MD5 is a program office of the Office of the Secretary of Defense connecting the worlds of academia, national security and venture. This deck describes how we work with universities and researchers.

1. MD5 and Academia
September 16, 2018
The Honorable Tommy Sowers, Ph.D.
Southeast Regional Director

2. Despite the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)’s rich history of
developing technology solutions, the evolving threat
environment presents new and complex technical challenges…
CYBERATTACKS
FAKE NEWS
INSURGENTS
HACKERS
DRONES

3. And despite Academia’s research and interest in helping the
military, getting those solutions in the hands of DoD is hard, yet
increasingly easy for our nation’s adversaries
Identifies research:
Counter drone technology
Filters requirement up
RFP
Contracting
Military sole-use version
Identifies vulnerability:
Counter drone technology
Buys commercial solution
Research focus:
Counter drone technology
Tries to work with DOD
Seek grants funding
Difficulty accessing clients
Limits on research
MILITARY INSURGENTRESEARCHER
Fields in 3 years Connects in 3 years Fields in 3 weeks

4. National
Security
VentureAcademia
MD5 is a program office of the Office of the Secretary of Defense
connecting the worlds of academia, national security and venture

5. MD5 connects the military to your university, faculty and
students to help solve DoD problems faster and better
3
1
2
5
4
Knowledge Exchange Events
Connecting the worlds of academia, military and entrepreneurs
Hacking for Defense
Solving real-world DoD problems with student teams
Hackathons
54 hour events, hosted at universities to solve DOD problems
Maker
Invite DoD customers to interact with your engineers and students
FedTech
Building startups around breakthrough technology and research

6. A university-sponsored class that allows students to builds solutions (and possibly
prototypes), developing a deep understanding of the military’s problems.
HACKING FOR DEFENSE
UNIVERSITY BENEFIT:
• Identified and curated military customers with real-world problem statements
• A true interdisciplinary course (EN, CS, Business)
• Access robust network of military mentors/SMEs
• Educator training course of flipped classroom and established pedagogy
• Network of H4D instructors and best practices
• PR throughout the course
UNIVERSITY PROVIDES:
• Accreditation within engineering, policy, business
departments
• Faculty teaching team
• Student recruitment
• Showcase venue*

7. A university hosted, 48-hour period to engage in collaborative problem-solving with
DoD problem sponsors.
HACKS
UNIVERSITY BENEFIT:
• Universities partner to identify tech areas of interest
• Teams of students and startups hack on a DoD problem over 48 hours
• Students and faculty deepen knowledge of military market opportunities while exploring rapid problem solving
methodologies
• Winning teams receive $15k to support their idea
• PR throughout the event
UNIVERSITY PROVIDES:
• Host facility
• Promotion to student population and local startup
community
• Senior level faculty to judge

8. Using the power of DoD to convene the best of the military, academia and
entrepreneurs.
KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE EVENTS
UNIVERSITY BENEFIT:
• Events built off of military need and university expertise and knowledge
• A showcase to demonstrate research with military applications
• Opportunities for students and faculty to connect directly with military
• PR throughout the event
UNIVERSITY PROVIDES:
• Host facility
• Promotion to student population and local startup
community
• Senior level faculty to judge

9. Building startups around breakthrough technology and research.
FEDTECH
UNIVERSITY BENEFIT:
• Commercialization of IP (e.g. Princeton, UPenn, Penn State)
• Creation of new ventures
• A vehicle to engage alumni
UNIVERSITY PROVIDES:
• Academic sources of technology
• University space
• Promotion of program to entrepreneurs and alumni

10. A network of university-based, rapid prototyping facilities that invite DoD customers
to interact with your engineers and students
MAKER
UNIVERSITY BENEFIT:
• Steady flow of business and usage of existing equipment
• Access to national security relevant problems
UNIVERSITY PROVIDES:
• Facility access/materials
• Engineers and design support

11. What’s next:
1 Identify your institution’s strengths
and interests
2 Intro your best researchers,
programs and instructors to MD5
3 Move forward together

12. The Honorable Tommy Sowers, Ph.D.
Southeast Regional Director
tsowers@md5.net
Where should we start?

13. MD5’s regional approach focuses on partnering with top
universities and entrepreneurial hubs
Current Regional Directors
Region 1. Kevin Quinlan
kquinlan@md5.net
Region 2 Dan Madden
dmadden@md5.net
Region 4 Tommy Sowers
tsowers@md5.net
Region 8 Rachel Cheetham
rcheetham@md5.net
Region 9 Matt Gracias
mgracias@md5.net
Future regions to be staffed.
Feel free to reach out to
Mitch Kusmier
mkusmier@md5.net if you
are in another region