Emerging Tech Horizons

Hackathons are becoming an increasingly important tool in the defense innovation ecosystem. When designed intentionally, hackathons can work for everyone involved in defense innovation. In this episode of Emerging Tech Horizons, Dr. Arun Seraphin is joined by Nick Lanham, Chair of NDIA’s Data Analytics and Enterprise Platforms Division and Senior Data & AI Analyst at Kairos, and Charles Ott, Vice President and Solution Strategist at Maximus, to discuss NDIA’s hackathon model and what makes it effective.

The conversation offers a practical look at how this hackathon works: bringing together technologists, industry leaders, and government users for a focused, time‑boxed effort to tackle real defense problems. Rather than operating as a competition or a coding exercise, the hackathon is designed as a collaborative learning environment—one where participants share knowledge, test ideas, and better understand both user needs and institutional constraints. Lanham and Ott explain why this approach benefits everyone involved. Across the board, participants leave with a clearer picture of the problem space and stronger connections across the defense innovation community.

The episode looks back at NDIA’s inaugural hackathon, highlights what worked, and previews what’s planned for the upcoming event at the Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference. More broadly, it explains why thoughtfully designed hackathons are emerging as a valuable complement to traditional acquisition and innovation processes.

Start in Elementary School: Building America’s National Security STEM Pipeline YouTube Description: America’s next generation of emerging technology will not be built without the workforce to design, manufacture, operate, and sustain it. Jeremy Anderson, CEO of the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI), argues that K–12 STEM education is a national security priority, and the pipeline has to begin long before college or career decisions.

Anderson explains NMSI’s “train the trainers” model, which equips teachers, school leaders, counselors, and media specialists to help students build confidence, rigor, and a stronger STEM identity. According to Anderson, students who have at least one NMSI-trained teacher are far more likely to pursue a STEM degree or credential in fields tied to emerging technology and innovation. Industry cannot rely only on late-stage internships or higher education programs. Companies can help grow the future workforce by supporting teacher externships, connecting classrooms to real jobs, and investing earlier in tomorrow’s STEM talent to strengthen America’s national security and leadership in emerging technology.

As Emerging Technology continues to accelerate across domains like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Biotechnology, & Brain-computer interfaces coverage, humanity may be approaching a threshold that fundamentally redefines what it means to wage war – and what it means to be human.

In this episode, host Dr. Arun Seraphin is joined by Dr. Daniel Gerstein, adjunct professor at American University and George Mason University, to discuss Dr. Gerstein's upcoming novel, War Without Humanity: Conflict in the Post-Human Era. Drawing on his extensive background in National Security and Homeland Security, Dr. Gerstein explores a near-future world in which humans, augmented soldiers, and AI-enabled humanoid robots operate side by side on the battlefield – a force he calls the Future Force.

The conversation covers the Emerging Technology capabilities at the heart of this transformation and what these developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Biotechnology mean for ethical military doctrine, arms control, and international law in an evolving National Security landscape.

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The Department of War (DoW) is moving faster than ever—embracing commercial technology, autonomous systems, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled capabilities. But this acceleration raises a critical question: what happens to the human in the loop?

Recorded at the NDIA Human Systems Conference, Arun Seraphin speaks with four leaders working at the intersection of technology, personnel, and defense innovation: Dr. Eric Sikorski, Stuart Michelson, Jenn McNamara, and Jesse Flint.

Together, they examine how evolving priorities within the Department of War (DoW) are accelerating adoption of autonomous systems and Artificial Intelligence (AI), while placing new demands on the workforce responsible for operating them. The discussion reveals that rapid defense innovation often outpaces workforce readiness and can create challenges in training, integration, and scalability.

This episode highlights how NDIA members across industry, academia, and government are advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI), autonomous systems, and human performance strategies to ensure the Department of Defense (DoD) workforce can effectively support next-generation missions at speed.

Over the past decade, microelectronics and semiconductors have become a cornerstone of U.S. national security and supply chain resilience, moving beyond a purely technical issue to a central focus of economic and defense policy in Washington. 

