Description:

To effectively pioneer test and evaluation (T&E) of weapon systems built to change over time, the T&E enterprise needs to implement fluid and iterative T&E across the entire system lifecycle to help assure continued combat credibility as the system evolves to meet warfighter needs. Iterative T&E across the system lifecycle necessitates the increased use of credible digital twins in T&E. The combination of new domains and operational constraints makes verified, validated, and accredited digital technologies the practical approach for development and T&E of systems. The development of new methods to evaluate the operational performance of software-reliant and artificial intelligence (AI) enabled systems (AIES) is paramount to keep pace with technology while ensuring performance and security. Additionally, testing must demonstrate that AIES are responsible, ethical, equitable, traceable, reliable and governable. This and other best practices will help us keep pace with the rapid and frequent changes we both encourage and expect, such that we can test them safely with minimal disruption to warfighting units.
 

Speakers:

Nilo Thomas, Software and Cyber Advisor, Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E)

Mr. Nilo Thomas currently works as the DOT&E’s Software and Cyber Advisor, managing the diverse portfolio of DOT&E software and cyber initiatives on behalf of operational test and evaluation, since December 2021. Before then, he worked for the Air Force’s 47th Cyberspace Test Squadron for 8 years, where he was a test manager leading the largest test programs in the test squadron, Unified Platform and Joint Cyber Command and Control, the DoD’s premier cyberspace weapon systems. Nilo graduated from New Mexico State University in 2013 with a BS in Aerospace Engineering. 

Dr. Kristen Alexander, Chief Learning and Artificial Intelligence Officer in Strategic Initiatives, Policy, and Emerging Technologies, Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E)

Dr. Kristen Alexander has served as the Chief Learning and Artificial Intelligence Officer in Strategic Initiatives, Policy, and Emerging Technologies, Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) since January 2023.

From 2015 – 2022, Dr. Alexander served as the Technical Advisor for the Deputy DOT&E for Land & Expeditionary Warfare where she provided technical and analytical advice for test design, evaluation, and reporting on over 50 Army and Marine Corps programs.

Dr. Alexander has been involved with operational test and evaluation since 1999, when as a research staff member at the Institute for Defense Analyses. She grew up in New York and earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rochester. She earned a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Alexander is the recipient of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service. She resides in Falls Church City, Virginia with her husband and four children.

Jeremy Werner, PhD, ST, Chief Science Advisor/ Chief Scientist, Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E)

Jeremy Werner, PhD, ST was appointed DOT&E’s Chief Science Advisor/ Chief Scientist in December 2021 after initially starting at DOT&E as an Action Officer for Naval Warfare in August 2021. Before then, Jeremy was at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) where he founded a data science-oriented military operations research team that transformed the analytics of an ongoing military mission. Jeremy previously served as a Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses where he supported DOT&E in the rigorous assessment of a variety of systems and platforms.

Jeremy received a PhD in physics from Princeton University where he was an integral contributor to the Compact Muon Solenoid collaboration in the experimental discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland. Jeremy is a native Californian and received a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of California, Los Angeles where he was the recipient of the E. Lee Kinsey Prize for most outstanding graduating senior in physics.
 

Host:

Tim Leake, Professor of Test and Evaluation, DAU