The Honorable Joseph S. Jewell, Ph.D., is the Assistant Secretary of War for Science and Technology (ASW S&T). As the principal advisor to the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (USW(R&E)) on matters related to S&T, developmental prototyping, and experimentation he guides the Department’s science and technology strategy and investments, acting as a crucial link between fundamental scientific discovery and its strategic application in defense.

Dr. Jewell oversees and advocates for the entirety of the Department’s S&T enterprise, which includes its specialized workforce, laboratory infrastructure, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), and University-Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs). His office also directs a diverse portfolio of critical S&T programs including hypersonics and biomanufacturing. Basic research, the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, and the DoW Manufacturing Technology program, along with the nine Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (MIIs) also are within the S&T portfolio.

Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Jewell built a career at the intersection of academia and defense research. Most recently Dr. Jewell was the John Bogdanoff Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana where he served as Director of two hypersonic wind tunnels in the College of Engineering and the Purdue Applied Research Institute (PARI). Previously, Dr. Jewell was a research scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). In these roles, his work centered on hypersonic aerothermodynamics, analyzing flight test data, and operating uniquely capable hypersonic wind tunnels. Dr. Jewell has authored more than 150 published journal articles and conference papers in aerospace engineering and hypersonics and holds a U.S. Patent in hypersonic inlet design.

Driven by a passion to secure America's technological future, Dr. Jewell is committed to strengthening the nation's future by preparing students for vital science and engineering careers in the Department of War, national labs, and the defense industry. His research has directly advanced U.S. military capabilities, having led hypersonic test programs for the Army, Navy and Air Force. Dr. Jewell has been a member or chair of four NATO Science and Technology Organization (STO) hypersonics working groups and was selected as a member of the Defense Science Study Group (DSSG) in 2024.

Dr. Jewell holds a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics and History from the California Institute of Technology, a Master of Science in Engineering from the University of Michigan in Aerospace Engineering, as well as a Master of Science by Research from the University of Oxford in Engineering Science, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Additionally, Dr. Jewell received his Doctor of Philosophy from the California Institute of Technology in Aeronautics. 

Dr. Jewell has received numerous awards including the NATO Panel Excellence Award, the National Institute of Aerospace Bo Walkley Best Research Publication Award, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Star Team Award (with R. Kimmel group, AFRL), the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Award and the NRC Research Associate Award. Dr. Jewell is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS), an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and a registered Professional Engineer (PE, Michigan).

Dominique Luzeaux entered the Ministry of Defense in 1984, as a cadet within the Military Academy of Saint-Cyr from Sep. 84 to Jan. 85, and platoon leader, 43rd Infantry Regiment, from Feb. 85 to Aug. 85. He graduated from École Polytechnique (1987) and École Nationale Supérieure des  Techniques Avancées (1989) as an armament engineer.

His first position was a research engineer in  artificial intelligence and robotics. He defended his PhD thesis at the University of Paris XI (1991), and was a visiting research scientist at the University of California at Berkeley (1991-1992). Within the DGA (French Armament Procurement Agency), he occupied various positions  successively as expert, project manager and director. As Director of the Complex System Engineering Department (2002-2004), he was in charge of  the R&T programs in system engineering methods and tools, as well as in modeling and simulation. He was the French representative within NATO/RTO and WEAG technical panels. As Director of the Technical Center for Information Systems (2004-2007) he was in charge of the reorganization of the technical and human resources dedicated to the information system infrastructure of the DGA. 2008-2009, he was appointed Deputy Director for C4ISR systems. From 2009 to 2013, as Director for Land Systems acquisition, he was responsible for the technical and financial execution (yearly payment over 1 billion euros) of the military programs for land systems, and was the French representative for several bilateral and multilateral agreements. He was named Honorary Private First Class of the Army for his personal implication in various armament programs, among them the Unitary Rocket Launcher. End of 2013 he joined the Joint Staff as Deputy Director within the Directorate for Infrastructure Networks and Information Systems at the Ministry of Defense level, where he acted as the Chief Purchasing Officer (yearly budgetary envelope of almost 1 billion euros) and head of the Acquisition and Supply-Chain Division. From 2021 to September 2023, he was Director of the newly created Digital Defense Agency within the French Ministry of Defense, in charge of all defense complex digital projects.

Besides, he defended in 2001 his Professor thesis, has directed a dozen of PhD students, has published around hundred articles in conferences and international journals, and has written 9 books in French and in English on nanotechnology, on simulation, and on complex systems engineering. He received the “Ingénieur Général Chanson” Award in 2006 for his work on military autonomous unmanned ground vehicles. Luzeaux is married to Ghislaine and is father of one son, Yvain.

Jamison Braun leads SAP Americas’ U.S. Public Services practice, which encompasses federal, state, and local government, as well as the higher education, aerospace and defense, and healthcare industries. He is responsible for leading strategy, business operations, revenue performance, customer relationships, and overall customer satisfaction throughout the United States. 

