Daniel DeLaurentis is an associate professor at the System-of-Systems Laboratory, Aerospace Systems Research Area, at the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He leads the system-of-systems research laboratory and is an active participant in the College of Engineering’s System-of-Systems Signature Area. He is the past chair of the AIAA Air Transportation Systems Technical Committee and co-chair of the IEEE Systems of Systems Technical Committee. He is an associate fellow of the AIAA. He earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his B.S. in aerospace engineering from Florida Institute of Technology.
Mark “Mutt” Jefferson is director, Horizontal Integration, Aeronautics for Lockheed Martin Corporation. In this capacity, he is responsible for leading the aeronautics company thrust for advanced operational concept development and definition, and associated man-in-the-loop modeling and simulation and live experimentation for tomorrow’s network-enabled warfighting environment. He integrates capabilities across aeronautics company programs and is the point of contact for the aeronautics company into the corporation for horizontal integration activities. Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Jefferson served in a variety of increasingly responsible positions in the USAF, including Interoperability Joint Warfighting Capabilities Assessment Team Leader, U.S. Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.; deputy director, Combat Forces Requirements, U.S. Air Force Staff, Washington, D.C.; Combined Forces Air Component Commander, Operation Northern Watch, Incirlik, Turkey; deputy director, Defense Modeling and Simulation Office, Washington, D.C.; Commander 27FS, Langley AFB, Virginia; and numerous F15/F4 pilot/instructor pilot assignments in the United States, Europe, and the Pacific. Jefferson graduated from the USAF Academy in 1975 with a bachelor’s of science in chemistry and from the University of Southern California in 1981 with a master’s of science in systems management.
John Main currently serves as chief operating officer at Intific, Inc. In addition to his operational responsibilities he leads the business development and preliminary design activities in the company. Prior to joining Intific he served as a program manager in the Defense Sciences Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), where he initiated programs in a broad range of technical areas, including biologically inspired materials, fast and efficient human-powered swimming, rapid rooftop access, small-scale power generation, and human exoskeletons for increased soldier endurance. In 2001 Main founded Precision Systems and Instrumentation, Inc., a company that designs, manufactures, sells, and supports two instrument systems used in spinal cord injury research. In 2008 Main was awarded the Office of Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service. Earlier in his career he also served as an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Kentucky. Academic career accomplishments include more than 75 technical articles, three edited volumes, nine invited lectures, five awarded patents, and 32 externally funded research efforts. Before his academic work he served as a staff
engineer at both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Westinghouse Nuclear Division. Main acquired his M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Vanderbilt University after receiving a B.S. in physics and mathematics from Western Kentucky University.
Alton D. Romig, Jr. (NAE) is vice president and general manager of Advanced Development Programs, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. In this capacity, he sets the strategic direction for the capture of new business and leads the management of the world-renowned Skunk Works®, the pre-eminent seat of aerospace innovation for more than 65 years. Prior to joining Advanced Development Programs, Romig spent more than 30 years with Sandia National Laboratories, operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company. His responsibilities there included the leadership of development and engineering activities providing science, technology, and systems expertise in support of U.S. programs in military technology; nuclear deterrence and nuclear proliferation prevention; technology assessments; intelligence and counterintelligence; homeland security; and energy programs. During his time with Sandia he held a variety of management assignments, including chief technology officer and vice president for Science, Technology, and Partnerships. In that role, he was chief scientific officer for the Nuclear Weapons Program, accountable for Sandia’s interactions with industry and academia. In addition, he was responsible for the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program. Most recently, he served as the executive vice president, deputy laboratories director, and chief operating officer responsible for all aspects of laboratory business, including the science and technology base supporting all laboratory programs. Known for his pioneering work in materials science, engineering, and characterization, he has won numerous international prizes, including the ASM Silver Medal for Outstanding Materials Research (1992). As an engineer he worked on and led teams that designed, manufactured, and delivered numerous systems to the national security enterprise. Romig is an active member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Council on Foreign Relations. He has served on numerous influential government advisory councils and boards either through the U.S. government or the National Academies, including the Intelligence Science Board, an advisory body to the director of National Intelligence; the National Institute of Standards and Technology Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology, an advisory body to the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology; Defense Science Board Summer Studies; the Air Force Studies Board; Standing Advisory Committee to the Special Operations Command; and the Standing Committee for Technology Insight—Gauge, Evaluate, and Review, an advisory committee to the intelligence community. Romig has served on several industrial boards, including for the Technology Ventures Corporation, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary dedicated to technology commercialization; and as a Lockheed Martin representative on the Atomic Weapons Establishment (UK) Board of Directors. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ASM International (American Society for Materials), and The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society. Romig is a senior member of IEEE, and he has served as chair of the United Way of Central New Mexico. He received his bachelor of science, master of science, and doctoral degrees in materials science and engineering from Lehigh University in 1975, 1977, and 1979, respectively.
David Vos is the retired senior director of Control Technologies of Rockwell Collins Control Technologies. He co-founded Athena Technologies, Inc., and served as its president, chief executive officer, and chief technology officer. Under Dr. Vos’s leadership, Athena is an active contributor to the advancement of the United States’ competitive position in math and science, as well as competitive sports and national pride. He has broad experience in analysis, synthesis, design, and development of mechanical systems, system dynamics modeling and simulation, guidance and control systems, passive and active vibration isolation systems, optimization algorithms and intelligent systems, internal combustion and turbo machinery modeling and control, and other estimation and control systems. He currently serves as director of Athena
Technologies, Inc. Vos is a pioneer in the area of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). He developed a new mathematical approach for treating nonlinear, highly time-variant systems as if they were both linear and time invariant. He proved this approach and the resulting technology with the invention of the world’s first autonomous unicycle. The riderless unicycle utilized sensors that could detect balance changes and a control algorithm that could interpret that sensor data and then issue adjustment instructions to a mechanical motor propelling the vehicle. With this success, he opened the door to an entirely new field of dynamics and control. Vos is the inventor and developer of Athena’s core technology. He holds patents in nonlinear control systems, failure detection systems, optimal power control systems, and more. Vos holds a B.S. in engineering with honors in aeronautical engineering from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, an M.S. in dynamics and control from MIT, and a Ph.D. in estimation and control from MIT, in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
