Heidi Shyu, undersecretary for research and engineering at the Department of Defense and a previous Wash100 awardee, is scheduled to deliver an opening keynote speech at the Potomac Officers Club’s 8th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit on Jan. 19.
She acts as the chief technology officer for DOD and oversees department-wide research, development, and prototyping efforts, as well as agency initiatives aimed at bringing platforms and capabilities to the military.
During her Dec. 4 speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum, Shyu urged the department to work with vendors in the initial stages of the technology development process to extract ideas that could potentially help warfighters in carrying out their mission.
“This is a piece that we’re trying to flex and push ahead: engage with the commercial companies upfront, early in their design for the next generation of whatever product they are working on,” she said.
Shyu previously served as assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology at the U.S. Army from September 2012 to January 2016. In that role, she oversaw the life cycle management and sustainment of the service branch’s weapons systems and equipment.
Prior to the Army, she was vice president of technology strategy for Raytheon’s space and airborne systems.
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