AeroDef 2019 Keynote: Challenges and Opportunities of Aerospace and Defense OEMs and Their Supply Chains

Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Kevin Mitchell, Sector Vice President, Global Operations, will share Northrop Grumman’s views on some of the challenges and opportunities faced by aerospace and defense OEMs and their supply chains.

Keynote Speaker: Kevin Mitchell, Sector Vice President, Global Operations, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems

AeroDef 2019 Panel: Cyber Physical for Additive Manufacturing

Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Understanding cybersecurity and risk is an extremely daunting challenge. This panel will discuss and provide cybersecurity insights and identify resources for aerospace manufacturers to be informed. Also discussed is building cybersecurity capabilities and thought leadership in aerospace.

Panelists: George “Nick” Bullen, FSME, CPIM, Northrop Grumman Corporation - Moderator Brent Brunell, GE Global Research Eric Fodran, PhD, Northrop Grumman Stephan Thomas, Identify3D Mark Yampolskiy, University of South Alabama.

AeroDef 2019 Panel: Manufacturing Production Harmonization

Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Smart Manufacturing, Industry 4.0, Big Data, new and old capital equipment — this panel utilizes fresh survey data and cover harmonizing new technology introduction to the manufacturing environment as well as cost-effective modifications for practical affordable implementations of Industry 4.0 / Smart Manufacturing.

Panelists: Michael “Mick” Maher, Maher & Associates LLC - Moderator; George Barnych, B3 Techincal Services Avner Ben-Bassat, Plataine Ltd.;  Jeffrey Miller, PhD, The Boeing Co.; Tara Thomasson, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Andreas Wuellner, SGL Carbon.

AeroDef 2019 Keynote: Latest Material and Process Developments for Fiber Placement Technologies of Tomorrow’s Aerospace Industry

Wednesday, May 1, 2019
This presentation gives a short introduction into the fiber placement process and draws a bow from the first aerospace components based on fiber placement technology to the materials and processes used in today’s programs. Beyond that an overview of SGL Carbons activities in the field of advanced fiber placement will be given. The presentation also introduces the latest SGL Carbon placement materials and gives an overview on ongoing product developments.

Keynote Speaker: Andreas Wuellner, Executive Vice President & General Manager – Composites, Fibers and Materials, SGL Carbon.

AeroDef 2019 Panel: Diversity and Inclusion in Manufacturing

Tuesday, April 30, 2019
The panelists discuss the successes, opportunities and challenges of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The discussion includes the various dimensions of diversity, opportunities to enhance inclusion, and relative impact of strategies.

Panelists: Dianne Chong, PhD, The Boeing Co. (retired) – Moderator; Kelly Dodds, Raytheon Space & Airborne Systems; Jamal Madni, The Boeing Co.; George Parker, PhD, Boeing Research & Technology; Herb Sims, Northrop Grumman Corporation.

AeroDef 2019 Featured Presentation: Geopolitical Risk and Global Strategies: The Decade Ahead

Tuesday, April 30, 2019
John Sitilides’ dynamic presentation focused on current and projected global disorder, political disruption and geopolitical risk concerns triggered by the world’s most powerful political leaders in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, as well as the long-term political and economic ambitions that ultimately shape the international security agenda.

Speaker: John Sitilides, Geopolitical Strategist, Trilogy Advisors LLC.

AeroDef 2019 Featured Presentation: Offshoring Production to Offshoring Innovation: Dangerous Trends in U.S. Manufacturing

Tuesday, April 30, 2019
After decades of shifting production offshore to reduce labor costs, the United States has lost fundamental production skill and capabilities—the Industrial Commons—in many industries, with noticeable impacts on the ability to manufacture new advanced technology products, the national innovation system and growing adverse effects on the defense industrial base.

Speaker: Sridhar Kota, PhD, Executive Director, MForesight: Alliance for Manufacturing Foresight.

AeroDef 2019: Cybersecurity Readiness with Blue Iron Network

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Achieving NIST cybersecurity compliance is now a requirement to be awarded contracts. It is difficult to know where to turn to make sure that your firm’s data, and your client’s private information, is kept safe and secure.

Speaker: Bob McCandless, Blue Iron Network.

AeroDef 2019 Panel: OEM-Small Business Outreach and Supplier

Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Hear directly from some of the world’s largest aerospace and defense manufacturers as representatives within procurement and contracting share helpful advice on becoming a supplier and remaining a valuable member of their company’s supply chain. Learn best practices on how to stand out from the competition and what it takes to be a supplier for top OEMs.

