UGM Fall 2021

Executive Director

Executive Director
Digital Analytics Infrastructure & Technology
Advancement & Mission Systems Groups
Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division

Ms. Amy Markowich is currently the Director for the Digital Analytics Infrastructure and Technology Advancement (DAiTA) and Mission Systems Groups, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) at the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). As Director, she leads a multi-site, high demand engineering, software development and network team of over 3,000 civilian and contractor personnel and directs delivery of over $500M of engineering products and services to support prototyping, experimentation and testing of naval aviation systems. Ms. Markowich oversees $1.3B of National Asset laboratories enabling innovation in avionics systems, digital transformation and integrated warfighting capabilities. She also serves as the Department of Navy (DON) Naval High Performance Computing (HPC) Principal.

Ms. Markowich was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in June 2009 as the Deputy, DON Test & Evaluation (T&E) Executive. In this role, she was responsible for integration of T&E across the Navy, enhancing the workforce and infrastructure, and ensuring programs plan and complete adequate testing to demonstrate suitable and effective operations in the joint battlespace. She served as the DON Modeling & Simulation (M&S) Executive from June 2010 – October 2020 and was responsible for enabling the use of M&S to support research and design across the Navy.

In her various roles over 30 years Ms. Markowich has served in an array of engineering and leadership positions in T&E and Acquisition. She has been instrumental in conceiving and developing advanced RDT&E Simulation capabilities and in development of the Air Combat Environment Test and Evaluation Facility (ACETEF), a NAVAIR National T&E asset, as well as the Joint Simulation Environment, a ground-breaking new capability supporting integration of 5th Generation warfighting systems. Ms. Markowich’s background and specialty is in electronic warfare testing, threat simulator development, and battlespace simulation. She has extensive experience developing multi-spectral stimulation and threat emulation systems. Ms. Markowich has supported defining M&S and test configurations for F-35, MV-22, MH-60R, EA-6B ICAPIII, F-18E/F, EA-18G, P-8, and TRITON and her unique focus in M&S, ground test and VV&A benefited all these programs. Navy and OSD investment experience involves development, management, and prioritization of MRTFB, CTEIP, REP, I&M, MILCON and other investments for the Department. She has been the Navy Technical Subject Matter Expert (TSME) for and is currently the Navy Test Resource Advisory Group (TRAG) Lead to prioritize and review proposed DoD T&E investment projects through the Reliance process.

Ms. Markowich is a graduate of the University of South Florida with a BS in Electrical Engineering and BA in Mathematics. She is also a graduate of the NAVAIR Senior Executive Management Development Program. Amy’s experience across UAS, T&E, M&S, Ground Test, Ranges and her Joint Service/Multi-national contacts provide a unique perspective to support future OSD and Navy initiatives.

ITL Director

Director, Information Technology Laboratory
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center

Dr. David A. Horner is the Director of the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) at the U.S Army Engineer and Research Development Center (ERDC), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Vicksburg, Mississippi.

The ERDC consists of seven laboratories located in four states, with more than 2,100 employees, $1.2 billion in facilities, and a $1 billion annual program. Its research and development (R&D) programs support the Department of Defense (DOD), the Army, USACE and other agencies in military and civilian mission areas. Principal ERDC R&D areas include Military Engineering, Geospatial Research and Engineering, Civil Works and Water Resources, Environmental Quality and Installations, and Engineered Resilient Systems.

As the ITL Director, Dr. Horner provides leadership in the development and execution of a broad range of R&D and operational programs on behalf of the USACE, the Army, the Department of Defense (DOD), and other federal agencies focused in computational science, information science, information technology, high-performance computing, high-bandwidth communications and data transfer, geographic information systems, software engineering, and scientific visualization. Additionally, the ITL operates and manages the DOD High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) one of the five DOD Supercomputing Resource Centers.

Prior to assuming his current position, Dr. Horner served as the Director of the HPCMP, which is a multi-Service/Agency program that provides an enabling high-performance computing ecosystem to the DOD Science and Technology, Test and Evaluation, and Acquisition Engineering communities. The program provides supercomputing solutions, high-speed networking via the Defense Research and Engineering Network, and advanced software development and refactoring to help DOD researchers address the DOD's and Services' mission critical priorities.

Dr. Horner began his career at ERDC in 1984 as a civil engineer in the Dam Safety Branch of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District, a position he held for two years before transferring to the Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL). While at GSL, he served as the Lead Technical Director for the Military Engineering Program where he was promoted to Senior Scientific Technical Manager. He transitioned to ITL in 2015 as the Director of the HPCMP until he was appointed the Director of ITL in May 2018.

He earned a bachelor's in civil engineering from Oklahoma State University in 1983. He then earned his master's in civil engineering from Oklahoma State University in 1984, and a doctorate in the same from the University of Michigan in 1989.

Dr. Horner is a past recipient of the Department of the Army Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the Army Engineer Association's Bronze Order of the de Fleury Medal and the Society of American Military Engineers Wheeler Medal. He is also a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Mississippi, and has also authored more than 50 publications, including a report for the Secretary of Defense.

HPCMP Director

Director, DoD High Performance Computing Modernization Program
Information Technology Laboratory
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center

Dr. Will McMahon is the Director of the Department of Defense (DoD) High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The HPCMP provides the supercomputing capabilities, high-speed network communications, software applications, and high performance computing expertise to the DoD Science and Technology, test and evaluation and acquisition engineering communities, enabling scientists and engineers to solve the DoD's most mission-critical challenges.

Prior to joining HPCMP, Dr. McMahon was the Chief of the Engineering Systems and Materials Division (ESMD), Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory (GSL), ERDC. Dr. McMahon also served as the acting Deputy Director, GSL, and as Chief of the Structural Mechanics Branch, Geosciences and Structures Division, GSL.

Dr. McMahon began his career in 1982 as a researcher in the Structures Laboratory of, what was formerly known as, the Waterways Experiment Station working on problems in military engineering. In his over 30 year career, he has managed research across a wide range of military engineering and civil works technical areas including explosive storage safety, hard target defeat, critical infrastructure protection, risk and vulnerability analysis, serving customers across the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD, Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies.

Dr. McMahon has a bachelor's and master's degree in Civil Engineering, both from Mississippi State University. He received his doctorate in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. McMahon has received numerous awards, the most recent being a 2018 Meritorious Civilian Service Award, 2018 and 2015 ERDC Award for Excellence in Operational Support and a 2014 RDC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Equal Employment Opportunity. He has authored and co-authored numerous technical publications.