Join Host Civilian Sydney for Episode 4 of the Defense Tech Podcast for the final episode of the Behind the Scenes of Innovation series, as she sits down with Mike Brockly, Director of Program Management at NTSXL, to take a look at security measures in the United States, security implications of the Chips Crisis and project success and evaluation for Microelectronics Commons. Using his holistic security background, Mike breaks down the status of security in the U.S. and what he looks forward to seeing come to life with the Commons project. Stay tuned for future episodes, and be sure to watch last week's episode with Mike Dodd, VP of Strategic Partnerships at NSTXL.

Follow NSTXL on LinkedIn: linkedin.com / national-security-technology-accelerator

How does rad-hard testing work? What does “rad-hard” mean? Join in this episode with special guest Dan Marrujo from Trusted Strategic Solutions, who gives us a behind-the-scenes look into the criticality of testing for radiation-hardened technologies and what’s being done to improve these capabilities for the DoD. Stay tuned until the end of the episode for insights on growing trends in the defense tech industry.

Dan is the President of Trusted Strategic Solutions, a consulting firm that provides expertise to industry and government leaders in many technical areas including microelectronics and space technology. Dan is a former Chief Strategy Officer and former Director of the Office of Research and Technology Applications (ORTA) at the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA). He holds a master’s degree in Materials Engineering, a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, and a minor in physics from the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.

Get connected with Dan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-marrujo/

Check out the Micro Journey’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/micro-journeys-the-pulse-of-whats-next/id1807413458

Learn more about NSTXL at https://nstxl.org/

Catch up on past episodes here.

• (00:00:00) - Radiation Protection in the Future
• (00:00:45) - Top Engineer Richard Savage on His Passion
• (00:03:31) - Post-Bacc MS in Microelectronics at the Pentagon
• (00:07:09) - Radical Hard Technologies
• (00:12:12) - What does Trusted Strategic Solutions do for the Defense Department?
• (00:18:42) - What is the most valuable thing that you provide to your government clients
• (00:21:09) - Microelectronics: An Enabling Technology for
• (00:23:20) - NST XL

In the wake of President Trump's executive order prioritizing speed and agility in DoW critical technology procurement, OTAs are in the spotlight. Guest Doug Crowe joins to explain how we navigate acquiring critical and emerging technology in the modern age. Doug Crowe is the Senior Vice President of Program Management at NSTXL.

Doug comes in with 40 years of expertise in the industry – he is a Navy veteran and is so intelligent in many different DoW systems. He brings great insight into the acquisition environment today – we explore what the executive order really means, how it could reshape defense contracting, and what the future holds for innovation across the defense industrial base.

Get connected with Doug on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-crowe-b8548a2a/

Learn more about NSTXL at https://nstxl.org/

• (00:00:00) - Defense Tech Podcast: Overtime Authorities reshaping the DoD
• (00:01:53) - Interviews with Doug Crow
• (00:03:29) - OTA Smarts
• (00:04:24) - Defense Acquisition Priorities Under the President's Executive Order
• (00:07:04) - Will OTAS Play a More Centricity in Defense Acquisitions
• (00:08:04) - ODM Technology Projects
• (00:13:46) - OTA Proposals
• (00:19:39) - OTAS: Dual Use Technologies
• (00:22:22) - President Trump on China's Developing New Weapons
• (00:25:09) - President Trump on Threats to Defense Tech
• (00:27:14) - Top Executives: On-Technology Agendas