S&ET Executive Breakfast

Ms. Mary J. Miller is the acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In this role she provides Science and Technology leadership throughout the Department of Defense; shaping strategic direction and strengthening the research and engineering coordination efforts to meet tomorrow's challenges through research, development and engineering laboratories and centers, academia, industrial and international partners and allies.

Ms. Miller was the Principal Deputy ASD (R&E), and prior to that she served three years as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology. As DASA(R&T), she was responsible for policy and oversight of the Army’s research and technology program, which spans 16 Laboratories and Research, Development and Engineering Centers, employs nearly 12,000 scientists and engineers and has a yearly budget that exceeds $2.4 billion. Ms. Miller was charged with identifying, developing and demonstrating technology options that inform and enable effective and affordable capabilities for the Soldier. She was also responsible for developing a science and technology (S&T) strategy that is responsive to Army needs from the near term (five years) stretching out through the far term (more than 20 years). Her S&T portfolio covered basic research through the development and demonstration of components, subsystems, manufacturing technology and technology system prototypes. Between 2010 - 2013, Ms. Miller served over two years as the Deputy Program Executive Officer, Soldier, where she was the principal Department of the Army civilian responsible for the design, development, procurement, fielding and sustainment of a portfolio with more than 460 products/systems and a $3 billion budget. Her work encompassed virtually everything the  Soldier wears or carries. Between 2005 - 2010, Ms. Miller served as the Director for Technology, within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)). There she was responsible for the oversight and  coordination of the  Army’s S&T efforts to transition technology in support of Army acquisition programs. She managed the Army’s development efforts at the component, sub-system and system level to  include the Manufacturing Technology programs executed by the Army S&T Enterprise. She also served as the U.S. Representative on the Weapons Panel of The Technology Cooperation Program (TTCP).

Ms. Miller received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Electro-Physics, from George Washington University and  an M.B.A. from the University of Tennessee. She is the recipient of an Army Research and Development Achievement Award for her technical achievement in the “Development of Nonlinear Materials for Sensor Protection.” Ms. Miller was selected in 2005 to the Senior Executive Service and is Defense Acquisition Workforce Level III certified in Program Management; Engineering; and Science and Technology Management. She is a member of the Army Acquisition Corps and the Association of the United States Army.