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Digital Proceedings of a Workshop Series—in Brief | July–September 2025

Transformative Science and Technology for Defense

Workshop Series

From new advances in artificial intelligence to developments in synthetic biology, American research is expanding our understanding of science and uncovering new possibilities for defense. Maintaining awareness and leveraging opportunities in these emerging areas is critical for U.S. competitiveness and national security.

A standing committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine organized a series of workshops designed for a non-expert audience to explore potentially transformative science and technology topics and how these breakthroughs could disrupt traditional research and engineering strategies. During the workshops participants discussed ways these new discoveries can drive innovative solutions for defense applications and protect U.S. scientific and military advantage.

About this digital publication

  • Standing Committee Members
    • RICHARD M. MURRAY (NAE), Caltech, Chair
    • DARLENE SOLOMON (NAE), Agilent Technologies (retired), Vice Chair
    • SAMUEL ACHILEFU (NAE/NAM), The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
    • CECILIA BITZ, University of Washington
    • NADYA T. BLISS, Arizona State University
    • ROBERT BRAUN (NAE), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
    • WILLIAM J. DALLY (NAE), NVIDIA
    • DEEPAKRAJ M. DIVAN (NAE), Georgia Institute of Technology
    • MARKITA P. LANDRY, University of California, Berkeley
    • ROBERT H. LATIFF, Private Consultant
    • IVETT A. LEYVA, Texas A&M University
    • LAURA A. McNAMARA, Sandia National Laboratories
    • JILL C. PIPHER, Brown University
    • AMINA A. QUTUB, University of Texas at San Antonio
  • Reviewers

    This Digital Proceedings of a Workshop Series was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

    We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings:

    • SAMUEL ACHILEFU (NAE/NAM), The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
    • ELLEN PAWLIKOWSKI (NAE), U.S. Air Force (retired)


    We thank the following individuals for their subject-specific review of each proceedings:


    Synthetic Biology for Biomanufacturing and Predictable Engineering

    • STEVEN MOSS, National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology
    • ALEXANDER TITUS, Avidity Biosciences, Inc.


    Operationalizing Very Low Earth Orbit

    • IAIN BOYD, University of Colorado Boulder
    • STEVEN P. SHEPARD, Vaxon Space


    Non-Linguistic Artificial Intelligence Models

    • MICHAEL GIRARD, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
    • THƠ H. NGUYỄN, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine


    Materials and Manufacturing for Extreme and Contested Environments

    • SLADE GARDNER, Big Metal Additive, LLC
    • CHRISTOPHER M. SPADACCINI, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
    • KIRSTIN PERSSON (NAE), University of California, Berkeley


    Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by DIETRAM A. SCHEUFELE, University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteurs and the National Academies.

  • Suggested Citation
  • Sponsors
    • Department of Defense, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, with the assistance of the Army Research Office
  • Staff
    • GABRIELLE RISICA, Program Officer, Project Director
    • JON EISENBERG, Senior Program Director
    • KIMBERLY BOB, Communications Director
    • SHENAE BRADLEY, Administrative Coordinator
    • APURVA DAVE, Senior Program Officer (until November 2025)
    • DWAYNE DAY, Senior Program Officer
    • ERIC EDKIN, Program Collaboration Manager
    • LYLY LUHACHACK, Program Officer
    • MADDI NICOL, Senior Program Assistant
    • ERIK SVEDBERG, Scholar

Learn more about the Standing Committee on Transformative Science and Technology