Science & Technology Forum - North Carolina's Defense Innovation Ecosystem

Please join us for our S&T forum with briefs from key representatives supporting NC's Defense Innovation Ecosystem - NC Grants, Army-Wide STTRs, ARL STTRs and SBIRs, Autonomous Insights and more!

Mr. Tylar Temple - Army-Wide, Program Manager- STTRs

Mr. Temple has 14 years of civilian service, all with the Department of the Army and currently serves as the
Program Manager (PM), Army-Wide (STTR).
The mission of the Army STTR Program is to (1) stimulate a partnership of ideas and technologies between innovative Small Business and Research Institutes through Federally-funded research or R&D, and (2) assist the small business and research communities by commercializing innovative technologies. In the role of PM, Mr. Temple is responsible for the successful execution of the Army STTR budget,topic call, proposal selections, monitoring of award execution, and outreach. Mr. Temple also serves at the Co-Chair,Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility DEIA), Employee Advisory Committee.In this role, he serves as an advocate for the DEVCOM ARL workforce regarding issuing concerning DEIA, supports the Chair of the DEIA committee,collaborates with ARL leadership and offices such as Human Resources, DEIA Office, Equal Employment Opportunity, and others, and lead other initiatives within ARL to better support DEIA efforts. Previously, he was the Technical Assistant to the Deputy Director, Army Research Office. In this role, he served as the lead for ARO taskers,activities reporting, special projects, and data collection to inform the Deputy Director for strategic ARO decisions.Other prior positions include a detail as the PM for the Science, Mathematics,and Research for Transformation(SMART) Scholarship for Service Program in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research andEngineering, Component Execution Lead, SMART, and PM, Technology Transfer in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army(Research & Technology) (DASA(R&T)),Operations Officer for the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition,Logistics, & Technology), and Electronic Warfare Analyst at the Army Materiel System Analysis Activity, now DEVCOM Data Analysis Center.

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Mr. Andrew Lawfield - Army Research Laboratory, Program Manager, STTR and SBIR

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Ms. Chris Schmidt - Grants Manager, NC Department of Commerce.

Chris joined the Department of Commerce in spring of 2022 and serves as Grants Manager for the Office of Science, Technology & Innovation (OSTI). In this role, she manages all aspects of OSTI grant programs, notably the One NC Small Business Program. This includes making annual solicitation guideline recommendations; intake, review, and processing of grant applications; managing action between grantees and the Division of Fiscal Management; and ensuring program and State compliance.

Her experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors provided valuable knowledge she is glad to share with potential grantees to help them bring their projects to fruition. 

Prior to working with the Department of Commerce, Chris served as a Grants Administrator and Grants Manager for the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

In addition to administering State and Federal funding programs to all 100 counties across the State, she was a grant seeker for the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation.  Chris, a Raleigh native, graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor of Science in Recreation and Park Management and a minor in Business Administration.

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Mr. John Ujvari - Director, Technology Commercialization program at the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) and statewide SBIR/STTR Program specialist, based at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

John works with small business clients on theeffective use of non-dilutive federal funding toward the commercialization of innovative technologies.His work has been recognized at both the state and national levels. As a frequent guest speaker, trainingprogram coordinator and business advisor, he has helped to guide small business clients that developinnovative technologies through significant fund raising and commercial successes since 2001. John alsofounded and continues to lead the SBTDC’s Technology Commercialization Graduate Summer Consultingprogram. This unique program has placed over 200 graduate business students from top tier universitieswith close to 400 early stage, commercialization-driven high tech companies in NC.John earned his MBA degree from Wake Forest University’s Babcock Graduate School of Managementwith a concentration in entrepreneurship and received a BS degree from the University of Virginia.

