penalty associated with mission delays, and the use of additive manufacturing. The second, a spacecraft application used the Decision Engine to demonstrate how it could be integrated into the mission engineering process of designing and manufacturing satellite components. The third use case compared the use of several manufacturing approaches to produce small batches of custom aircraft components. Two scenarios were analyzed: one that recreated the original component design and material across manufacturing processes, and another that explored topology optimization. 

 “We wanted to create a framework, which allows us to integrate different decisions into a consistent, single tool related to additive manufacturing,” said Panchal. “It could be an engineer who is trying to figure out what’s the best machine for printing a part. What’s the best material combination? How does the choice of material affect the outcome? And then there are the high-level decisions about how to acquire and procure developing technologies.”  

Taking a holistic approach to the design of the Decision Engine, Panchal employed the use of a digital engineering strategy to ensure that all the complex information—various aspects of CAD models, manufacturing process parameters— was collected in a way that can be made available to the appropriate decision makers. “All the information that is required to make a part is collected in digital format,” he says. “Because of the nature of this technology, I think it’s more feasible to use additive manufacturing in the entire digital engineering chain as opposed to traditional processes.”  

The data feeding the Decision Engine was primarily informed by openly available data sources and prior projects the team had worked on. But in the future, when it is to be utilized in the field, the decisions will be supported by a variety of data sources, like open databases, proprietary databases developed by manufacturers and data aggregators that have collected information from manufacturers. And the specific data related to parts and materials will depend on the application under consideration. 

Further possibilities for operationalizing the Decision Engine include connecting it to the additive manufacturing database at Virginia Tech and applying additive manufacturing to crisis management within the DoD. 

Click below to read the executive summary and full report of this research.