In this episode, host Dr. Arun Seraphin sits down with Grant Meyer, chair of the National Defense Industrial Association Electronics Division, to discuss the evolving role of the electronics industrial base in supporting U.S. defense capabilities and securing critical supply chains. 

The conversation explores how rising geopolitical competition and legislation such as the CHIPS and Science Act have accelerated federal attention on semiconductor manufacturing, microelectronics innovation, and resilient supply chains. Seraphin and Meyer also dive into the challenges of building a coherent national electronics strategy, including fragmented priorities across the industrial base and commercial technology sector, and the difficulty of aligning long-term defense acquisition timelines with fast-moving commercial cycles. 

Meyer draws on his extensive experience in defense electronics to explain why microelectronics and semiconductors are foundational to modern military systems and national security infrastructure. 

Microelectronics and semiconductor technologies are no longer commodities—they are central to national security and defense innovation. James Chew, President and General Manager of Government Technologies at Intel, explains why this shift is redefining how the semiconductor industry supports defense platforms. 

Chew joins Dr. Arun Seraphin to explore how microelectronics has evolved from interchangeable components to mission-critical systems, driving a fundamental change in procurement and supply chain strategy. He highlights how past commercial off-the-shelf reforms created sustainment gaps as suppliers exited the market, leaving critical defense systems waiting on parts. 

The discussion also examines Intel’s Secure Enclave, designed to provide reliable access to advanced semiconductor manufacturing through dedicated capacity at its Arizona facility. Chew further outlines how government investment can strengthen the microelectronics and semiconductor industrial base, align long-term priorities, and enable Intel to operate more like a defense prime contractor in an increasingly competitive global landscape. 

Join host Dr. Arun Seraphin for a conversation with Kate Käufer, President & Founder of KMK Global Strategies, LLC, to break down how the DoD, Congress, and industry are navigating the FY26 Appropriations Act. The discussion highlights key budget timelines, the evolving role of the Defense Industrial Base, and emerging priorities including munitions production and the Golden Dome. Kate shares insights on interpreting appropriations signals, understanding DoD priorities, and how companies can stay proactive through stronger communication and collaboration across the defense ecosystem.

Over 3,000 troops and contractors experienced some form of casualty moving fuel to U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. That history explains why military energy thinking has defaulted to fuel logistics for two decades — and why a more serious vulnerability has gone largely unexamined. Today, the U.S. power grid is emerging as a critical infrastructure risk with direct implications for national security. Will Rogers, Principal at Converge Strategies and co-author of Powering the Fight: Lessons from the Grid at War, joins Dr. Arun Seraphin to discuss the military’s growing dependence on the power grid.

The conversation highlights the historical evolution of this dependency, noting that modern military operations rely heavily on a globally networked defense footprint tied to critical infrastructure systems. Rogers advocates for public-private cooperation to strengthen the power grid and address national security vulnerabilities under increasing stress.

Join Dr. Arun Seraphin for a conversation with Dr. Sridhar Kota and Hal Chrisman of FlexSys exploring how adaptive morphing control surfaces are transforming aerodynamics across the aerospace industry and defense industry. The discussion centers on this engineering breakthrough and its potential to reshape future DoD platforms and missions. Drawing on more than two decades of experience in the aerospace and defense industry, Dr. Kota and Chrisman explain how this adaptive technology can improve lift-to-drag ratios, reduce fuel consumption and noise, and eliminate the need for conventional flaps in next-generation aircraft designs.

 This conversation examines how morphing aerodynamics technologies could transform DoD mission requirements, from enabling shorter takeoff and landing distances to improving climb gradients and reducing fleet size requirements. In addition to the operational benefits for the Department of Defense (DoD), Dr. Kota and Chrisman explore key technology transition challenges facing the defense industry, including certification, integration, and scalability. The conversation concludes with a forward-looking vision for making morphing control surfaces an industry standard, along with practical guidance for OEMs and DoD partners interested in adopting this advanced aerodynamics technology.

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In part two of this conversation, Dr. Arun Seraphin is joined again by HON. David Berteau to examine how Defense Acquisition and Acquisition Reform in the Defense Industry evolved after the end of the Cold War. Berteau reflects on why Defense Acquisition Reform has remained a persistent challenge and highlights the need for a balanced approach that weighs both mission success and financial outcomes across the Defense Industry.

