Defense TechConnect, Resilience Week, and SBIR/STTR Keynotes
Presentation of Colors and National Anthem US Air Force Band and US Space Force Color Guard
Welcome and Opening Remarks Jennifer Rocha, Strategic Partnerships, TechConnect Division, ATI
Matt Willis (invited), Director of Army Innovation Programs, U.S. Army
DoW Energy Leadership Fireside Chat with James Caley, Director, Operational Energy, Department of the Navy, U.S. Navy
Resilience Week Keynote
Office of Innovation and Investment, U.S. Small Business Administration
10:00 AM
Woodrow Wilson Lobby
Coffee Break
10:30 AM
Woodrow Wilson C
Defense TechConnect: LEAN Power Initiative
LEAN Power engages industry and academia to advance innovation, leverage emerging technologies, and enhance Operational Energy technology and installation Energy infrastructure. Learn more about LEAN, how to join the newest Consortia, and future funding opportunities for your organization.
Moderator: EMC2 and LEAN Power Initiative, ATI
NSWC Crane, U.S. Navy
Naval Operational Energy Office, Tech Advisor, U.S. Navy
10:30 AM
Woodrow Wilson D
Defense TechConnect: Securing the Edge: Innovating Perimeter Defense for Modern Threats, presented by 3B Protection
Dominic Dillon, CEO & President, 3B Protection
Thomas Styner (U.S. Army, Retired), International/Business Development Foreign Military Sales, Styner Consulting LLC
10:30 AM
Baltimore 5
Defense TechConnect: Medical Innovations Panel
10:30 AM
Baltimore 1-2
Resilience Week: Operationalizing Resilience through Scenario Planning and Engagement
10:30 AM
Baltimore 3-4
Resilience Week: Emerging Trends and Best Practices in Critical Infrastructure Resilience: Leveraging DHS, DOE Laboratories, and Industry Expertise
Ollie Gagnon, Executive Director, INL Resilience Optimization Center, Idaho National Laboratory
Zach Tudor, Associate Laboratory Director, National & Homeland Security, Idaho National Laboratory
Ryan Donaghy, Deputy Executive Assistant Director for Infrastructure Security (Acting) and Assistant Director for Stakeholder Engagement (Acting), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
10:30 AM
Woodrow Wilson B
SBIR/STTR: SBIR 101
Learn the basics about the SBIR/STTR Program
11:00 AM
Woodrow Wilson B
SBIR/STTR: Agency Reverse Pitches
11:30 AM
Baltimore 5
Defense TechConnect Innovation Spotlights: Biotech and Health Security I
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
Defense TechConnect Innovation Spotlights: Materials and Manufacturing I
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
Review Panelists
Dalia Yablon (Session Chair and Review Panelist), Founder, SurfaceChar and Technical Program Chair, TechConnect World, SurfaceChar and TechConnect World
Bart Romanowicz, Senior Advisor, TechConnect Division, ATI
Dave Rios, DTIC-IAC Field Advisor, Cloud Lake Technology, LLC, in support of U.S. Central Command
Martha Dixon, Small Business Liaison Officer (SBLO), Northrop Grumman
Defense TechConnect Innovation Spotlights: Energy and Resilience Innovation Spotlights I
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
Resilience Week: From Gaps to Gains: Leveraging Multi-Assessment Cyber Risk Platforms to Drive Policy, Resource Allocation, and Workforce Development
Ollie Gagnon, Executive Director, INL Resilience Optimization Center, Idaho National Laboratory
Tim Klett, Department Manager, Infrastructure Resilience Analysis, Idaho National Laboratory
Ernie Ferraresso, Director, Florida Center for Cybersecurity at USF
12:15 PM
Lunch (on own)
1:30 PM
Woodrow Wilson B
SBIR/STTR: Session
1:30 PM
Baltimore 5
Defense TechConnect Innovation Spotlights: Biotech & Health Security II
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
Defense TechConnect: Innovation Spotlights: Materials and Manufacturing II
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
Review Panelists
Dalia Yablon (Session Chair and Review Panelist), Founder, SurfaceChar and Technical Program Chair, TechConnect World, SurfaceChar and TechConnect World
Bart Romanowicz, Senior Advisor, TechConnect Division, ATI
Dave Rios, DTIC-IAC Field Advisor, Cloud Lake Technology, LLC, in support of U.S. Central Command
Martha Dixon, Small Business Liaison Officer (SBLO), Northrop Grumman
Defense TechConnect: Innovation Spotlights: Energy and Resilience Innovation Spotlights II
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
Defense TechConnect Innovation Spotlights: Energy and Resilience Innovation Spotlights III
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
Resilience Week: Critical Connections: Ensuring Secure and Resilient Communications
Brannan Villee, Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Research Strategic Program Manager, Office of Mission and Capability Support, Science & Technology Directorate, Department of Homeland Security
Robert Dew, Senior Emergency Communications Technologist Advisor, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Resilience Week: Cyber Resilience Office for Control Systems (CROCS) – advancing OT Cyber, not the comfy rubber shoes!!!