Panelists: Libby Williams, USC Center for Economic Development-AMP SoCal – Moderator; Vicky Harper-Hall, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems; Emma Stevens, Lockheed Martin, Varick Williams, The Boeing Co.

AeroDef 2019 Panel: Human Supply Chain: Develop and Grow Your Talent

Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Hire the employees your manufacturing business needs and find workers with the skills you want. Listen as different workforce development representatives discuss innovative approaches to building a team of qualified people and what hiring resources are already available businesses.

Panelists: Patricia Carlson, Tooling U-SME – Moderator; Jessica Ku Kim, Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC); James Marsh, Goodwill Southern California; Walter Urbanchock, Aerojet Rocketdyne. 

AeroDef 2019 Panel: Building SoCal’s Aerospace and Defense Ecosystem

Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Led by the USC Center for Economic Development, the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership for Southern California (AMP SoCal) is a collaboration supporting the aerospace and defense manufacturing industry throughout Southern California. A key AMP SoCal assistance effort for small and medium manufacturers is the Strengthening Competitiveness Program, which offers customized solutions for a variety of business challenges. Hear from three local manufacturers who have capitalized on this free program to grow their business and increase their competitive advantage.

Panelists: Tomás Durán, USC AMP SoCal – Moderator; Sheralee Conners, Savage Machine, Elizabeth Glynn, California Manufacturing Technology Consulting (CMTC); Mike Riley, AMRO Fabricating Corporation.

AeroDef 2019 Panel: Career Development Strategies

Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Industry thought leaders discuss their professional journeys and the experiences that have shaped their careers. Panelists discuss career management and progression through career stages. Emerging professionals and students will gain useful information to develop and execute their professional development plans including training, career stages and transitions. This also serves as a networking forum for students and emerging professionals.

Panelists: Paul Oldroyd, Bell Helicopter / Textron – Moderator; Dan Braley, Boeing Global Services; Kelly Dodds, Raytheon Space & Airborne Systems; Noel Ellis, Raytheon Company; Jamal Madni, The Boeing Co. 

AeroDef 2018 Keynote

Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Reflections on the Future of Affordable, Integrated and Agile Manufacturing Technology and Production.

Keynote Speaker: Christopher B. Cool, Sector Vice President of Enterprise Excellence & Strategy (Retired), Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems

AeroDef 2018 Panel: Mixed Reality in Manufacturing

Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Mixed reality (MR), sometimes referred to as hybrid reality, is the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time. Mixed reality is utilized in manufacturing from design engineering all the way through maintenance and repair. 

Panelists: Dean Bartles, PhD, FSME, FASME, University of New Hampshire – Moderator; Scott Bryan, U.S. Air Force; Kurt Hoffmeister, Mechdyne; Bryce Notheis, Raytheon Missile Systems; Roger Richardson, Delta Sigma Co.; Gregory Harrison Sr., Lockheed Martin.

AeroDef 2018 Featured Presentation: Manufacturing Resiliency

Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Increasing flexibility, eliminating redundancy, forming collaborative supply chain relationships and improving supply chain agility are some of the essentials for a strong innovative industrial base. Innovative manufacturers with unique value are critical to the strength or the nation’s industrial base. Hear how you can benefit from the latest strategies and programs to strengthen the defense-wide industrial base.

Speaker: A. Adele Ratcliff, International Manufacturing & Innovation (IMI), ODASD (MIBP) Department of Defense.

AeroDef 2018 Panel: Artificial Intelligence Across the Manufacturing Enterprise

Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Artificial Intelligence or AI is receiving much popular attention as an emerging technology. However, AI is fuzzily used to refer to a wide spectrum of activities, from simple decision rules to ultra-intelligence replacing humans. This session will explore the latest thinking on AI, what the state of AI technology currently is and how it is progressing. The panel focuses on AI’s application to aerospace and defense, both in the A&D products themselves and in the manufacturing equipment and methods to produce those products.

Panelists: Dr. Michael Grieves, Florida Institute of Technology – Moderator; Nitesh Bansal – Infosys; Bala Chidambaram, PhD, Boeing Research & Technology; Avner Ben-Bassat, Plataine Technologies; Bissell Smith, Northrop Grumman.