The conversation explores how Defense Acquisition challenges unfolded over time, beginning with post–Cold War budget drawdowns that accelerated consolidation within the Defense Industry. It then examines the 1990s rise of commercial technology, driven in part by new legislation such as the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act (FASA) and the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

David and Arun connect these Acquisition Reform efforts of the 1990s to today’s challenges by discussing how the Defense Industry can integrate commercial technology at speed, better align requirements with budgets and programs, and navigate Congress’s evolving role in Defense Acquisition. The discussion offers insight into what effective Defense Acquisition Reform could look like today amid near-peer competition and rapid technological change.

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Join Dr. Arun Seraphin and David Berteau for a conversation exploring the common threads across major defense acquisition reform efforts since the 1980s. Drawing on decades of experience in both the public and private sectors, David offers a historical perspective on how shifting geopolitical threats have driven repeated efforts to reform the Department of Defense’s acquisition system.

The discussion centers on the Carlucci Initiatives, which was a set of recommendations aimed at reducing costs, shortening acquisition timelines, and improving industry-DoD collaboration. Arun and David compare these initiatives with other major reform efforts, including the Packard Commission and the Goldwater-Nichols Act. David also reflects on his time as Executive Secretary of the Packard Commission, sharing firsthand insights into the challenges that led to its formation and the impact of its recommendations.

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Join host Arun Seraphin for a conversation on U.S.–China technology competition and industrial policy with Randy Shriver and Mike Kuiken of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Drawing from the Commission’s 2025 report, this episode examines how China uses state-directed industrial policy to accelerate innovation across critical sectors such as aerospace, biotechnology, semiconductors, and quantum computing—and what that means for U.S. economic and national security.

Randy and Mike share insights from the Commission’s bipartisan work with Congress, highlighting recommendations to strengthen America’s competitive edge through public-private partnerships, increased investment in foundational research, and targeted initiatives such as a “Quantum First 2030” effort. The discussion also explores the challenges of scaling innovation in the United States, addressing workforce needs, and balancing openness with research security at American universities, offering a clear-eyed look at the policy choices shaping the future of emerging technology competition.

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Join host Dr. Arun Seraphin for a deep dive into the evolving challenges of research security in national security R&D with guest Dr. Shanni Silberberg of Lewis-Burke Associates. Dr. Silberberg discusses the need to balance global scientific collaboration with national security protections, as well as the practical challenges of implementation and assessing research risks. The conversation also includes examining the proposed SAFE Research Act, which appeared in the House version of the FY 2026 NDAA but was not included in the final bill. The legislation would have limited federal funding for institutions collaborating with hostile foreign entities and required extensive researcher disclosures.

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Join host Arun Seraphin for a discussion into the complexities of tracking Pentagon funding for emerging technologies with experts Bess Dopkeen, founder of Keen Edge Strategies and former senior advisor to former Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu, and Andy Vanlandingham, Director of Strategic Outreach at Draper and former Senate Appropriations Committee Professional Staff Member. This conversation covers the full lifecycle of defense funding, from the President’s budget request, through congressional appropriations, all the way to contract execution and outcomes. Bess and Andy share firsthand insights from the Pentagon, Congress, and industry, illustrating the challenges of following the flow of money, ensuring transparency, and maintaining flexibility in budgeting and acquisition processes. The dialogue explores the tension between fiscal oversight and speed of technology development, highlighting opportunities for reform, improved data sharing, and innovative tools to help government and industry collaborate more effectively in advancing national defense technology.

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Join host Dr. Arun Seraphin for an in-depth exploration of the Pentagon's Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) strategy with Dr. David Bray, Chair of the Accelerator at the Loomis Council and a Distinguished Fellow with the Stimson Center, and Courtney Stiles, Executive Director of Customer Activities at REDCOM laboratories. The conversation delves into the complex challenges of connecting sensors, shooters, and decision-makers across multiple military domains. Together, they explore innovative approaches to network interoperability, resilience, and technological adaptation in potential near-peer conflict scenarios. The discussion also explores how these efforts fit within the Pentagon’s Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control Strategy (CJADC2/C2).

