VDMC Executive Director Mark Whitney Serves on Defense TechConnect Innovation Summit & Expo Panel
November 21, 2025
Our Executive Director Mark Whitney served on a panel at the Defense TechConnect Innovation Summit & Expo in National Harbor, MD this past week. The panel, Industry Spotlight: Leveraging AI-Driven Technologies to Enhance Public Shipyard and Depot Operations, focused on how the Navy’s exploding use of emerging technologies to accelerate weapon system design, streamline construction, and enhance operational maintenance, must be matched by AI to ingest data and prepare for system depot level/shipyard availabilities.
Panel members discussed how AI-driven digital twins innovation and efficiencies connecting data mesh and twinning technologies to additive manufacturing delivery can improve the management and readiness of manpower, material, and resources needed to shorten maintenance times in public shipyards.
Executive Director Whitney had a wonderful time being part of one of the nation’s largest communities of innovators. VDMC is honored to be proud of the conversations that are shaping the future of shipyard modernization and digital transformation across the Navy enterprise.