Speakers

Brett Conner, Ph.D. is a Senior Program Manager with PM2 Strategies currently supporting the U.S. Department of Defense's Manufacturing Technology Office in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) on joint additive manufacturing and advanced manufacturing strategy. His current duties include facilitating the Joint Additive Manufacturing Working Group (JAMWG). Dr. Conner began his career as an Air Force R&D officer and served for nine years. He had various assignments that included the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate of Air Force Research Laboratory, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), and Air Force Space Command. Dr. Conner was subsequently a defense contractor supporting engineering efforts at the Mine Resistant Ambush Protection (MRAP) Joint Vehicle Program Office. Dr. Conner then joined the Alcoa Defense team at the Alcoa Technical Center where he managed naval programs. He then later moved to the Alcoa Technology Division and developed new aluminum alloys and tempers. Next, Dr. Conner joined the faculty of Youngstown State University, was tenured, and led their Advanced Manufacturing Research Center. He conducted extensive research in additive manufacturing materials, processing, and applications. He left YSU in 2019 and worked at Honeywell FM&T in Kansas City, Missouri before joining the PM2 Strategies team in the fall of 2021. In addition, Dr. Conner was a cofounder and Chief Technology Officer of Freshmade 3D, LLC with a successful exit in April 2021. Dr. Conner was named an America Makes Ambassador (2020). He received the Ohio Additive Manufacturing Leadership Award (2019), the Readiness Improvement Award from the Department of Defense's Manufacturing Technology Office (2019), and a Distinguished Professorship in Scholarship, Youngstown State University (2019). He has eight U.S. patents. Dr. Conner received his B.S. in Physics (1998) from the University of Missouri and his S.M. (2000) and Ph.D. (2002) in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT.