Biographies

COL Ryan A. Howell

Program Manager, Main Battle Tank Systems, Program Executive Office Ground Combat Systems (MBTS, PEOGCS)

Colonel Ryan Howell was commissioned in the Field Artillery (FA) through the ROTC program at Missouri University of Science and Technology. He was a Platoon Leader with 6-37 FA in the Republic of Korea and a Fire Support Officer with 3-29 FA at Fort Carson, CO. He served as Battalion Fire Direction Officer, Battery Commander, and Assistant Operations Officer with 1-10 FA at Fort Benning, GA.

After transitioning to the Army Acquisition Corps, he served as an Armor Materials Research Team Leader, Field Assistance Science and Technology Team Leader, Assistant Program Manager (APM) to PM Mission Command, and APM to PM Ground Combat Vehicles while stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. As a Lieutenant Colonel, he served the Office of the Secretary of Defense as a Materials Engineer and Research Scientist in Europe; Product Manager for the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle at the Detroit Arsenal, MI and Executive Officer to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. COL Howell completed an Army War College Fellowship. He assumed duties as Project Manager Main Battle Tank Systems on 22 July 2021.

He has been deployed to Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Global War on Terrorism, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

COL Howell’s military and civilian education includes: the Command and General Staff Officers Course, the Combined Arms Service and Staff School, the Field Artillery Officer Advance Course, and the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. He completed his Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, and has over 17 publications.

His major awards and decorations include the Combat Action Badge, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Bronze Star, and the Meritorious Service Medal.

Dr. Alvaro Velasquez

Program Manager, Transfer from Imprecise and Abstract Models to Autonomous Technologies (TIAMAT), DARPA

Dr. Alvaro Velasquez joined DARPA in August of 2022 as a program manager focused on artificial intelligence. His current research interests are at the intersection of formal language theory and machine learning for sequential decision-making. He holds an interdisciplinary research record of more than 50 publications, including work in the areas of artificial intelligence, combinatorial optimization, and logic and circuit design.

Prior to joining DARPA, Velasquez led the machine intelligence portfolio of investments for the Information Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory. In this capacity, he managed and proposed new research direction and technology transitions for the Air Force in the fields of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. This work entailed close collaboration with both the academic and private sectors to develop new fundamental technologies for the warfighter. Velasquez has also held visiting scientist appointments at the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Central Florida. He currently serves as Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Artificial Intelligence journal.

Velasquez holds a doctorate, as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees in computer science from the University of Central Florida (UCF). While at UCF, he was a recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program award and the University of Central Florida 30 Under 30 award.