Hon. Katharina McFarland

With over 30 years of government service, Katharina (Katrina) McFarland is widely recognized as a leading subject-matter expert on government procurement. She served as Chairman of the Board of Army Research and Development at the National Academies of Science, and as a Director on the Boards of SAIC and Transphorm, She was previously the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition (2012 to 2017) and acting Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics & Technology) (2016-2017). She was President of the Defense Acquisition University from 2010 to 2012 From 2006 to 2010, Ms. McFarland was the Director of Acquisition, Missile Defense Agency. She is an accredited Materials, Mechanical, Civil and Electronics Engineer. She has received an Honorary Doctoral of Engineering from the University of Cranfield, United Kingdom; the Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the Department of the Navy Civilian Tester of the Year Award, and the Navy and United States Marine Corps Commendation Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service. Ms. McFarland brings substantial experience with the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Army, and Intelligence Community procurement with focus on Space applications,  Artificial Intelligence, Cyber,  and IT technologies.in defense acquisition, program management, logistics and technology.

Safeguarding Human Invention in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

By Alexander Kersten Introduction On October 30, President Joe Biden issued the Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. This comes at a time when artificial intelligence (AI)’s anticipated capabilities and applications are expected to have a tremendous impact on the future
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Letter to Congress Correcting False Claims About Bayh-Dale Act and § 1498 on Drug Price Controls

On September 28th, 2023, a letter was sent to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee, and to Secretary Becerra correcting false claims that the federal government can use the Bayh-Dole Act or § 1498 to impose
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Dr. Kirti Gupta – Testimony: Innovating Ideas Around Standards and Intellectual Property

On September 20th, 2023, LeadershIP Executive Director Dr. Kirti Gupta testified for the ITA-NIST-USPTO Listening Session on Innovating Ideas Around Standards and Intellectual Property.    Transcript: Good afternoon. My name is Dr. Kirti Gupta and I am speaking on behalf of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Let
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