After the presentation of colors and National Anthem, join us for keynotes featuring defense, investment, and small business leadership.

As communities face increasingly complex and compounding risks—from hazards to infrastructure vulnerabilities—local stakeholders need practical tools and data-driven frameworks to guide resilience planning and implementation. This session will explore how actionable, community-scale data can be leveraged to assess and strengthen resilience across physical, social, and institutional dimensions. Panelists will introduce a range of tools and indicators used to quantify resilience at the local level, including metrics derived from census data and hazard exposure datasets. Through a series of lightning talks, participants will learn about innovative dashboards, web applications, and cross-sector data integration strategies that support decision-making in areas such as housing, utilities, and public health. The session will also feature an interactive group exercise where attendees will identify data gaps and resilience priorities in fictional or real-world communities. The discussion will culminate in a collaborative dialogue to surface needs for future tool development, opportunities for scaling, and strategies for more inclusive and effective resilience planning

Global threats and hazards increasingly challenge the resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure. The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), as the nation’s risk advisor, leads efforts to strengthen resilience across both cyber and physical domains. Since the creation of DHS under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, DHS and CISA have partnered with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) national laboratories to address the nation’s most significant infrastructure challenges and deliver solutions that benefit the homeland security community. The Trump administration’s March 2025 Executive Order on “Achieving Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness” expands the role of State and Local governments in advancing national resilience. This requires alignment with forthcoming national guidance—including the Resilience Strategy, Critical Infrastructure/Continuity Policies, National Preparedness/Response, and the National Risk Register. As these frameworks evolve, jurisdictions and critical infrastructure owners and operators across the 16 sectors must draw upon every available capability and expertise. This session will demonstrate how public and private sector stakeholders, together with the capabilities and contributions of industry groups, can leverage DHS and the DOE laboratories to develop risk-informed security and resilience solutions in both the cyber and physical domains. Attendees will leave with practical insights into emerging trends, best practices, and technology innovations shaping the future of homeland security.

Resilience planning is most effective when it moves beyond theory and into practice—grounded in real-world data, inclusive processes, and community values. This session focuses on how scenario-based planning and participatory engagement can help operationalize resilience strategies focused on defense communities. Through a series of panel presentations, participants will explore tools that integrate risk, hazard projections, and infrastructure vulnerability to support decision-making. Case studies from local governments and defense communities will illustrate how community engagement has shaped resilience investments, from backup power to flood protection and housing retrofits. Presenters will also share prioritization frameworks that help translate complex data into clear, community-informed actions. An interactive group discussion will invite attendees to reflect on how scenario planning can better reflect lived experiences and local priorities—not just infrastructure risks. The session will conclude with a synthesis of key takeaways and an invitation to collaborate on future tool development and community-centered resilience planning.

As cyberattacks on critical infrastructure providers grow in frequency, sophistication, and impact, governments face increasing pressure to strengthen their resilience. Cyber Florida at the University of South Florida has pioneered a nationally aligned, multi-assessment cyber risk mitigation capability that enables jurisdictions of all sizes to identify vulnerabilities and translate them into tailored, impact-driven solutions. With the release of the Florida Cyber Risk Assessment (FCRA) Version-4 platform, Florida now possesses an advanced system that integrates artificial intelligence through the new Cyber BULLS–I resource mapping capability. This FCRA allows for dynamic risk analysis across multiple consequence-focused data points—such as sector, subsector, geographic impact, organization size, information technology/operational technology, critical service type, and training programs—transforming fragmented information into actionable insight. Developed in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory, the platform’s customizable risk dashboard supports ad hoc queries and reporting that inform statewide policy and guide strategic resource allocation. Over the past three years, this data-driven approach has generated actionable recommendations to improve statewide preparedness and resilience, while also highlighting gaps that can inform workforce development initiatives. This session will share lessons learned from Florida’s statewide implementation, including the workflow process, assessment findings, and challenges encountered in advancing cyber readiness. Participants will gain an understanding of how multi-assessment platforms can be applied in their own jurisdictions to reduce risk, enable evidence-based policymaking, and ensure resources are directed where they are most effective. Ultimately, attendees will see how this approach fosters smarter governance, stronger infrastructure protection, and a sustainable cyber workforce pipeline.

Technical Advisor Managers with Crane will present focus areas of the new LEAN Power Initiative.

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are critical to the operations of critical infrastructure, from energy and transportation to water and manufacturing. As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, system analysis and vulnerability management play a pivotal role in safeguarding these systems against evolving cyber threats. By identifying vulnerabilities, assessing risks, and implementing mitigation strategies, organizations can strengthen the resilience of ICS environments and ensure uninterrupted operations. Proactive vulnerability management reduces the likelihood of exploitation, minimizes costly downtime, and protects sensitive data. This panel will delve into the importance of gaining a deeper understanding of the cross-sector and cross-organization dependencies and cascading effects of interconnected ICS to improve plans for future investment in resilient technologies and effective approaches for protecting ICS against cyber and physical threats. Panelists will also highlight key resources available to organizations, such as federal programs, industry guidelines, and training opportunities, to enhance ICS security and resilience. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of innovations in ICS security and available resources to safeguard these essential systems through evolving challenges.