Jamison joined SAP from Salesforce, where he served as Vice President of Global Public Sector, driving growth across Autonomous Agents (AI), Slack, and Field Service for government customers. Prior to Salesforce, Jamison led NATO and European Defense organizations, helping modernize citizen engagement and mission outcomes.

Before entering the private sector, Jamison spent four decades as a senior uniformed officer in the U.S. Department of Defense. His final post was at U.S. European Command, where he served as Chief of Staff and Senior Military Advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, leading coordination across a 51-country area of responsibility.

A recognized transformation leader, Jamison launched the Department of Defense’s inaugural cloud initiative with the Department of the Air Force and pioneered enterprise-wide human capital modernization efforts, including the establishment of the first Office of People Analytics to support data-driven portfolio decisions.

Jamison holds multiple graduate degrees in business, systems analysis, and international strategy, is a graduate of Harvard University’s Executive Program, and is a recipient of the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Disney Innovation Award. He is based in San Antonio, Texas.

Lisa Henke is Vice President of Sensor & Mission Systems at LeoLabs, where she is focused on scaling the company’s global radar network, accelerating mission system innovation, and strengthening partnerships across government, industry, and research organizations to ensure LeoLabs’ capabilities are integrated into evolving defense architectures for Space Domain Awareness and Missile Defense.  With more than 35 years of experience across the U.S. Air Force, the Intelligence Community, and the defense industry, Lisa is recognized for bridging strategy, engineering, and mission outcomes.

Prior to joining LeoLabs, Lisa served as Vice President and Chief of Technology & Innovation at Maxar, where she established the company’s innovation organization, led strategic engagements with defense customers, and helped shape next-generation systems supporting the U.S. Space Force, U.S. Army, and national security missions. She has held senior leadership roles at Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and the SI, advancing programs spanning missile defense, space domain awareness, and next generation integrated ground systems. 

Dr. Jerry McGinn is the director of the Center for the Industrial Base and a senior fellow with the Defense and Security Department. He is one of the nation’s leading experts on industrial base, acquisition, government contracting, and security policy issues. Prior to joining CSIS, Jerry served as executive director of the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University, publishing over 70 influential reports, white papers, and commentaries. Prior to GMU, Jerry served as the senior career official in the Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy in the Department of Defense (DoD), leading efforts to analyze the capabilities of the defense industrial base. He also directed hundreds of reviews of high-profile mergers and acquisitions as well as transactions before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Before his service in DoD, Dr. McGinn spent a decade in senior defense industry roles at Northrop Grumman, Deloitte Consulting LLP, and QinetiQ North America. Prior to industry, Dr. McGinn served as special assistant to the principal deputy undersecretary for policy in DoD and as a political scientist at RAND. Dr. McGinn is also a widely acclaimed thought leader and has testified numerous times before the U.S. Congress and the UK House of Commons. Dr. McGinn served with distinction as an infantry officer and is a graduate of Ranger and Airborne Schools. He earned a PhD, MS, and MA from Georgetown University as well as a BS from the United States Military Academy.

Dr. Paul Rodrigues is the Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer of Microsoft’s National Security Group, where he supports artificial intelligence efforts across US federal customers and the defense industrial base.  Before Microsoft, Dr. Rodrigues was Principal Director of Data Science Innovation and the Natural Language Processing (NLP) Science Director at Accenture Federal Services (AFS), where he coordinated NLP efforts across Accenture’s US federal client accounts. 

Prior to AFS, Dr. Rodrigues was an Associate Research Scientist at two DOD University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs) – the University of Maryland (UMD) Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS) and the UMD Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL). He continues to teach in UMD’s Machine Learning program. 

Dr. Rodrigues has led 10 federally funded research projects, authored over 35 peer-reviewed research papers, and produced more than 20 comprehensive technical reports for U.S. government clients. He holds a Ph.D. and a M.A. in Computational Linguistics from Indiana University, and a B.S. in Computer Science from Stockton University.

Brandon Tseng is Shield AI’s Co-Founder and President. Previously, Brandon proudly served in the Navy for seven years as a SEAL and Surface Warfare Officer aboard USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52). He founded Shield AI – with the mission to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems – driven by firsthand experiences during deployments to Afghanistan (x2), the Pacific Theater, and the Arabian Gulf. Brandon earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Sherman Williams is a specialized early-stage investor with proven expertise in identifying and funding companies at the intersection of frontier and dual-use technology. His focus on pre-seed and seed opportunities in sectors like Space and AI is built upon a distinct foundation of military service, private angel investing, and venture experience. This unique perspective was sharpened during his five years as the VC-in-Residence for the Techstars Space Technology accelerator, where he was instrumental in mentoring and securing capital for over 30 deep-tech companies. This venture expertise is built on a rigorous foundation of six years as a Mergers & Acquisitions investment banker, providing him with deep transactional discipline and a clear perspective on engineering successful exits. As a Kauffman Fellow (Class 26), Sherman is part of the premier global network for venture capital investors, further extending the fund's reach and access to proprietary deal flow. 

Prior to his career in finance, Sherman was a Naval Intelligence Officer. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science from the United States Naval Academy.