AeroDef 2018 Featured Presentation: 75 Years of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works

Wednesday, March 28, 2018
The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works has been synonymous with leading-edge aerospace innovation since Kelly Johnson founded the organization in 1943. Hear the 75-year history of the organization and how Skunk Works responses to urgent national needs have played a part in American history.

Speaker: Eric Shrock, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

AeroDef 2018 Featured Presentation: Metallic Materials and Processes for Helicopters’ Dynamic Transmission Systems

Wednesday, March 28, 2018
A helicopter’s dynamic system is subjected to a high fatigue load. The choice of material and process must meet numerous requirements to ensure high security and reliability at the best operating cost for the customer. This presentation is an overview of the different materials and processes involved in the dynamic system and the main drivers for their development.

Speaker: Daniel Lecuru, Airbus Helicopters.

AeroDef 2018 Smart Manufacturing Hub: Data-Driven Manufacturing – The Foundation for Sustainable Continuous Improvement

Tuesday, March 27, 2018
In the quest for achieving sustainable continuous improvement (CI) and improved profitability manufacturers should look at the ways they measure overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). More and more CI practitioners are beginning to integrate data-driven manufacturing into their CI methodology to improve the way companies analyze data, automatically and objectively.

MEMEX believes that the CI approach (including Agile, Lean, Six Sigma) is of value, but for any CI approach to be successful, it needs to be supported by a foundation of measuring what’s happening in real time, analyzing what is happening and what has happened, and making business-process decisions based on that accurate information.

Speaker: David McPhail, MEMEX Inc.

AeroDef 2018 Smart Manufacturing Hub: Integrating AM with Additive Minds

Tuesday, March 27, 2018
This presentation will provide an overview of the EOS Additive Minds applied engineering consulting team, designed to help organizations transform from prototyping to production with additive manufacturing (AM). Through partnerships with leading industry experts as well as new AM adopters, EOS is exploring new applications and business areas for AM, enabling sustainable industrial solutions.

Additive Minds offers tailor-made solutions and roadmaps, developed hand-in-hand with EOS’s business partners, to integrate AM technology into their manufacturing processes to revolutionize the way end products are produced. EOS provides expertise in part screening and selection, redesigning parts for AM, part qualification support, and every other aspect of utilizing cutting-edge additive technology to improve profit and product performance.

Speaker: Cary Baur, EOS North America.

AeroDef 2018 Smart Manufacturing Hub: Industry 4.0 – Applications and Experiences in Aerospace

Tuesday, March 27, 2018
This session is based on sharing Infosys’ journey in developing an Industry 4.0 maturity index along with key partners, its relevance, and applications to aerospace. It will focus on experiences in Infosys’ own enterprise and its client ecosystem, through specific use cases where these different Industry 4.0 technological trends effectively converge. This includes how effective convergence of IoT, analytics, AI and machine learning, and AR/VR helped in operational excellence of a manufacturing plant. This will be illustrated through how reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS) models have been monitored in real time to evaluate the performance of manufacturing plant as “designed” vs. “operational” quantifying the business benefits.

Speaker: Dr. Ravi Kumar G.V.V., Infosys.

AeroDef 2018 Smart Manufacturing Hub: Purposeful AI-Driven Mixed Reality Applications for Aerospace

Wednesday, March 28, 2018
With the advent of mixed reality technologies, we can now bring an immersive experience to decision making across the aerospace value chain. These insights can be maximized by creating a digital twin of an aircraft with AI technologies. This presentation will demonstrate how emerging technologies like 3D printing, IoT, AI, MR and advanced analytics can be used to solve real-world business problems.

Speaker: Shamala Sadananda, Infosys. 

AeroDef 2018 Smart Manufacturing Hub: Data-Driven Manufacturing – Demystifying the Potential of IIoT for Manufacturers

Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Buying new equipment or expanding factory footprints are two ways of making manufacturers more productive. There is also a complimentary way of achieving that same goal: data-driven manufacturing, using Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology, that is drawing information directly from the machine to accurately optimize operations.

The impact of data-driven manufacturing is much more than merely knowing whether or not machines are in cycle.

Speaker: David McPhail, MEMEX Inc.

AeroDef 2018 Smart Manufacturing Hub: Industry 4.0 – Factory of the Future

Wednesday, March 28, 2018
The factory of the future will be a connected, data driven production facility and will provide greater flexibility in delivering innovative products. EOS will present their vision of the factory of the future and how additive manufacturing will play a key role.