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Join Dr. Arun Seraphin at the 2025 Women in Defense (WID) Conference for a conversation with Michelle Letcher, retired U.S. Army Brigadier General and CEO of Break Trail, exploring the critical landscape of women in security. Letcher provides profound insights into the evolving nature of modern warfare, emphasizing how traditional defense strategies fail to address borderless conflicts involving cyber influence, election interference, and social media disinformation campaigns.

Drawing from her 30-year military career, she advocates for women in national security roles by creating networking opportunities, supporting young professionals, and challenging existing workplace barriers. She highlights the importance of mentorship, representation, and leveraging the entire nation's talent pool and explains how this inclusion provides new perspectives, which enables more versatile approaches to addressing complex national security challenges and evolving warfare strategies. The discussion stresses the urgent need to challenge existing assumptions about women in defense, create supportive professional environments, and prepare for complex, technology-driven national security challenges that extend beyond traditional military boundaries.

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Join Dr. Arun Seraphin at the Women in Defense Conference for an engaging discussion with Tara Murphy Dougherty, CEO of Govini and Service to the Flag Award recipient. Tara shares insights on the future of defense technology, public private partnerships (PPP), data-based decision-making, and national security innovation. Drawing on her vast experience across academia, government, and industry, she explores how public private partnerships (PPP) and emerging technologies are transforming the defense sector, as well as how the PFRAM assists in these decisions.

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Join Dr. Arun Seraphin for a conversation with Dana Goward, President of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation. Goward shares insights into the critical vulnerabilities of GPS and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) technologies, highlighting the challenges facing U.S. national security. The discussion covers topics such as international PNT strategies and technological alternatives, including global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) like China’s BeiDou and Russia’s GLONASS, as well as Europe’s Galileo network. The conversation also examines defense infrastructure resilience, potential GPS disruption risks, and the urgent need for a comprehensive national PNT architecture that can protect against electronic warfare and cyber threats.

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Join Arun Seraphin at the 2025 Women in Defense Conference for a conversation with Halimah Najieb-Locke, Senior Vice President of Global Public Policy at Darkhive. Halima explores how innovative defense technology startups can transform industrial policy and autonomous systems manufacturing, emphasizing the importance of distributed manufacturing, multi-agency partnerships, and strategic supply chain development for national security operations.

Join guest host Dr. Mark Lewis, President and CEO of the Purdue Applied Research Institute, for a discussion at the 2025 Emerging Technologies Conference with Dr. Kimberly Elenberg from Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Ellenberg explores how autonomous AI systems can enhance disaster response and mission-critical operations, emphasizing the importance of multi-agent swarm technologies, sensor integration, and collaborative approaches between government, industry, and academia.

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Join host Dr. Arun Seraphin for a conversation with Dr. Steve Harber of Parallax Advanced Research and the Ohio Aerospace Institute. In this episode, Dr. Harber discusses neuromorphic artificial intelligence, an approach to AI that models computing after the human brain's efficient, adaptive neural networks. The discussion highlights the advantages of neuromorphic AI over traditional computing in power consumption, processing, and its ability to intuitively learn, as well as possible defense applications in edge computing, UAS operations, and electronic warfare. The episode dives into the maturity of the technology and the challenges to developing an entirely new way of computing.

Join Emerging Technologies Conference 2025 guest host Dr. Mark Lewis, President and CEO of the Purdue Applied Research Institute, for a conversation with Elīna Egle, CEO of the Federation of Security and Defense Industries of Latvia. Egle shares insights into Latvia’s growing defense and security sector, highlighting its strengths as well as its vulnerabilities. The discussion covers topics such as funding acquisition, international cooperation, NATO procurement systems, and barriers to innovation in Latvia’s key areas, including logistics services, industrial heritage in aircraft building, space technologies, and autonomous drone systems.

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Join guest host Dr. Liz Specht for a conversation with Nicole Favreau Farhadi, Senior Research Biochemist at the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s (DEVCOM) Soldier Center, Combat Feeding Division (CFD). This episode, the final installment of our five-part biomanufacturing series, explores food research within the Department of Defense and the intersection of food biomanufacturing innovation with warfighter readiness. The discussion highlights the Defense Department’s responsibilities in combat feeding, logistical vulnerabilities in military food systems, the integration of new biotechnologies for food processing, and the optimization of combat rations for nutrient density, weight, and shelf life.

