Speakers

Dr. Harbir Antil (PhD) is the Founder and Director of the Center for Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence (CMAI) and a Professor of Mathematics at George Mason University.  He has held fellowship positions at Brown University and University of Delaware. He is a member of the Intelligence Science and Technology Experts Group at the National Academy of Sciences. He is also the President of SIAM DC-MD-VA Section. 

His areas of interest include algorithmic optimization, artificial intelligence, machine learning, numerical analysis, optimal control, imaging, fluid dynamics, and scientific computing. His research is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Office of Naval Research (ONR), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Department of Energy (DOE), and the Department of Navy.  He is the Editor-in-Chief of Advances in Continuous and Discrete Models and is on the editorial board of prestigious journals such as SIAM Reviews, SIAM Journal of Scientific Computing, Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications.

Dr. John Beieler serves as the Executive Director of the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS) at the University of Maryland. At ARLIS, a Department of Defense UARC, he leads a team of researchers to undertake applied research and development efforts to advance strategic technology goals for the DoD, Intelligence Community, and broader national security enterprise in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, human-machine teaming, and social and behavioral sciences. 

Before ARLIS, Dr. Beieler served concurrently as Assistant Director of National Intelligence (ADNI) for Science & Technology (S&T) and as Director of Science and Technology within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, a role he was selected for in June 2019. In this position, Dr. Beieler served as the chief representative of the DNI for science and technology, assisted the Director in formulating a long-term strategy for scientific advances in the field of intelligence, and chaired the Director of the National Intelligence Science & Technology Committee (NISTC). Beginning in 2024 he also served as Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO), with responsibilities for overseeing and governing IC-wide investments in AI and chairing the IC’s Chief AI Officer Council. While at ODNI, Dr. Beieler was a career member of the Senior National Intelligence Service. 

Prior to this assignment, Dr. Beieler was a program manager at the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) focusing on human language technology, machine learning, and vulnerabilities in artificial intelligence. While at IARPA, Dr. Beieler led the successful creation of two programs, BETTER and SAILS, and was crucial in establishing the field of AI Assurance and Security within the Intelligence Community. Before joining IAPRA, Dr. Beieler was a research scientist at the Johns Hopkins Human Language Technology Center of Excellence (HLTCOE) and a data scientist at Caerus Associates. In both roles, his work focused on machine learning research and the development, deployment, and scaling of large machine learning systems. 

Dr. Beieler received his doctorate and master’s in political science from Pennsylvania State University, and a bachelor’s in political science from Louisiana State University.

Wayne LeRiche is the Field CTO, Federal Civilian at Palo Alto Networks. In this role, Wayne supports the U.S. Federal Civilian teams at Palo Alto Networks through the creation and delivery of business-relevant security conversations to our key customers. Wayne has over 25 years of experience in the design and implementation of secure enterprise networks for Tier 1 service providers and the Federal government. Before joining Palo Alto Networks in 2019, Wayne served as Distinguished Architect with Verizon, providing security design enhancements to Verizon's cyber portfolio and intrusion prevention capabilities delivered as a Managed Security Service to the Federal Government. Prior to Verizon Wayne was the Chief Network Security Engineer for the Defense Logistics Agency Enterprise Telecommunications Wide Area Network serving approximately 27,000 civilian and military employees.

Wayne is an active CISSP with multiple professional level technical certications. He holds a Master of Science In Information Technology from Florida Tech.