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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department Defense has established three new roles aimed at fostering innovative technology and research.
The assistant secretary of defense positions, which the Pentagon announced July 24, will focus on three areas: critical technology; science and technology; and mission capabilities. According to the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, Heidi Shyu, who will oversee the roles, the move gives more authority to her office to pursue key technology projects.
“The establishment of these roles within Research & Engineering better positions our team to execute upon our mission of preserving our nation’s technological edge, now and into the future,” Shyu said in a statement.
Congress approved the positions in the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. To fill them, the Pentagon elevated three existing deputy assistant secretary of defense roles and eliminated the deputy chief technology officer job. The department appointed the officials serving in the newly elevated roles to fill the new slots until President Joe Biden makes formal nominations, which will require confirmation from the Senate.
The assistant secretaries will report directly to Shyu and serve as advisers within their mission areas. Maynard Holliday will act as assistant secretary of defense for critical technologies; Steven Wax will perform the duties of assistant secretary of defense for science and technology; and Thomas Browning will helm the role of assistant secretary of defense for mission capabilities.
Holliday oversees key technology areas, including 5G networking, hypersonic innovations and advanced computing. He previously served as a senior engineer at the think tank Rand and helped establish the Defense Innovation Unit in 2015.
more:
https://www.militarytimes.com/battlefield-tech/2023/07/25/pentagons-chief-technology-office-gets-three-new-leadership-slots/
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wiki…for what it's worth
Heidi Shyu (Chinese: 徐若冰, Xú Ruòbīng; born September 28, 1953 in Taipei, Taiwan)[1] is an American engineer who has served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in the Biden administration since July 25, 2021. She previously served as the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology ASA(ALT) from 2012 to January 30, 2016.
In 2019, Shyu was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering for the development of innovative radar/electrooptics/infrared systems in support of the US Army and Air Force.
Biography
Shyu's grandfather, Xu Kangliang, was born in Zhejiang, China. He was a warplane pilot who took part in many air battles during the Second Sino-Japanese War and later was promoted to the post of Deputy Commander of Republic of China Air Force. Her father, Xu Naili was a historian born in Hangzhou China. Her entire family emigrated to Taiwan following KMT's failure in the Chinese Civil War.
Shyu received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of New Brunswick, a Master of Science in Mathematics from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles.[2] She also received an Engineer degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.[3]
more:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Shyu