THE Huntsville/Madison County Chamber hosted a Redstone Update on December 11 at the Von Braun Center.
The day’s events began at 8 a.m. and included updates on the Federal Bureau of Investigation, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Space & Missile Defense Command and Redstone Arsenal.
Jeff Gronberg, CEO of Search deciBelmoderated a roundtable entitled “Driving Innovation Together with AI & Advanced Analytics”.
The panel brought together leaders from academia, the military and the private sector to discuss the challenges and opportunities they see on the horizon with artificial intelligence.
Panelists included:
- COL Trent Geisler, Ph.D., U.S. Army Materiel Command
- Lisa Hirschler, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command
- Seth Farrington, DEVCOM Aviation and Missile Center
- Dr. Doug Matty, University of Alabama at Huntsville
Panelists discussed the need for quality data, issues surrounding trust and AI, and the challenge of finding and retaining top AI talent.
Reducing red tape that slows down collaboration between industry, academia and different branches of the military was identified as a concrete step that could be taken to accelerate innovation.
Gronberg asked the panelists what they would like the entrepreneurs in the room to know about how to best meet the AI needs of the organizations represented on the panel.
“We want to work with you, hand in hand, and not just receive a product,” Hirschler said. “A delivered product where we don’t understand the backend wouldn’t be very useful to us.”
In the same spirit, Matty encouraged entrepreneurs to create products with an open architecture that will allow rapid adaptation and technology updates.
The Redstone Update concluded with a luncheon with Maj. Gen. Gavin A. Lawrence as the keynote speaker.
MG Lawrence provided a bird’s eye view of “Redstone by the Numbers.”
Lawrence said the economic impact of Redstone Arsenal on local communities is estimated at $36.2 billion.
Ninety acres have been cleared on the Arsenal for the construction of facilities that will support the FBI in its mission of providing advanced educational opportunities. Lawrence described the courses there as “a Ph.D. level.”
Redstone Arsenal spans 38,162 acres of land. There remain 14,700 developable acres, of which 2,603 are considered “prime” developable acres.
Last year, the Armory processed more than 2,600 recreational access badges for members of the local community who entered the facility to play golf, hunt, bowl, play bingo or practice their archery skills.
MG Lawrence encouraged guests of the program to download the My military post application and select Redstone Arsenal. The app provides updates on gate status, dining options on the Arsenal, and availability of recreational activities.
“We want you to use this as a tool to stay informed about what’s going on at Redstone, because we want you to be able to participate in what’s going on inside the gates,” Lawrence said.
Photo credit: Huntsville/Madison County Chamber
