Emerging Techniques Forum

President and CEO at Group W

Andrew Dichter is President and CEO of Group W Inc., an employee-owned, analytics-focused professional services company providing high-impact analytic support to its clients. Andy is a proven senior executive with more than 45 years of experience in the National Security Arena. Commissioned from the USAF Academy in 1975, he enjoyed a wide range of operational flying, command, and staff positions, and led several high-performing organizations. Andy transitioned from the Air Force in late 2006 as a Brigadier General and has 15 years of private sector senior management experience. As the President and CEO of Group W, he is responsible for all aspects of leading, managing, overseeing the execution of Group W's mission, and for shaping its vision and success into the future. While Group W is renowned for its role in creating and supporting the Synthetic Theater Operations Research Model (STORM), the “Gold Standard” for DOD campaign-level analysis, Group W continues to have impact bringing innovative methods, models, and tools across the research, simulation, analysis, and wargaming spectrum.

Commanding General, 75th Innovation Command, U.S. Army Reserve

Brigadier General Martin F. Klein is the Commanding General, Deployment Support Command in Birmingham, Alabama and the Deputy Commander for Mobilization for the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Infantry in 1991 through the Reserve Officers Training Course, General Klein was assigned as an Infantry Platoon Leader and later as a T.O.W. Platoon Leader, 1-87th Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. Transitioning to the Logistics Corps, he was assigned as a Supply Platoon Leader and later Battalion S-4 of the 10th Forward Support Battalion. During this time, Klein participated in Operation Hurricane Andrew Relief and Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti.

Upon completion of the Combined Officer Logistics Advanced Course, General Klein was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division where he served as a Division G-3 Plans Officer, the Division Materiel Officer, and the Battalion S-3 for the 407th Forward Support Battalion. In 1999, Klein assumed command of HQ/A Company, 407th FSB. After command, Klein was selected as the Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General for 1st COSCOM (ABN) until his selection as an Intern to the Joint Staff Logistics Directorate, Pentagon. While there, General Klein served as the Executive Assistant to the Director of Logistics; upon completion, he was assigned to the Army G-4 as a Logistics Transformation Staff Officer.

General Klein left active duty in 2003 and was employed as a brand manager for Kraft Foods in Chicago, Ill. As a traditional Reservist, he was assigned as an Observer Controller and G-3 Plans Officer in the 1st Brigade, 85th Division at Fort Sheridan, Ill. He was later selected to serve in the Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) program with an assignment to Georgetown University ROTC, where he served as the Battalion Recruiting Operations Officer and the Battalion Executive Officer.

Following this assignment, the general transitioned to the Operations Research Systems Analysis (ORSA) career field, where he served as a Senior Training Analyst in the Office of the Chief of Army Reserve (OCAR) and a Reserve Component Manning Program Analyst with the Army G-1. While assigned to the Army G-1, he deployed to Iraq, serving as the Chief of Operational Assessments, J-5 (Strategy) United States Forces-Iraq, supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. Upon redeployment, General Klein was assigned as Branch Chief in OCAR Plans, Analysis, and Evaluation Directorate, and later as the Reserve Component Analyst, Army G-8. His most recent assignment was as the Deputy Commander, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.

General Klein is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Combined Officer Advanced Course, the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College. He holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Lenoir-Rhyne University, N.C., a Master’s of Business Administration from Webster University, Mo., and a Master’s of Strategic Studies from the Army War College.

His awards and decorations include: the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (6), Joint Commendation Medal, Joint Achievement Medal, Army Commendation Medal (2), Army Achievement Medal (4), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal (2), Humanitarian Service Medal (2), Ranger Tab, Senior Parachutist Badge, Rigger Badge, and the Joint and Army Staff Identification Badges. Foreign awards include the Venezuelan Basic Parachutist and Thai Parachutist Badges.

Associate Professor Strategic and Operational Research Department

Dr. Nina Kollars is an associate professor in the Cyber and Innovation Policy Institute at the U.S. Naval War College. She holds a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in political science and an M.A. from GWU in international relations. She is a senior adjunct scholar at Center for a New American Security; a Brute Krulak Center fellow at Marine Corps University; an executive board member of Cyber Conflict Studies Association; and an editorial board member for Texas National Security Review. She publishes on cybersecurity, hackers and military innovation. She presented her own hacker project at DefCon27, "Confessions of a Nespresso Money Mule." She will soon publish “Trustworthy Deviants: White Hat Hackers and Security.” Kollars is also an executive bourbon steward.

Principal Director for Quantum Science

Paul Lopata serves as the Principal Director for Quantum Science in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering within the U.S. DoD. In this role he leads the Department’s efforts at technology modernization in quantum science, one of DoD’s top technology modernization priority areas. He currently serves as Executive Secretary for the Defense Science Board’s Task Force on Applications of Quantum Technologies.