2:30 PM
Woodrow Wilson B
SBIR/STTR: Session
3:30 PM
Baltimore 5
Defense TechConnect: Innovation Spotlights: Space Technologies
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
Review Panelists
Joseph Epstein, Space Strategic Partnerships Lead for Engineering and Technology, Lockheed Martin
Defense TechConnect: Critical Minerals, Critical Challenges: Innovation in Domestic Mineral Production
The path to realizing domestic mineral production at scale faces several challenges, requiring collaboration, technological innovation, and market integration. We bring together leading voices from academia, industry, federal agencies, and venture capital to explore the different drivers and opportunities for accelerating the path to America’s mineral independence and technological edge.
3:30 PM
Woodrow Wilson C
Defense TechConnect: Ask Me Anything: LEAN Power Initiative
This is your chance to ask the architects and supporters of the new LEAN Power Initiative.
3:30 PM
Baltimore 1-2
Resilience Week: Critical Minerals Security: Strengthening Digital Infrastructure Resilience through Sustainable Supply Chains
3:30 PM
Baltimore 3-4
Resilience Week: Grid Resilience and Extreme Weather: Is the Threat Real or Overstated? Are we truly prepared?
4:00 PM
Prince George BC
SBIR/STTR: Agency Tabletops Reception
Visit with over 20 SBIR/STTR Federal Agencies to discuss funding opportunities for small businesses and universities
Defense TechConnect, Fall SBIR/STTR, Resilience Week, and Fall Smart Cities Expo and Reception
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 20, 2025
8:00 AM
Woodrow Wilson Lobby
Registration (7:00am-6:00pm)
8:30 AM
Woodrow Wilson A
Defense TechConnect, SBIR/STTR, and Drone Dominance Symposium Keynotes
Welcome and Opening Remarks Jennifer Rocha, Strategic Partnerships, TechConnect Division, ATI
Drone Dominance Symposium Keynote, DoW
NREL EPIC Pitch Award Overview, NREL
SBIR/STTR Policy Panel
10:00 AM
Woodrow Wilson Lobby
Coffee Break
10:30 AM
Woodrow Wilson D
Defense TechConnect: Drone Dominance Symposium
10:30 AM
Baltimore 5
Defense TechConnect: Data/AI/Cyber Panel
10:30 AM
Woodrow Wilson C
Defense TechConnect: EPIC 2025, an NREL Prize Challenge
10:30 AM
Woodrow Wilson B
SBIR/STTR: Session
10:30 AM
Baltimore 1-2
Resilience Week: Cyber Risk Standards Mashup: NERC-CIP and Cyber Security Model Certification (CMMC)
10:30 AM
Baltimore 3-4
Resilience Week: Next Generation Microgrids: Not your Grandparents Microgrid
Michael Ropp, Principal Member of Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories
George Navarro, Director of Mission Critical Solutions, MC Dean
Bob Harwig, Senior Manager, Grid Enablement, S&C Electric
11:30 AM
Woodrow Wilson D
Defense TechConnect: Drone Dominance Symposium
11:30 AM
Baltimore 5
Defense TechConnect: Innovation Spotlights: Data/AI/Cyber I
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
Negin Shamsi, Graduate Research Assistant, University of Georgia
Davis Loose, Data Scientist and Researcher, Univeristy of Virginia
11:30 AM
Baltimore 3-4
Resilience Week: Holistic Resilience Modeling to Support the Mission
This session will discuss models and methods developed at Sandia and currently being expanded to provide holistic resilience modeling and analysis, covering both infrastructure and spatial interdependencies. This work focuses not simply on “keeping the lights on,” but on ensuring successful mission execution, accounting for water, transportation, and communications interdependencies with electric power. We consider local operation of the campus but also its myriad external dependencies, enhancing the understanding of the impact of failures beyond the campus.
