March Workshop Recap
LTC Danee Cook, COL Matthew Dick, Capt Lindsay Kaldon, LTC Bumjin Park, and MAJ Justin Shine share perspectives during a morning spotlight session on warfighter operational energy requirements.
The March Workshop brought together participants from across the Services, federal agencies, academia, and industry. New session formats were introduced alongside the Workshop's core structure, expanding opportunities for direct engagement with SERDP and ESTCP leadership and hands-on interaction with emerging technologies.
Fireside chats with Program Managers. A new addition this year, these sessions gave attendees open, question-driven time with SERDP and ESTCP Program Managers, covering funding priorities, proposal development, and technology transition pathways. The format was informal and conversational, with attendees driving the discussion based on their own questions and needs.
Guided poster tours. Program Managers and technical experts led small groups through poster sessions, providing context on individual projects and drawing connections across the portfolio. Poster presentations and technology demonstrations spanned the full range of the programs' investment areas — attendees could explore advanced underwater detection tools, extended reality training software, in situ passive samplers, self-healing composite platforms, and immersive building commissioning training, among others.
Innovation Station. Also new this year, the Innovation Station gave select project leads the opportunity to present their work on stage with short, focused presentations and live demonstrations. Students participated as well, presenting research on behalf of their program leads and showcasing technologies including aluminum-based filter media for PFAS removal, autonomous underwater vehicle-based detection systems, and advanced fire behavior modeling tools.
Dr. Sara Brambilla presents her research during a guided poster tour, highlighting efforts at Los Alamos National Laboratory to validate advanced fire and smoke plume dispersion modeling tools for complex wildland fire scenarios and their role in improving operational decision-making.
Student presenter Sushma Yadav demonstrates aluminum-based drinking water treatment residuals (Al-WTRs) as a filter media for irreversible PFAS adsorption.
Dr. Juchen Guo demonstrates his technology at the Innovation Station, showcasing a novel aluminometallurgy process using chloroaluminum chemistry to delithiate and dissolve lithium transition metal oxides under mild conditions.
During a technical session focused on new approaches to corrosion mitigation strategies for DoW, attendees joined breakout groups to collaborate on matching capabilities to specific mission requirements and develop actionable implementation roadmaps.
Facilitated technical sessions. Technical sessions this year were structured as facilitated discussions tailored to each Program Area's priorities — covering practical skills building, strategic conversations about emergent mission needs such as critical minerals, and live demonstrations of next-generation fire behavior sensing and modeling tools.
Closing session. The workshop closed with a rotating breakout format where Program Managers led discussions on future research directions, partnerships and regulatory engagement, and technology transition. A consistent theme across groups: connecting research to implementation requires earlier engagement with end users, regulators, and industry — and more flexible pathways from demonstration to adoption.
What's Next: December Workshop
The December Workshop runs November 30 – December 4, 2026 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC. The formats introduced in March, including guided poster tours, Innovation Station, and facilitated sessions, will all return, with expanded opportunities for collaboration and new interactive elements.
The session topics reflect the full scope of SERDP and ESTCP research investments:
- PFAS — in situ treatment field demonstrations, AFFF destruction strategies, microplastics management, and pathways for moving PFAS research into implementable solutions
- Munitions response — live site and testbed demonstrations of advanced detection and characterization technologies
- Wildfire and natural hazards — advanced wildfire technology demonstrations, severe weather and wildfire demo centers, and biocontrol approaches for invasive species on DoW lands
- Installation energy and resilience — thermal energy networks, long-duration energy storage, water security, and cybersecurity approaches
- Chemicals and materials — critical minerals refining and recovery, corrosion mitigation in contested logistics environments, and alternative solvents and cleaning technologies
- Technology transition and training — life cycle assessment tools, commercialization pathways, and a dedicated session on scaling technology adoption across DoW lands
Registration
Registration will open soon. Visit https://www.dowinnovationworkshop.org for the agenda, hotel room block, and more information.