In his previous role as Associate Director for Cyber Technologies in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Dr. Lopata was engaged with coordination and oversight of cyber research across the Department of Defense. This work included providing support for implementing the 2015 Department of Defense Cyber Strategy, and representing the Office of Secretary of Defense in shaping the 2016 Federal Cybersecurity Research & Development Strategic Plan. He has served on several cyber research coordinating bodies, including the SCORE interagency cyber research committee and the Cyber Security and Information Assurance Interagency Working Group. His efforts at coordinating research projects between the DoD and international partners led to fruitful bilateral engagements with Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom and others.

Prior to these positions, Dr. Lopata was a Researcher and Program Manager at the Laboratory for Physical Sciences focused on quantum computing research. There he managed a multi-year international research effort advancing the fundamentals of quantum computing technology. Earlier career roles included consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton in support of cutting-edge government research programs at DARPA and IARPA, and a post-doctoral National Research Council Fellowship at the Army Research Lab where he investigated the effectiveness of quantum sensors.

Dr. Lopata is a recognized technical leader on the topics of cyber security and quantum information science. He is regularly invited to speak to diverse audiences on these subjects, and has served on numerous technical advisory boards across the Department and for Federally Funded Research and Development Centers. He received his Ph.D. in mathematical physics from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Former Deputy Commandant for Information, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps; and Commander

Lori Reynolds retired as a Lieutenant General after a 35 year career in the United States Marine Corps. Her service culminated as the Deputy Commandant for Information, a newly established Deputy Commandant that recognized the growing importance of Information, cyberspace and digital technologies and the new warfighting domains of space and cyberspace. During her career, she commanded Marines at every rank, including command of formations in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a General Officer, she commanded the Marine Corps iconic recruit depot at Parris Island SC, where she was responsible for recruiting and training 20,000 new Marines per year. She subsequently commanded Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command, where she completed the build of the Marine Corps’ newest warfighting component and was responsible for the Marine Corps first ever cyber effects operations in support of the Joint Force.

In her time as the Deputy Commandant for Information, Lori was responsible for all IT, intelligence, cyberspace, space and influence personnel and capability development for the Marine Corps. She led the team that created the Marine Corps newest warfighting function of Information, acknowledging the growing importance of the fight for secure information and data. She also led the development of the cyberspace occupational field for the Marine Corps and initiated the creation of a new Marine component for US Space Command.

Lori served as the senior woman in the Marine Corps for 8 years and is an expert in team building, leading diverse teams, managing complexity, risk and talent management, and organizational change management. In her last 6 years in the Marine Corps, she was a member of the Marine Corps Corporate Board reponsible for collaboratively planning $50B annually to support USMC missions and capability development globally. Her executive responsibilites included Deputy Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer for the Marine Corps, Director of Cyber Security, and Director of Intelligence.

Lori earned a BS in political science from the United States Naval Academy, a MS from the Navy War College and an MS from Army War College. She has voluntarily served as the Chairperson of the Board for the Sea Services Leadership Association and is a member of the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association. She was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2020 and was the inaugural recipient of the Admiral Grace Hopper award at the National Defense University’s College of Information and Cyberspace.

Professor in the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering at Cornell Tech

Dr. Huseyin Topaloglu is a Professor in the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering at Cornell Tech. He got his B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from Bogazici University of Turkey and his Ph.D. in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University. He has been a faculty member at the School of Operations Research and Information Engineering since 2002. He is currently serving as the Program Director for the Master of Engineering Program in Operations Research and Information Engineering at Cornell Tech. Professor Topaloglu works on large-scale stochastic optimization problems that arise in areas such as revenue management, inventory control, transportation logistics, and supply chain management. He is the department editor for Revenue Management Department of Product and Operations Management Journal. He serves as associate editor for the journals Management Science, Mathematical Programming C, Naval Research Logistics, Operations Research, Transportation Science, IIE Transactions, and Surveys in Operations Research and Management Science.

Associate Professor / Academy Professor
Emerging Technologies Team Lead, Army Cyber Institute

LTC(P) Natalie Vanatta is a US Army cyber officer and currently serves as the Emerging Technologies Research Team Lead at the Army Cyber Institute and an Associate Professor in the department of Mathematical Sciences at West Point. Spanning a military career of over 20 years, Natalie has served and operated around the globe (on four continents) in order to defend the nation. She was a platoon leader in Germany, a company commander in Kuwait, and a Battalion S3 (operations officer) in Italy. LTC Vanatta has also served as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the National Security Agency (in both 2017 and 2021), the technical director at Joint Task Force Ares, and a Team Leader within the Cyber National Mission Force focused on defending critical infrastructure for the nation. She holds multiple IT certifications. Her research interests are in emerging digital technologies, encryption systems, active cyber defense, and human behavior in the cyber domain.