Senior OUSD SES Member Visits TATRC for 'Tech Talk'
December 31, 2019 | Download PDF
TATRC Leadership. COL Jeremy Pamplin (left) and LTC(P) Justin Stewart (right) welcomed Dr. James “Ben” Petro (center), Director of Human Systems, within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
On 17 December, TATRC was fortunate enough to host a visit and spend the morning with Dr. James “Ben” Petro, Director of Human Systems, within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, where he oversees, coordinates, integrates and synchronizes a $3.2 B / yr research portfolio targeted to optimize Warfighter effectiveness and lethality. His management of the Human Systems portfolio includes the technology areas of biology (to include medical, warfighter performance, and nonmedical research), human-machine teaming, training, environmental sciences, and DoD compliance with statutes, regulations, and policies for protection of human and animal research subjects, so visiting TATRC was a logical fit.
TATRC’s Director, COL Jeremy Pamplin kicked things off with a comprehensive overview of TATRC’s new mission, our approach to research, and an inside look at the future of our Medical Robotics, Autonomous Systems, Virtual Health, and Medical Simulation portfolios. COL Pamplin was followed by several key staff from the Medical Intelligent Systems Lab, the Mobile Health Innovation Center, and the Medical Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Lab.
Dr. Petro provided TATRC a valuable, high-level awareness briefing of programs and priorities at the senior-most areas of DoD, and how they see TATRC’s role in it.
Dr. Petro provided TATRC a valuable, high-level awareness briefing of programs and priorities at the senior-most areas of DoD, and how they see TATRC’s role in it. Dr. Petro stated that he was “pleased with how well TATRC’s portfolio aligned with future military medicine research priorities and Army Future Command initiatives.”
A member of the Senior Executive Service, Dr. Petro has a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from Vanderbilt University, a Master of Science in Strategic Intelligence from the National Defense Intelligence College, a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and is a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute’s Leadership for a Democratic Society and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Seminar XXI programs.
TATRC appreciated hosting this visit from such a champion of innovation. Thank you, Dr. Petro for your time!
This article was published in the July 2020 issue of the TATRC Times.