Keynote Speaker & Plenary Speakers

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Victoria Coleman
Chief Scientist of the United States Air Force, USA

Dr. Victoria Coleman Bio:

Dr. Victoria Coleman is the Chief Scientist of the United States Air Force, Arlington, Virginia. She serves as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force, Air Force Chief of Staff, and Chief of Space Operations. She provides assessments on a wide range of scientific and technical issues affecting the department’s mission. In this role, she identifies and analyzes technical issues, bringing them to the attention of department leaders. She interacts with other principals, operational commanders, combatant commands, acquisition, and science and technology communities to address cross-organizational issues and provide solutions. Dr. Coleman also interacts with other services and the Office of the Secretary of Defense on issues affecting the Department of the Air Force’s technical enterprise. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and is the Principal Science and Technology Representative of the Air Force to the civilian scientific and engineering community and to the public at large.

Dr. Coleman is on leave from University of California, Berkeley. Since 2016, Dr. Coleman has held an academic research appointment at the Berkeley Center for Information Technology in the Interest of Society where she leads science and technology policy on microelectronics and efforts to develop tools for countering digital authoritarianism. Dr. Coleman has more than 35 years of experience in computer science and technology, including as both an academic leader and industry executive. Before DARPA, she served as the Chief Executive Officer of Atlas AI P.B.C, a Silicon Valley start-up that brings world-class artificial intelligence solutions to sustainable development. By combining satellite data with other data sets, Atlas AI’s proprietary deep-learning models create actionable insights for governments, non-governmental organizations and commercial companies.

Dr. Coleman began her academic career in 1988 as a lecturer in computer science at Royal Holloway College, University of London, United Kingdom. She subsequently joined Queen Mary College, University of London, as a reader in computer science. There, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in computer science, created a master of science program in Dependable Computer Systems and supervised Doctor of Philosophy students.

In 1998, Dr. Coleman became the founding director of the System Design Laboratory at SRI International. The lab conducted research in trustworthy systems and cyber security. The programs she directed won support from DARPA. She also participated in the creation of the technologies leading to the spinout of Siri prior to its acquisition by Apple. She worked alongside the newly-formed Department of Homeland Security, creating the department’s cyber security agenda and becoming the founding Director of the DHS Cyber Security Research and Development Center. In 2004, Dr. Coleman became the Director of the Trust and Manageability Lab in the Corporate Technology Group of Intel and began serving as a member of Santa Clara University’s Computer Science and Engineering Department’s Advisory Board. In 2006, she became the Vice President of the Computer Science Laboratory at Samsung. In 2010, she took the position of Vice President of Software Engineering at Hewlett-Packard. In 2011, she became Nokia’s Vice President of Emerging Platforms.

Dr. Coleman served as the Vice President of Engineering for Multi-Device UX Platforms for Yahoo in 2013, and then took the position of Senior Vice President of Research and Design at Harman International Industries Infotainment Business Unit. She then served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Connected Home Business for Technicolor.

Beginning in 2016, Dr. Coleman served as the Chief Technology Officer of Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit that supports Wikipedia, the world’s fifth most visited website. During this time, Dr. Coleman also served as a member of the Defense Science Board, where she provided independent advice to the Secretary of Defense, USD(R&E), and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She was a member of Lockheed Martin’s Technology Advisory Group, the Airbus Star Program and continued her work on the Santa Clara University Computer Science and Engineering Advisory Board. She served on the Board of Directors of the Public Library of Science.

Prior to accepting the role of Chief Scientist, Dr. Coleman served as the 22nd Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency where she oversaw a large suite of disruptive and innovative programs.

EDUCATION
1981 Bachelor of Science, Electronic Computer Systems, University of Salford, United Kingdom 1983 Master of Science, Computer Aided Logic Design, University of Salford, United Kingdom 1991 Doctor of Philosophy, Computer Science, University of Manchester, United Kingdom

CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. 1983–1986, Research Assistant, Computation Department, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, Manchester, United Kingdom
2. 1986–1988, Research Assistant, Computer Science Department, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
3. 1988–1996, Lecturer, Computer Science Department, Royal Holloway College, University of London, United Kingdom
4. 1996–1998, Reader, Computer Science Department, Queen Mary College, University of London, United Kingdom
5. 1998–2004, Director, System Design Laboratory, Information Sciences Division, SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif.
6. 2004–2005, Director Trust and Manageability Lab, Corporate Technology Group, Intel, Santa Clara, Calif.
7. 2005–2006, Director, Security Strategy & Initiatives, Digital Enterprise Group, Intel, Santa Clara, Calif.
8. 2006–2010, Vice President, Computer Science Laboratory, Samsung Information Systems America, San Jose, Calif.
9. 2010–2011, Vice President, Software Engineering, Palm GBU, Hewlett-Packard, Sunnyvale, Calif.
10. 2011–2013, Vice President, Emerging Platforms, Nokia, Sunnyvale, Calif.
11. 2013–2014, Vice President, Engineering, Multi-Device UX Platforms, Yahoo!, Sunnyvale, Calif.
12. 2014–2015, Senior Vice President, Research and Development, Infotainment Business Unit, Harman International Industries, Farmington Hills, Mich.
13. 2015–2016, Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Connected Home Business Unit, Technicolor, Los Altos, Calif.
14. 2016–2019, Chief Technology Officer, Wikimedia Foundation, San Francisco, Calif.
15. 2019–2020, Chief Executive Officer, Atlas AI, Palo Alto, Calif.
16. 2020–2021, Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va.
17. 2021–present, Chief Scientist, U.S. Air Force, Arlington, Va.

BOARDS AND ADVISORY GROUPS:
Blum Center Advisory Board, University of California, Berkeley Public Library of Science
Microsystems Exploratory Council, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Information Science and Technology Group, DARPA
Defense Sciences Research Council, DARPA CITRIS and the Banatao Institute, UC Berkeley Defense Science Board
Lockheed Martin Technology Advisory Group Airbus Star Program
Computer Science and Engineering Department, Santa Clara University

(Current as of April 2021)

Plenary Speakers

Dr. David Lambert
Air Force Research Laboratory, Munitions Directorate, USA

Dr. David Lambert Bio:

Dr. David E. Lambert, a member of the scientific and professional cadre of senior executives, is the Chief Scientist, Munitions Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Eglin Air Force Base, FL. He serves as the primary authority for the technical content of the directorate’s science and technology portfolio.

Dr. Lambert is a Fellow of AFRL and American Society of Mechanical Engineers and has served in various leader positions in technical communities of Hypervelocity Impact Society, International Ballistics Society and OUSD Joint Munitions Programs. His experimental research in detonation physics and related explosive-metal interactions has led to the transformation of air-launched conventional weapons. Dr. Lambert has co-authored more than 130 papers and proceedings in refereed journals and proceedings. He is currently on several academia and non-profit advisory boards as well as editorial review boards.

Dr. Timothy Bunning
Air Force Research Laboratory, USA

Dr. Timothy Bunning Bio:

Dr. Timothy J. Bunning, a member of the Scientific and Professional Cadre of Senior Executives, is the Chief Technology Officer for Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Materiel Command, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. As the primary science and technology advisor to the AFRL Commander, he is responsible for assisting with the planning and execution of an annual $2.8 billion Air Force science and technology program and considerable resources executed on behalf of a variety of customers. He serves as the corporate-level science and technology interface for a government workforce of nearly 6,000 people in the laboratory’s nine technology directorates and 711th Human Performance Wing.

Dr. Bunning joined AFRL in 1990 in the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate as a Ph.D. student. His research was funded through an Air Force Office of Scientific Research doctoral fellowship and conducted on-site within the directorate. After earning his doctorate and conducting post-doctoral studies at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, he
spent six years as an on-site contractor in the directorate before transitioning to civil service there in 1998. He has served in numerous positions including as a bench scientist/engineer, first- and second-level supervisor and research leadership positions within the directorate between 1998 and 2015 when he was selected to be the directorate’s Chief Scientist. He served in that position until his appointment as the AFRL Chief Technology Officer.

Dr. Bunning is active in numerous technical communities and is a Fellow of AFRL, the Optical Society of America, the Society of Optical Engineering, the American Physical Society, the American Chemical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Materials Research Society and the Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering Division of ACS. His research interests center on responsive optical, electro- optical and photo-optical structured organic and hybrid materials and approaches for utility in optical sensing, laser beam control and filtering (modulation) applications. He has co-authored more than 300 referred papers and more than 130 proceedings, has provided editorial in several books and holds 18 patents. He is currently an adjunct professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and is on the editorial boards of several materials-centric journals.

EDUCATION
1987 Bachelor of Science, Chemical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs
1988 Master of Science, Chemical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs 1992 Doctor of Philosophy Chemical Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs 2008 Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.

CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. 1992–1998, Visiting Scientist/Contractor (SAIC), Air Force Materials Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
2. 1998–2007, Senior/Principal Materials Research Engineer, Hardened Materials Branch, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
3. 2002–2007, Research Group Leader, Hardened Materials Branch, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
4. 2005–2006, Acting Chief, Hardened Materials Branch, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
5. 2007–2010, Division Technical Director, Survivability and Sensor Materials Division, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
6. 2011, Developmental Sabbatical, Materials Science and Engineering Department, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
7. 2012–2015, Chief, Functional Materials Division, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
8. 2015–2020, Chief Scientist, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
9. 2020–present, Chief Technology Officer, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio

AWARDS AND HONORS
2001 Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer
2002 John H. Dillon Medal from the Division of Polymer Physics, American Physical Society 2004 Affiliate Society Council (Dayton) Outstanding Engineer and Scientist Award
2007 Fellow, American Physical Society
2007 Fellow, International Society for Optics and Photonics 2007 Fellow, Air Force Research Laboratory
2011 62nd Arthur S. Flemming Award, Department of Defense
2010 John L. McLucas Basic Science Air Force Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Award 2013 Fellow, Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering, American Chemical Society
2013 Fellow, Optical Society of America
2013 American Chemical Society Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering Co-Operative Research Award
2016 Fellow, Materials Research Society 2017 Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry 2017 Fellow, American Chemical Society
2017-2018 Class Induction, University of Connecticut’s Academy of Distinguished Engineers

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP
American Physical Society Materials Research Society American Chemical Society Optical Society of America Society of Optical Engineering
International Liquid Crystal Society

(Current as of March 2020)

Prof. Yeshaiahu (Shaya) Fainman
Department Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California San Diego, USA

Prof. Yeshaiahu (Shaya) Fainman Bio:

Professor Yeshaiahu (Shaya) Fainman is a Cymer Professor of Advanced Optical Technologies and Distinguished Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He received the Ph. D. from Technion in 1983. Currently he is directing research of the Ultrafast and Nanoscale Optics group at UCSD and made numerous contributions to near field optical phenomena, inhomogeneous and meta-materials, nanophotonics and plasmonics, and non-conventional imaging. The research applications target information technologies and sensing. His current research interests are in near field optical science and technology. He contributed over 300 manuscripts in peer review journals and over 450 conference presentations and conference proceedings. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Fellow of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, and a recipient of the Miriam and Aharon Gutvirt Prize, Lady Davis Fellowship, Brown Award, Gabor Award, Emmett N. Leith Medal and Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize.

Prof. Benjamin Eggleton
Director of The University of Sydney Nano Institute, Australia

Prof. Benjamin Eggleton Bio:

Eggleton obtained the Ph.D. degree in Physics from the University of Sydney in1996. He then joined Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies and in 2000 was promoted to Research Director within the Specialty Photonics Division of Bell Laboratories, supporting Lucent’s business in optical fibre devices and optical networks. Since 2003 he has been a Professor of Physics at the University of Sydney and currently serves as the Director of the University of Sydney Nano Institute (Sydney Nano) and co-Director of the NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN). Eggleton’s research links fundamental to applied science and engineering and he has extensive experience working with industry, end-users and the defence sector, particularly in the area of sensor fusion for situational awareness. Eggleton is a Fellow of Optical Society of America (OSA), IEEE Photonics, SPIE, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) and the Australian Academy of Science (AAS).

Workforce Development and Networking Plenary Speaker

Mr. Rodney Allen
Internal Workforce Planning and Development, Air Force Research Laboratory, Munitions Directorate, USA

Rodney Allen Bio:

Bio: Rodney Allen was born and raised in Salt Lake City, UT. After graduating
high school in 1999, he joined the United States Marine Corps and faithfully
served for 10 years, achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant. While serving on
active duty, he graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree of
Professional Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and
subsequently went on to receive a Masters of Aeronautical Science as a
distinguished graduate from the same school. He spent 10 years working at
the Naval Air Weapons Center Weapons Division in China Lake, CA finishing
his tour with the Organizational Development Division. He relocated to
Florida in 2021, and currently serves as the Internal Workforce Planning and
Development Lead for the Air Force Research Laboratory, Munitions
Directorate.

Certifications include: PROSCI Change Management Practitioner, Emergenetics
International Certified Facilitator, CPP Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Certified Facilitator, TotalSDI Certified Facilitator.