U.S. Under Secretary of Defense Heidi Shyu and Congressman Rob Wittman to Speak at the Ronald Reagan Institute’s Second Annual National Security Innovation Base Summit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 15, 2024

U.S. Under Secretary of Defense Heidi Shyu and Congressman Rob Wittman to Speak at the Ronald Reagan Institute’s Second Annual National Security Innovation Base Summit

The Summit will also feature the Institute’s newest NSIB Report Card assessing the U.S. innovation ecosystem

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu and Congressman Rob Wittman (R-VA) will participate together in a fireside chat at the second annual National Security Innovation Base (NSIB) Summit, hosted by the Ronald Reagan Institute’s Center for Peace Through Strength, on March 20, 2024.

Under Secretary Shyu also serves as the Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Technology Officer and is charged with ensuring the technological superiority of the U.S. military. As Under Secretary for Research and Engineering, Shyu is responsible for the research, development, and prototyping activities across the DoD enterprise. She oversees the activities of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Missile Defense Agency, DoD Laboratory and Engineering Center enterprise, and Under Secretariat staff focused on developing advanced technology and capability for the U.S. military.

Wittman is Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and Chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. On the subcommittee, he oversees the largest portfolio of modernization programs on HASC, with vast ramifications for the future of the U.S. military’s ground and air forces and munitions stockpiles. Wittman also serves on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

At the Summit, the Reagan Institute will release its second NSIB Report Card, which evaluates the health, effectiveness, and resilience of the national security innovation ecosystem. In 2023, this first-of-its-kind assessment delivered harsh grades, particularly when it came to U.S. government customer clarity, and proposed policy recommendations for improvement.

The NSIB Summit will feature in-person panels and discussions with Members of Congress, executive branch officials, innovative industry and technology companies, investors, national security experts, and other thought leaders.
Media can request credentials for the Summit here.

What: Reagan Institute National Security Innovation Base Summit
Who: Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, Under Secretary of Defense for
Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu, Congressman Rob Wittman, Members of Congress, executive branch officials, innovative defense industry and technology companies, investors, national security experts, and thought leaders
When: March 20, 2024
Where: Ronald Reagan Institute
850 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20006

About the Reagan Foundation and Institute:
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute (RRPFI) is the sole nonprofit organization created by President Reagan charged with continuing his legacy and advancing his principles – limited government, individual liberty, economic opportunity, freedom and democracy, peace through strength, and national pride. The Foundation is a non-partisan organization which sustains the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, CA, the Reagan Center for Public Affairs, the Presidential Learning Center, The Air Force One Pavilion, the award-winning Reagan Leadership Academy, and the Reagan Institute, which carries out the Foundation’s mission in Washington, D.C. The Reagan Library houses over 55 million pages of Gubernatorial, Presidential and personal papers and over 60,000 gifts and artifacts chronicling the lives of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. It also serves as the final resting place of America’s 40th President and his First Lady. More information is available at www.reaganfoundation.org.