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Mr. Kyle Synder - Principal, Best Autonomous Insights A division of Michael Best Consulting LLC

Kyle leverages more than 25 years of experience in the autonomous systems,unmanned technology, and aerospace sectors to provide business strategyguidance, regulatory compliance, and industry insights to clients who aredeveloping or implementing autonomous technology solutions.Kyle has been a driving force in the burgeoning unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)industry for decades. He brings a wealth of experience in both technologicalinnovation and business strategy, from his early engineering and research roles atNASA and Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems, to spearheading research andcommercialization programs at several universities, to key private industry andtrade organization management roles.Before joining Michael Best Consulting to lead the Autonomous Insights advisoryprogram, Kyle founded his own consulting firm, Flyabout Strategies, which servedthe aviation industry with a with a focus in unmanned systems. Kyle providedclients with strategic planning, analytics, development, integration, and technologytransfer assistance.During that time, Kyle also served as the Robotics Program Manager for CherokeeNation Strategic Programs, where he managed a $10 million robotics integrationprogram supporting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Kyle led thetesting and evaluation of air, ground, and maritime robotics systems to transfertechnologies from industry and research laboratories to DHS routine operations.He had responsibility for product evaluation, project management, industryengagement, resource acquisition, and operational user interfacing.Kyle’s deep industry experience also includes his prior roles with NASA andLockheed Martin, and time spent at the intelligent software maker now known as Veloxiti. There, Kyle worked as an artificial intelligence (AI) product managerdesigning products for advanced aviation programs at NASA, Boeing, and the U.S.Department of Defense (DOD).He also has significant experience in university research and commercializationsettings. Kyle served as the first Director of North Carolina State University’sNextGen Air Transportation Consortium (NGAT), where he worked to establish andgrow what is now a nation-leading drone ecosystem in North Carolina. Kyle wasalso the inaugural Program Director for Middle Tennessee University’s UASProgram, and was the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) TechnologyCommercialization Manager at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

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Mr. Evan Parker - President, NanTrak Industries

Mr. Parker is the Founder and President of NanTrak Tactical, LLC, where he leads a team consisting of outdoor and defense industry executives, former senior military officers, special forces operatives, and expert advisory councils. NanTrak is the first company to succeed in putting tracking and sensing electronics in small arms-scale projectiles. Mr. Parker started his first company when he was a 20-year-old college student and went on to raise venture funding to bring his idea to market. He founded NanTrak Industries and has since spun off operational subsidiaries for the defense and outdoors markets.  He is a named inventor on NanTrak’s underlying technologies, with patents in the fields of intelligent ballistic and weapon systems, advanced micro sensing, monitoring and tracking technologies, synthetic ordnance, target characterization, augmented reality, and electronic warfare.

NanTrak Tactical successfully completed a $963,000 Phase I contract for the DARPA Tactical Technology Office and received a letter of commendation in 2022 for its performance and rapid prototyping and iteration methods. The company subsequently demonstrated the TANGOTRAK Prototype at the 2022 USSOCOM Technical Experimentation Event, which was categorized as a Disruptive Technology, defined by SOCOM as a “gamechanger.” Earlier this year NanTrak was selected for funding by SOFWERX, and in May, NanTrak was selected for an AFWERX Phase I contract, which it successfully completed at the end of July.

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 AGENDA

12:30PM-1:25PM - EARLY CHECK-IN, SPONSORS SETUP,  ATTENDEE ARRIVALS & NETWORKING

1:25PM - CALL TO SEATS 

1:30PM-1:55PM - WELCOME REMARKS & RECOGNITION OF DISTINGUISHED GUESTS

Tammy Everett, Executive Director, Defense Alliance of North Carolina

Phil Williams, Science & Technology Committee Chair, Defense Alliance of North Carolina, Phil Williams LLC

Dr. Brandon Conover, Science & Technology Committee Co-Chair, Defense Alliance of North Carolina, Practical Scientific Solutions, Inc. 

1:55PM-3:30PM - KEYNOTE PRESENTER BRIEFS

3:30PM-3:45PM - QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION 

3:45PM-4:00PM - CLOSING REMARKS

4:00PM - ADJOURN

4:00PM-4:45PM - NETWORKING

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