These methodologies are currently being applied to military applications, supporting defense mission assurance by considering military installations and their supporting communities. Defense missions can be highly complex, with several dependencies beyond electric power at a single building. Put simply, effectiveness depends on the entire
ecosystem that supports them.
This work also has been and continues to be applied to support territorial resilience investments, especially in areas prone to threats including hurricanes and wildfires. In these areas, interdependencies including critical services availability and evacuation
options influence the effectiveness of microgrids supporting business parks, schools, and medical services.
Discussion and Q&A will focus on historic implementations of these efforts (Puerto Rico, USVI, New Orleans, California, etc.) including lessons learned and remaining gaps identified. Additionally, forward-looking discussion will address how we will implement
these efforts at military installations in our ongoing work.
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
Review Panelists
Robb Reid, Chief Revenue Officer, Sourcewell
Earl Armstrong, Naval Operational Energy Office, Tech Advisor, U.S. Navy
Defense TechConnect: Innovation Spotlights: Data/AI/Cyber II
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
Resilience Week: Making the Intangible Tangible—using games and activities to illustrate concepts in the energy space
Energy concepts can be abstract and complex and are characterized by interdependencies and tradeoffs. Whether it’s understanding how labs can work on solutions across different program areas, how agencies can better understand the suite of different energy solutions, helping community organizations understand the steps of energy planning, or inspiring the next generation; we need impactful ways to communicate energy topics. This session will introduce serious games and hands-on activities currently used by Sandia National Laboratories in the energy space and illustrate how abstracted realities can be game changers for learning complex topics. Researchers will talk about three unique applications in this space—1) DECIDE: Decision-making for Effective Choices of Integrated Distributed Energy, an educational and analytical game for teaching and studying community-based energy planning; 2) Two Boots, a tabletop event based on the February 2020 outages in Texas to understand national laboratory capabilities and applications; and 3) E-VOLT: Energy-Volunteering Outreach Leadership Team, a program used with students at labs and museums with hands-on, engaging demonstrations of complex energy systems. Presenters will share the goals of each of the games/activities, the target audience, how it was developed, and key takeaways. Session attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a sample activity from each program for a hands-on experience.
Amanda Wachtel, Social & Experimental Psychologist, Sandia National Laboratories
Brooke Garcia, Principle Member of Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories
Mika Armenta, Social & Experimental Psychologist, Sandia National Laboratories
Rachid Darbali-Zamora, Principle Member of Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratories
2:00 PM
Prince George BC
Defense TechConnect, SBIR/STTR Agency Tabletops, and Smart Cities Connect Expo Hall Opens
2:00 PM
Prince George BC
SBIR/STTR: Agency Tabletops
Visit with over 20 SBIR/STTR Federal Agencies to discuss funding opportunities for small businesses and universities
2:30 PM
Woodrow Wilson D
Defense TechConnect: $50K Drone Dominance Innovation Challenge II and Winners Announcement
2:30 PM
Baltimore 5
Defense TechConnect: Innovation Spotlights: Data/AI/Cyber III
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
Resilience Week: Ensuring Safety and Resilience in Grid-Scale Energy Storage Systems
2:30 PM
Baltimore 3-4
Resilience Week: Can Resilience be the driver for the Nuclear Renaissance
The drive for a reliable and secure energy future increasingly highlights the importance of resilient infrastructure. Both the Department of Defense and data center operators underscore the critical need for reliable energy solutions. While nuclear energy, particularly through Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), offers a promising path, the significant cost of SMRs remains a barrier. This abstract explores the central question of whether the imperative for resilience and reliability will ultimately justify the substantial investment in SMR technology to achieve a more sustainable and secure energy landscape.
3:30 PM
Baltimore 1-2
Resilience Week: Securing the Grid: Holistic Cybersecurity Strategies for Solar and other Grid Connected Resources
Jag Vempati, Research Scientist, Cybersecurity, Siemens
Zhihua Qu, Data Analytics Senior Associate, University of Centeral Florida
3:30 PM
Baltimore 3-4
Resilience Week: Unleashing the Grid: Energy Dominance for National Defense
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) missions depend on the electric grid, and this dependency will only increase in the future. Providing reliable and resilient power in remote locations is, in particular, challenging. Achieving energy dominance for national defense requires having the resources needed to execute critical missions regardless of adverse conditions. In this moderated panel, DHS officials and electric cooperative industry representatives will discuss how they're meeting the challenge of providing resilient and secure power to the Coast Guard in one of its most isolated locations - Kodiak, AK.