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Nick Sinai, former U.S. Deputy CTO and venture capital investor, is a leading authority on federal innovation policy and defense start-ups. 

We spoke to Nick about how hackathons are being used by DOD to address real operational problems outside the formal requirements process.  

Nick explains that these events build networks of talent, expose participants to new tools and datasets, and foster ideas that can sometimes even mature into field-ready solutions. Hackathons give both industry and government a rapid, low-risk way to experiment and learn what the warfighter actually needs.

Join host Arun Seraphin for a conversation with defense acquisition expert Moshe Schwartz to discuss how the FY 2026 NDAA is shaping up. Arun and Moshe lean on their deep expertise in the authorization process to break down new provisions that could significantly change how DoD creates requirements, budgets for systems, and works with commercial and non-traditional contractors.

Join guest host Dr. Mark Lewis and Meritech Capital Partners cofounder Paul Madera for a talk on Series C/D investing, how VCs judge business models, and where defense tech actually fits. A former Air Force fighter pilot turned investor, Paul helped build one of Silicon Valley’s leading late-stage venture firms. In this episode, he dives into the real economics of late-stage venture and what it takes to scale emerging defense technologies. He explains how customer dependence, not pitch decks, drives investment decisions, why AI’s compute costs are bending business models, and why there’s finally an investable pipeline for dual-use tech after years of scarcity.

Join host Dr. Arun Seraphin for a conversation with Dr. Liz Specht, a Horizon Institute Public Service Fellow with the Emerging Technologies Institute. This episode launches a five-part series exploring the intersection of national defense and biomanufacturing. Dr. Specht opens the series by examining vulnerabilities in food manufacturing and explaining how emerging technologies can help build resilient agricultural supply chains. Drawing on case studies such as U.S.-China trade dynamics, the discussion highlights key lessons for the Department of Defense.

Join host Dr. Arun Seraphin for a conversation with Dr. George Dougherty, who is a retired Air Force Colonel with deep experience in the Air Force Science & Technology Enterprise. In this episode, Dr. Dougherty discusses his forthcoming book Beast in the Machine: How Robotics and AI Will Transform Warfare and the Future of Human Conflict. This episode provides a preview of the book's central themes and a discussion about the future of robotic warfare and AI-enabled systems. Additionally, we go over some interesting stories from past uses of robotic warfare and the lessons learned from those examples.  

Join host Dr. Arun Seraphin for a conversation with Dr. David Bray, Director of the Loomis Accelerator Program and Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Center, and Jeffrey Wright, recently retired Special Operations Officer and Founder of SplashOne Robotics. In this episode, Dr. Bray and Mr. Wright discuss whether the DOD needs to develop and deploy warfighter-portable small unmanned aerial systems in the Indo-Pacific, and potentially other theaters. Additionally, we cover the current barriers to implementing small-UAS in the Indo-Pacific region and what changes need to be made to DOD acquisition processes and culture to better prepare for future conflicts. 

In this episode, we are joined by John Weiler, CEO of the IT-Acquisition Advisory Council, to discuss the past, present, and future of DOD IT acquisitions. We discuss the past failures of DOD IT-acquisition programs and how the Pentagon can learn from those mistakes. Additionally, Mr. Weiler details the best commercial practices the Department of Defense should adopt to successfully procure and deploy the best software for their mission.  

In May 2025, the Emerging Technologies Institute and MITRE Corporation released a report that explores how artificial intelligence (AI) can improve the Department of Defense’s acquisition system and support its workforce. Several of the authors, including Adam Bouffard (Group Leader and Principal Decision Analyst at MITRE), Chris Barlow (Senior Acquisition Analyst), and Wilson Miles (Associate Research Fellow at ETI) joined the podcast to discuss both the opportunities of inserting AI into the acquisition lifecycle and barriers to implementation. Additionally, the guests describe several potential paths forward to accelerate the adoption of AI for acquisition needs.