Speaker: Scott Killian, EOS North America. 

Experience AeroDef Manufacturing 2017

AFRL Celebrates 100-Year Anniversary at AeroDef Manufacturing 2017

Panel Discussion: Using Additive Manufacturing to Shorten the Defense Qualification Cycle

Wednesday, March 8, 2017
The typical DoD qualification/certification approach for structural materials is often referred to as the qualification pyramid and lays out the scope of getting critical components qualified onto major defense acquisition systems. The cost is hundreds of millions of dollars and can take up to 10-15 years. 3D Systems and government partners will discuss new process modeling and monitoring tools that will help shorten the qualification and certification cycle. Investments in such advanced developments will enable flaw detection, real-time feedback control, and rapid qualification.

Panelists: Neal Orringer, 3D Systems – Moderator; Mark Benedict, PhD, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory; Richard Martukanitz, PhD, Pennsylvania State University; Sung Park, PhD, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems; Michael Nikodinovski, U.S Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC).

Panel Discussion: Cybersecurity Gaps that Threaten Manufacturing

Wednesday, March 8, 2017
It is estimated that by 2020 as many as 15 billion devices will be connected to the Internet — more than double the world’s population. Equipment interacts with each other and systems outside the company without intervention, and often without our knowledge. This creates a significant security challenge — any node on a manufacturer’s network could be an attack vector for the entire production system.

Information security is a critical issue in manufacturing — every organization has valuable data which is at risk. In response to new and complex cybersecurity demands, the panel convenes technical experts in operational technology and cybersecurity to help companies identify, mitigate and close security and resilience gaps that threaten the production capabilities of every connected manufacturing firm.

Panelists: Rebecca Taylor, National Center for Manufacturing Sciences – Moderator; Matthew Doan, Booz Allen Hamilton, Catherine Ortiz, Defined Business Solutions LLC; Mark Weatherford, vArmour.

Keynote Presentation: Zero Defect Mentality at the Global Supply Chain Level

Wednesday, March 8, 2017
A zero defect mentality is not a quest for perfection, but a new way of thinking about defects that allows organizations to move from treating symptoms to solving systemic issues. As a systems integrator, Lockheed Martin relies heavily on the predictable performance of its thousands of suppliers of materials, systems, and services to ensure its product gets out the door on time and at target cost. Variation management in this complex system starts with a mental framework about the nature of quality and the performance we expect from our processes. Defects are the result of systemic variation. Until a zero defect mentality is adopted by leadership at all levels within the supply system, causes will continue to be treated as one-off issues and will hinder continuous improvement throughout our businesses. Hear how you can integrate zero defect thinking throughout your supply base to achieve breakthrough improvements from Lockheed Martin Executives who are leading the journey.

Keynote Speaker: Alexander Eksir, Vice President of Quality and Mission Success (Q&MS), Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company.

Panel Discussion: The Next 100 Years of Air Force Manufacturing Technology

Tuesday, March 7, 2017
2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate. As the directorate looks to its next 100 years, this panel will discuss how the Air Force’s Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) Program can be responsive to future warfighting game changers such as directed energy, hypersonics, and autonomy, as well as “third offset” technologies. This panel will discuss technology, emerging trends, public policy, and legislation required for Air Force ManTech to improve warfighting capability and to reduce acquisition and sustainment costs.

Panelists: John Russell, DSc, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) – Moderator; Lane Ballard, Boeing Research and Technology; Michael Maher, Maher & Associates LLC; Ralph Resnick, National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM); Ben Wang, Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute; Charles Wessner, Georgetown University.

Keynote Presentation: A Century of Scientific Excellence at the AFRL

Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Dr. John Russell reviews 100 years of achievements by the U.S. Air Force Research Lab’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate.

Keynote Speaker: John D. Russell, DSc, Technical Director, Manufacturing and Industrial Technologies Division, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/RXM).

Panel Discussion: Industrial IoT and the Digital Twin

Tuesday, March 7, 2017
As companies grapple with ways to effectively deploy and scale new technologies that leverage industrial connectivity, clear pathways are emerging for the creation value from the massive amounts of data produced on the shop floor.

Panelists: Greg Harris, PhD, PE, Auburn University – Moderator; Avner Ben-Bassat, Plataine Technologies; David Riemer, Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc.; Jeff Smith, Dassault Systèmes.

