IDA Research Staff participate actively in various professional activities – both within their disciplines and ancillary to them – including publishing in the open literature. Below are some recent citations of IDA Researchers and their work.
Tom Greenwood published an article in The National Interest in which he posits why it is difficult to produce a strategically decisive breakthrough — the kind that could pull the Ukraine War out of stalemate — and notes their historical rarity. He contends that a synchronized tactical approach integrating Ukraine’s limited manpower and legacy machines is crucial to its success.
Paul Fanto presented a paper, which he coauthored with SED’s Cameron Liang and Angelo Signoracci, at the Second International Orbital Debris Conference, in Sugar Land, Texas. Paul presented a model framework for quantifying the risk of debris growth.
Dan Pechkis participated in an executive roundtable event, Utilizing Space for the Benefit of Earth, hosted by the Embassy of Sweden at the House of Sweden on November 30. He spoke on how space-based data, such as Earth observation data, can be used to solve real world problems.
Director, Research Quality and Chief Data Officer Heather Wojton served as a panelist at the 11th Annual Big Data for Intelligence Symposium, November 15-16, 2023. The panel, “AI Applications for Advancing Data-Driven Digital Modernization,” explored how DOD, the intelligence community and the federal government are looking to artificial intelligence to improve big data management to help fight and win wars.
Margaret Zientek presented “Multi-Use Text Analytics” at the Text Analytics Forum ’23. She addressed how machine learning and natural language processing technology can help sort through large quantities of documents and files, providing IDA’s use of text analytics capabilities as an example. The forum was held November 8-9, 2023, at the JW Marriott in Washington, D.C.
Aayushi Verma spoke at the R for Government Conference held at Georgetown University on October 20. The conference brought together data scientists and users of the programming language R who work within the government and public sector. Aayushi’s talk, “From Data to Collaboration: Connecting Our Researchers with R and Shiny,” focused on how R and Shiny, an open-source R package, have enabled IDA to gain new research insights and connect researchers.
Ashley Farris presented “COVID-19 Lessons Identified for NATO Bio-responsiveness Capability” at the biennial Medical Biodefense Conference at the Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology in Munich, Germany on October 24. Julia Burr and Catherine Scheible, who co-authored the presentation, also attended.
The International Test and Evaluation Association (ITEA) Journal published its Defense and Aerospace Test and Analysis Workshop (DATAWorks) special issue, which features research in test and evaluation from the workshop hosted by IDA earlier this spring. Contributors include Aayushi Verma; Elizabeth Green, Miriam Armstrong, Carrington Metts and Curtis Miller; and Janna Mantua.
Bob Angevine, Eleanore Douglas, Jessica Huckabey and Peter Kouretsos presented papers at the 2023 McMullen Naval History Symposium held at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis on September 21. Each of their well-received papers outlined different perspectives on the Cold War Soviet navy as part of a panel chaired by Steve Wills (Center for Maritime Strategy, Navy League of the United States). The biannual symposium, the world’s largest naval history conference, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Bram Lillard, Director, OED, represented IDA on an FFRDC panel session for the new Analyst Leadership Program. The Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation of the Office of the Secretary of Defense recently initiated the program to aid the development of rising DOD analytic leaders. During the panel, Bram advised on how DOD can improve their use of IDA’s unique tools and expertise.
Chad Sbragia discussed Taiwan-China relations at the China’s Power: Up for Debate 2023 conference, hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Chad and the other discussant focused on Xi Jinping’s goal to reunify Taiwan with China and posit measures that the U.S. can take to deter Chinese aggression.