Ivy Estabrooke, executive director of the Utah Science Technology and Research Agency, has been selected to participate on the Air Force Studies Board at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, which will produce a report on “The Role of Experimentation Campaigns in the Innovation Life Cycle.”
The Air Force Studies Board brings together academic, industry and government experts to participate in studies and workshops on topics of importance to the U.S. Air Force. In collaboration with Air Force leadership, the board develops studies related to the development and application of science and technology to be carried out by the National Research Council. Previous studies conducted by the board have addressed issues such as fuel efficiency, acquisition processes and assuring the future scientific and technical qualification of Air Force personnel.
The project will consist of a three-day workshop, a consensus study that will consist of four committee meetings, three data gathering sessions and one committee-only session dedicated to findings and recommendations. The final two months of the study period will be dedicated to publication and report release activities. The goal of the board is to provide recommendations on how to best implement experimentation, as well as metrics that can be implemented throughout the Air Force.
“The State of Utah cares about science and technology integration and improving the process, and I’m honored to serve in this capacity, ” said Estabrooke. “Science and technology advances are critical to the mission of Hill Air Force Base, the health of the Utah aerospace and defense economy, as well as national security.”
The board’s tasks will be: defining the current state of practice of experimentation within the Air Force; assessing the role of experimentation in the innovation life-cycle and addressing how it can support the Air Force’s future technology requirements; evaluating legislative, organizational or other barriers that limit the use of experimentation within the Air Force; providing recommendations on how best to implement experimentation within the existing organizational framework of the Air Force; reviewing and recommending best practices for incentivizing experimentation based on an assessment of comparable science and technology organizations; recommending metrics that can be implemented across the Air Force to monitor and assess the use and value of experimentation, and addressing other factors deemed relevant such as organizational structure or concepts of operation that could enhance the likelihood of successfully implementing a robust experimentation program within the Air Force acquisition community.
