Emerging Techniques Forum

Commanding General

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.

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.

Operations Research Systems Analyst

MAJ Dusty Turner is an Operations Research Systems Analyst at the Center for Army Analysis. He works in the Operations Analysis division doing data science in support of current operations. His recent projects include COVID-19 modeling in support of Army Senior Leader decision making and leading the Introduction to R Course taught to members of the Department of Defense. He was formerly an Assistant Professor at The United States Military Academy at West Point, where he taught “Advanced Introduction to Probability and Statistics” and “Statistical Methods.”

MAJ Turner is a member of the Military Operations Research Society (MORS) and The American Statistical Society (ASA). He has a M.S. in Integrated Systems Engineering with a Graduate Minor in Applied Statistics from The Ohio State University, a M.S. in Engineering Management from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, and a B.S. in Operations Research from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Dusty enjoys his kids’ little league baseball games and going for runs with his wife.

Operations Research Analyst

Mr. Ward is an Operations Research Analyst in the Operations Analysis Division at the Center for Army Analysis. Since 2018, he has helped organizations across the Army collect, analyze, and visualize data to support better-informed decisions, as well assisting with efforts to train analysts to use R and spread modern data science capabilities throughout the defense OR community. Most recently, Robert has worked on CAA’s COVID-19 forecasting and analysis and on model modernization planning. He holds a Master of International Affairs in International Security Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a B.A. in Political Science and English from the University of Chicago.