This talk will look at a number of design patterns in control system design that change how system designers can rethink automation when considering digital risk. Examples from energy and water sector systems are provided to emphasize these design patterns. Participants will leave with an understanding of the relationship of process automation to CIE principles. CIE brings out the resilient-by-design practices our critical engineered systems require to combat the modern digital risks faced by the growing amount of cyber-threats."

In an increasingly interconnected world, secure and resilient communications are the backbone of national security, economic stability, and public safety. Building resilience in these systems protects against disruptions caused by cyberattacks, natural disasters, or technical failures, while preserving operational continuity and public safety. This panel will explore the critical role of telecommunications and network infrastructure in maintaining reliable communication systems, as well as the indispensable function of Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) services in supporting communications and network traffic. Experts from government and industry will discuss emerging threats, innovative solutions, and best practices for safeguarding these vital systems. Attendees will gain insights into the importance of robust infrastructure, the integration of advanced technologies, and the collaborative security efforts required to ensure the resilience of communication networks in the face of evolving challenges.

100% missions depend on Operational Technology (OT) / control systems. Recently established Cyber Resiliency Office for Control Systems (CROCS) is the first dedicated organization to address the growing cyber threats targeting Air Force and Space Force installation infrastructure. Topics covered include “Vulnerability mitigation progress”, “Who does OT DCO?” and “3 pitfalls to avoid in applying cyber to DoD OT.” CROCS will serve as the central authority for overseeing and coordinating cybersecurity and cyber defense efforts for control systems that underpin DAF installations and operations. These include systems that support installation critical infrastructure essential for all air, space, and cyber missions. Common types of Air Force and Space Force operational technology are power, water, building automation systems, airfield lighting, HVAC, fuel, manufacturing, etc. -Provide strategic guidance, oversight, and reporting -Coordinate among DAF functional communities, Services and agencies, academia, research entities, industry -Enable coordinated incident response and mitigation efforts -Provide resource allocation and prioritization recommendations

This engaging session examines how critical mineral supply chains underpin digital infrastructure resilience. Distinguished by its structured discussion format, the session includes guided audience feedback segments to culminate in a practical "Supply Chain Resilience Checklist" takeaway synthesizing key insights. The panel will explore: 1. How mineral supply disruptions cascade through digital systems 2. Methodologies for quantifying supply chain risks 3. Developing North American capabilities to reduce foreign dependencies The session highlights the strategic US-Canada critical infrastructure partnership, supported by bilateral agreements and protection frameworks. Through moderated Q&A and audience polling, participants will contribute to identifying sector-specific resilience priorities. Canstar's development of Canadian mineral projects demonstrates how private entities can strengthen resilience through responsible North American resource development.

As the fear associated with extreme weather intensifies, the electric grid faces mounting threats from wildfires, polar plunges, hurricanes and tornadoes, and shifting demand patterns. Yet, a growing debate questions whether current resilience planning is grounded in science or driven by regulatory and political pressure. This panel will explore the technical tensions surrounding grid adaptation—drawing from recent strategies of utility planning, DOE guidance, and industry responses.

Visit with participaitng SBIR/STTR Federal Agencies and learn more about areas of interest for small businesses and universities

All critical infrastructure asset owners need to implement basic cybersecurity measures, to include managing supply chain risk. But there are a lot of standards and guidelines out there, and different types of critical infrastructure are increasingly interconnected. The definition of Defense Critical Electric Infrastructure (DCEI) by congress in 2015 and the definition of the Energy Sector Industrial Base by the Department of Energy in 2022 offer an example of two critical infrastructure sectors intersecting. Energy Sector asset owners are familiar with NERC-CIP compliance. CMMC, founded in the Department of Defense and the Defense Industrial Base, is a cyber certification model that is maturing and expanding across federal agencies and into other countries. How do these different cyber compliance regimes intersect, and can they complement one another? This expert panel will compare both compliance regimes, discuss how they increasingly intersect, and provide insights into the future evolution of cybersecurity compliance.

As microgrids evolve to higher Technology Readiness Levels (TRL),advancements at lower TRLs are critical for meeting future demands and resilience requirements. This panel will delve into the latest developments in real-time controls, operational optimization, and power electronics, including AI integration and self-healing capabilities. We will explore the incorporation of diverse energy storage solutions such as electrochemical and thermal storage, alongside geothermal and advanced nuclear integrated microgrids. Moving beyond traditional solar PV, wind, and batteries, this session will provide insights from the perspectives of government agencies, industry leaders, and national laboratories on the progress made and the challenges ahead. Join us to understand how these innovations are shaping the next generation of microgrids.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), in collaboration with the University of Georgia (UGA) and the University of Virginia (UVA), is advancing a toolset to evaluate watershed-level resilience across USACE operational projects. This features the characterization and management of infrastructure interdependencies within and beyond USACE operations in achieving regional and systems resilience. This special session will feature a panel that explores conceptual frameworks and practical tools for identifying and analyzing these interdependencies. Dr. Michael Deegan (USACE) will open by providing an overview of infrastructure interdependencies between USACE projects and other critical infrastructure systems. Negin Shamsi (UGA) will then discuss different classifications of infrastructure interdependencies and highlight available assessment tools. Dr. Davis C. Loose (UVA) will introduce a prototype screening tool alongside a case study to demonstrate mapping infrastructure interdependencies within a specific basin. The session will conclude with a moderated discussion aimed at fostering a bidirectional exchange of ideas between panelists and audience members. This interactive format is intended to encourage new ideas for assessing resilience and infrastructure interdependencies at the watershed scale.