Keynote Presentation: Where the Industry is Going in Carbon and Why

Tuesday, March 7, 2017
The aerospace industry has been the prime mover using carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics since the early eighties of the last century. Since then “out of autoclave” technologies have been widely accepted, being used in both military and commercial aircraft programs. Although, with recent wide-body programs, such as Boeing’s 787 and Airbus’ A350 XWB, more than 50% of the structural weight is made out of carbon fiber reinforced composites, technology being used still suffers from long cycle times. The automotive industry went down a different path, focusing on the development of production technologies suitable for large series production — build rates of thousands of vehicles built per month — before entering projects. Prominent examples are BMW’s i3 and new 7-Series as well as Audi’s R8 and Lamborghini’s Huracán. All of these vehicles are being built without using autoclave technology. With increasing build-rates it may make sense for the aerospace industry to look into what has been learned over the last five years in automotive reducing takt times. This keynote will provide a view from within, since SGL Group is heavily involved in bringing carbon-reinforced plastics into automotive series production.

Keynote Speaker: Andreas Wüllner, Chairman, Business Unit Composites – Fibers and Materials, SGL Group.

AeroDef Manufacturing Presents the Aerofied Preferred Supplier Pavilion

The Design, Development and Delivery of the James Webb Space Telescope

February 9, 2016
Mr. Scott Willoughby will discuss how Northrop Grumman is proud to lead the industry team building NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which will unleash a new dawn of discovery! This revolutionary observatory is designed to provide an unprecedented view of our solar system as well as other solar systems, looking back 13.5 billion years. This will allow us to see when the first stars were formed. The breakthrough technology developed for the Webb Telescope will expand our understanding of the universe, rewrite textbooks and inspire a future generation of engineers and scientists.

Speaker: Scott Willoughby, Northrop Grumman.

Panel Discussion – Data Analytics For Manufacturing

February 9, 2016

Panelists: Dr. Leslie Cohen, Hitco Carbon Composites – Moderator; George Barnych, UI LABS; Roland Dutton, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/RXA); Dr. Ray O. Johnson, United Sciences.

Panel Discussion – The Future Of Structural Materials: 20 Year Horizon

February 10, 2016

Panelists: Nicholas Melillo, Boeing Research & Technology – Moderator; John Barnes, ALCOA; Mick Maher, DARPA; Todd E. Steyer, PhD, Boeing Research & Technology; Richard A. Vaia, PhD, Air Force Research Laboratory.

Horsepower and Torque for Cutting Conditions and Strategies in Hard Metals

February 9, 2016

Speaker: Mark Larson, Makino.

A View of Innovation and Automation from the Corner Office

February 9, 2016
Mr. Daniel Korte will draw on his 30 years of experience as an engineer and business leader in Aerospace & Defense to offer perspective on the aerospace industry as both an innovation leader and follower, the selective adoption of automation practices in the industry, and what the C-suite looks for when considering capital investments tied to innovation and automation.

Speaker: Daniel Korte, LMI-Aerospace.

Get Connected: The Value Of Being A Node On The Manufacturing Network

February 10, 2016
The transformation towards smart manufacturing has been underway for at least 15 years. The foundations are set and it is now finally time to make the transition to becoming a node on the manufacturing network or risk becoming isolated and irrelevant. GE is re-branding itself as a “21st century digital industrial company” mainstreaming concepts like the industrial internet and brilliant factory. This transformation will enable new manufacturing capabilities, increase operational efficiency, create new supply chain relationship models, and, ultimately, significantly improved customer outcomes. The expected economic value is trillions of dollars. Mr. Dods will discuss the journey from traditional manufacturing to smart manufacturing, what lies ahead, and how to capture potential value.

Speaker: Bryan Dods, GE.

Panel Discussion – The Future Of Aerospace Manufacturing: The Southern California Perspective

February 10, 2016

Panelists: Michael Quindazzi, PWC – Moderator; Brad Alexander, Parker Aerospace (Irvine); David Blanco, Performance Ascent; William Pomerantz, Virgin Galactic.

Panel Discussion – Future Of Composite Materials & Manufacturing Processes

February 9, 2016

Panelists:Dan Braley, Boeing Research & Technology – Moderator; Darren Boyce, Advanced Composites Group; Keth Housel, Composite Solutions; Alan Hiken, Management Solutions; Keith Young, Boeing Research & Technology.