The Oklahoma Aerospace Defense Innovation Institute and Data Institute for Societal Challenges co-hosted a community of practice event on May 3, 2023, to launch a $40,000 seed funding competition to enhance Department of Defense supply chain readiness. In addition to OU faculty and staff, members of the 448 Supply Chain Management Wing from Tinker Air Force Base were in attendance and supplied expert insight.
“The 448 Supply Chain Management Wing is the global supply chain manager for the entire U.S. Air Force,” Lt Gen (ret) Don Wetekam, chief strategist for the Oklahoma Aerospace Defense Innovation Institute, said. “Working with the 448 is an opportunity for the University and our research capabilities to contribute to our national defense.”
This competition is designed to fund teams interested in research that will improve the Department of Defense supply chain system and enhance combat power for America. Applicable topics include emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, computer science, data analytics and cyber security, as well as non-technical disciplines including national and international policy, novel business processes and techniques, and many more.
“We’re looking to develop a team of researchers and practitioners from different areas to address these key areas,” Andrés González, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Gallogly College of Engineering, and leader of the supply chain community of practice, said. “We also hope to explore how supply chains work, how supply chain networks are connected to each other and how vulnerable supply chains are to disruption.”
The Data Institute for Societal Challenges helped launch this community of practice in the fall of 2022. Their mission helps teams perform data driven research, develop new data driven technologies and integrate that technology to solve real-world problems like supply chain management.
“The majority of the population didn’t think about supply chains before 2020,” David Ebert, Ph.D., director of the Data Institute for Societal Challenges and associate vice president for research and partnerships, said. “Now everyone realizes their critical structure and that businesses optimize supply chains for profit. That can lead to big challenges that we hope to help solve.”
Learn more about the seed funding competition and submit your project for consideration by the June 9, 2023, deadline.
