TECHNOLOGY FOR AIR POWER DEVELOPMENT
		Jimmy Hafesjee DSTO T:   (02) 6128637		Thu 3 - Fri 4 March 2011 on site at Avalon 2011
Organised by the Defence Science & Technology Organisation (DSTO), this symposium features aerospace experts from USA, UK and Australia presenting on JSF, airborne mission systems, advanced materials and air breathing engines at hypersonic speeds. The Thursday morning session focuses on strategic subjects of particular interest to aerospace professions while the Friday morning sessions will provide an expose of novel technologies that will inspire the next generation of aerospace practitioners. Download DSTO Program

Bios of Speakers

Mr. C. Douglas Ebersole
Director Engineering, JSF Program Office

A member of the Senior Executive Service, Mr. C. Douglas Ebersole is the Director of Engineering for the Joint Strike Fighter Program Office in Arlington, Virginia. The JSF Program Office is the US Department of Defense's agency responsible for the development, production and sustainment of the F-35A/B/C Lightning II, the next generation strike aircraft for the Air Force, Marines, and Navy. Mr. Ebersole is responsible for sound systems engineering processes ensuring the technical sufficiency and product integrity of all aspects of DoD’s largest acquisition program. The F-35 Lightning II is postured to deliver dominant global strike capabilities to US warfighters, partner nations, and foreign customers well into the future.

Mr. Ebersole entered civil service upon graduation from Purdue University in 1982 assigned to Aeronautical Systems Division of the Air Force Systems Command. His initial focus was on aero/mechanics disciplines in support of development and test activities on USAF tactical platforms to include the F-15, F-16 and F-20 programs.

He later served as the Lead Flight Technology Engineer for the F-117A Nighthawk and F-15E Strike Eagle programs responsible for all performance and flying qualities functions. Mr. Ebersole led the development efforts that resulted in the fielding of automatic terrain following functions to the F-15E Strike Eagle fleet. He also led the F-15E KEEP Eagle Program that incorporated time critical flight hardware and software changes in response to two Class A departure and spin incidents. The KEEP Eagle Team was recognized in 1995 as the Air Force Association’s National Test Team of the Year. Mr. Ebersole broadened his technical base beyond his aero/mechanics foundation as the Platform Integration Team Lead in the Joint Airborne SIGINT Program Office. In this role he was responsible for the integration of highly classified avionics capabilities in several Air Force, Army and Navy SIGINT platforms. This assignment led to follow-on avionics development and integration roles in the Joint Strike Fighter Support Office and the Aging Aircraft Program Office.

In 2000, Mr. Ebersole was selected as the Air Force candidate to the prestigious Sloan Fellows Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Upon graduation, he returned to ASC to design and deploy the Center’s framework for Aeronautical Enterprise Management. He later served as Chief, Special Test Programs Division, HQ Air Force Materiel Command, where he led a small team of acquisition and test professionals providing oversight and governance of the Special Test Mission Area responsible for test, training, evaluation and fielding of highly classified Special Access Programs. Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Ebersole was Director of Engineering for the F-22 Program Office leading all technical efforts associated with the production, modernization and sustainment of the F-22 Raptor.

Dr Mark Shuart
NASA

Dr. Mark J. Shuart is a Research Professor at Virginia Tech and currently serves in an IPA position as the Senior Advisor for Composites & Structures at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). He leads an Agency-wide team to develop composite structures and materials technologies with enabling application to heavy-lift launch vehicles.

Prior to joining Virginia Tech, Dr. Shuart retired from the NASA LaRC after 32 years of service. Dr. Shuart held several line management positions at the LaRC including Director for Structures & Materials.

Dr Shuart is a nationally recognised authority on the behaviour of composite materials and structures and is the author or co-author of more than 90 formal publications, oral presentations, and other significant contributions that describe advanced structures and materials technologies for aerospace applications.

Dr Shuart has received the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for his contributions to structures and materials research.

Mr. Gerard G. Walles
USN NAVAIR

Gerard G. Walles has over 28 years of domestic and international military aviation experience. He has worked for both industry and government and assessed over 50+ programs for meeting US Department of Defense open systems architectures principles. He understands the complexity associated with securing and opening avionics architectures from both a business and technical confluence.

In 1982, as a systems design engineer for Hawker De Havilland he was posted overseas to Sikorsky Aircraft, Connecticut to work US Army’s Comanche program. In 1996, he joined the Naval Aviations Enterprise and gained rapid experience in both S&T and Acquisition programs.

Mr Walles held the Science &Technology lead position for the F/A-18 Super Hornet Program Office, and worked at the Office of Naval Research (ONR), as their Deputy Director for Congressional Middle Pacific Region special projects. In 2006, he accepted a staff position addressing the challenges associated with opening and securing our complex avionic weapon systems.

Dr Jim Wickes
Chief Technologist Survivability
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, UK

Dr Jim Wickes is Senior Principal Survivability in Dstl. Working with UK Ministry of Defence, he is responsible for the strategy and delivery of the Dstl technical programmes that contribute to increasing the mission survivability of tri-service assets across the spectrum of conflicts. This is a broad system of systems remit that embraces situational awareness, EW including DEW, signatures, mission planning, self-defence weapons, amongst many others. The current priority is support to current operations on air platform survivability. He is also responsible for developing international collaboration in these areas.

He has worked for the UK government in defence science and technology for over 38 years.

Following university, PhD in Physics, he began his career on research into passive and active electro-optical sensors for the Navy, moving on to guided weapon systems. Following a period in Defence Intelligence, he returned to DERA as head of Novel Weapons at Farnborough. He then became head of the Signatures and Countermeasures Division before becoming Technical Manager for Electro-optical Systems and then Technical Manager for Platform Survivability Systems.

After the establishment of Dstl, he became Chief Technologist Survivability. His current title, with no change of responsibilities, follows a recent rationalisation of roles in Dstl. As Chair of the Electronic Warfare Tower of Excellence, he is responsible for developing close links between MoD and the UK industrial base. He also has had extensive experience of working on international collaborative activities, both bilateral and multilateral.