Lauren Khair, Senior Director of Energy Research and Resilience, NRECA
Kate Espinosa, Researcher, Energy Security and Resilience, NREL
Sam Alvord, Chief, Office of Energy Management, U.S. Coast Guard
4:00 PM
Prince George BC
Defense TechConnect, SBIR/STTR, Resilience Week, and Fall Smart Cities Connect Expo and Reception
4:00 PM
Prince George BC
SBIR/STTR: Agency Tabletops Reception
Visit with over 20 SBIR/STTR Federal Agencies to discuss funding opportunities for small businesses and universities
4:15 PM
Prince George BC
Resilience Week Posters and Reception
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2025
7:00 AM
Woodrow Wilson Lobby
Registration (7:00am-12:00pm)
8:30 AM
Defense TechConnect: DOD Cybersecurity Compliance for Contractors (additional registration fee)
Participants in the Workshop will leave with an understanding of the requirements and knowledge of and access to tools that they can use to meet the obligations to protect the DoD information they will either receive or generate as part of the SBIR process.
9:00 AM
Woodrow Wilson C
Defense TechConnect Innovation Spotlights: Materials and Manufacturing Innovation Spotlights
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
Review Panelists
Emma Mooney, Project and Outreach Manager, TechConnect Division, ATI
Dave Rios, DTIC-IAC Field Advisor, Cloud Lake Technology, LLC, in support of U.S. Central Command
Martha Dixon, Small Business Liaison Officer (SBLO), Northrop Grumman
TBA, Raytheon
Innovators
9:05 PM
Large scale metal part manufacturing system Additive space technology Inc., dba Solideon
9:12 PM
Simultaneous Extraction and Fabrication of Thin Film Lithium Metal Anodes From Domestic Raw Materials. Alpha-En Corporation
9:19 AM
Laser Ablation Refining for Critical Materials AstroForge, Inc
9:26 AM
Electrochemical Mineral Processing BlueShift
9:00 AM
Baltimore 5
Defense TechConnect: Energy-Water Nexus
9:15 AM
Baltimore 1-2
Resilience Week: Buzzword Soup: Using Zero-Trust to Secure Critical Infrastructure with and from AI-driven Technologies
Keith Rose, Chief Executive Officer, Operant Networks
Daryl Haegley, Technical Director, Control Systems Cyber Resiliency, U.S. Air & Space Force
9:15 AM
Baltimore 3-4
Resilience Week: Distributed Energy and Grid Systems Integration
This session highlights the best accepted papers from the IEEE, featuring significant research and innovative solutions. The event brought together experts from around the nation to discuss the latest advancements in technology and engineering.
10:00 AM
Baltimore 5
Defense TechConnect: Nuclear Power
10:00 AM
Woodrow Wilson C
Defense TechConnect Innovation Spotlights
The Defense TechConnect(DTC) Innovation Spotlights are designed to accelerate private-sector and defense-sourced technology solutions aligned with warfighter and national security problem-sets.
10:15 AM
Baltimore 1-2
Resilience Week: Integrated Energy Infrastructure Planning under Extreme Weather Uncertainties
Kyle Skolfield, Research Scientist, Sandia National Laboratory
Nicole Jackson, Principal Member of Technical Staff, Sandia National Laboratory
Francisco Ralston Fonseca, Energy Research Analyst, EPRI
10:15 AM
Baltimore 3-4
Resilience Week: Cyber Resilience for Critical Functions - IEEE Papers
This session highlights the best accepted papers from the IEEE, featuring significant research and innovative solutions. The event brought together experts from around the nation to discuss the latest advancements in technology and engineering.
This session highlights the best accepted papers from the IEEE, featuring significant research and innovative solutions. The event brought together experts from around the nation to discuss the latest advancements in technology and engineering.
12:15 PM
End of Conference
SBIR/STTR Agency Partners
Defense TechConnect is the nation's largest innovation matchmaking program aligned with national technology priorities and federal funding opportunities.
All Department of Defense speakers are subject to budget travel changes. *Participation by any United States Federal Agency in any TechConnect activity or event does
not constitute an expressed or implied endorsement of any cosponsor, donor, grantee, contractor or
participant’s opinions, products, or services.