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.

This panel discussion will focus on the best practices for safely, reliably, and resiliently running AI/ML models in a critical production environment. Learn what questions you should be asking in order to best prepare yourself for operating your models on a live, continuous basis. From technical aspects such as understanding how to measure and detect model drift over time, to organizational challenges like integrating the model analysis results and awareness of key AI security and operational risks into your existing business processes, you will discover key strategies to successfully operationalize your AI/ML models.

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.

As grid-scale energy storage accelerates to support renewable integration and grid flexibility, the need for safe, resilient deployment has become paramount. Lithium-ion systems, while central to modern infrastructure, present complex risks—including thermal runaway, fire, and toxic gas release—that can cascade across interconnected systems. These risks are amplified by increasing deployment density and integration into mission-critical environments. This panel convenes leading detection experts from academia and industry to explore the multifaceted challenge of energy storage safety. Panelists will examine real-world incidents and share insights into emerging detection technologies, including advanced gas sensors and thermal monitoring systems, that enable early fault identification and risk mitigation. The discussion will also cover operational protocols, manufacturing best practices, and evolving standards that collectively reduce system vulnerability and support safe integration. By spotlighting lessons learned and forward-looking strategies, the panel will provide a cross-sector roadmap for embedding safety and resilience into the next generation of energy storage systems.

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.

This panel presents a holistic cybersecurity approach to address the vulnerabilities arising from the rapid expansion of solar and other grid-connected resources. From an OT perspective, panelists will discuss different cybersecurity defense techniques that rely on analyzing grid behaviors (e.g., physics-based signal analysis, data signature analysis). Additionally, machine learning and artificial intelligence will be examined as key tools for real-time anomaly detection within the wide area network. From an IT perspective, the panel will discuss the use of cyber-physical co-simulations to realistically model grid operations while considering transmission-distribution-grid edge coordination and network artifacts. These simulations can help validate detection methods against simulated cyber-attack scenarios, ensuring robust, adaptable solutions. Finally, the panel will highlight the use of practical cybersecurity checklists that can be used by installers to secure grid devices. This checklists are based on regulatory standards, industry practices, and installer feedback. This systematic guidance enhances operational security through the adoption of best practices (firmware updates, credential management, and network segmentation). An interactive discussion with the audience will follow, highlighting the need to improve upon existing practices, and how collaboration is key for success.

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.

Sponsored by Idaho National Laboratory and RISE Consortium, view the posters and raise a glass to the poster presenters!

As the energy sector becomes increasingly digitized, the explosion of machine-to-machine connections—now vastly outnumbering human ones—has introduced a new frontier of cybersecurity challenges. This session dives into the convergence of cloud, wireless, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-agent technologies in modern grid security, unpacking how Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) and AI technologies can be used both to secure critical infrastructure and to defend against the very AI systems being deployed within it. Experts from national laboratories, utilities, and industry will present cutting-edge research and field deployments that integrate Zero Trust principles—such as continuous authentication, least privilege access, and micro-segmentation—with AI/ML techniques for real-time anomaly detection, behavior modeling, and autonomous threat response in operational technology (OT) environments. A special focus will be placed on the unique challenges of securing non-human machine identities and communications, where traditional access control methods fall short. The session will also feature a case study from a DOE-funded collaboration with Constellation, showcasing how a Zero Trust framework for machines has been successfully deployed across the largest fleet of nuclear plants in the U.S. Attendees will gain insight into the evolving regulatory landscape, risk management frameworks, and public-private R&D initiatives that aim to future-proof the grid against sophisticated cyber threats.

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.

Extreme weather poses significant risks to critical infrastructure operations. However, the uncertainties associated with these events pose even more challenges to energy planning activities that are looking out 5 to 50 years into the future. This session will feature insights from planners across academia, industry, and national laboratories. The discussion will cover the largest challenges observed from each distinct perspective and how extreme weather risk is currently being incorporated into integrated energy system planning efforts.

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.

These lightning talks delve into the critical issue of grid resilience and innovative solutions being developed to address it. Our speakers will explore key topics such as enhancing grid reliability through data-driven electric vehicle (EV) charging integration, exemplified by the CalderaCast system, and the implementation of nanosecond-responsive arresters for grid resiliency. These discussions highlight the significant challenges we face and emphasize the need for collaborative problem-solving.

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.