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From left to right: Andy White, director of the UT Aerospace and Defense Business Institute; Bobby Smart, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition integration; Jeff Babione, vice president and deputy general manager of the Joint Strike Fighter program for Lockheed Martin aeronautics; Robert Lightfoot, associate administrator at NASA; and Alex Miller, Stokely Professor of Management in theHaslam College of Business. Photo courtesy of AIAA.Leaders from the Haslam College of Business were part of a featured panel discussion at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Science and Technology Forum and Exposition this week.

The event—the largest gathering for aerospace research, development and technology professionals—brought together more than 3,000 innovators from around the world. UT representatives led a panel discussing business practices in research and development organizations in the aerospace and defense industry. More than 100 engineers and technology leaders attended the discussion.

Andy White, director of the Haslam College of Business Aerospace and Defense Master of Business Administration program, moderated the panel while Alex Miller served as one of four panelists. Miller, William B. Stokely Chair in Management, serves as director of the Consortium for Social Enterprise Effectiveness at the UT business college. Other panelists included Jeff Babione, Lockheed Martin vice president and deputy general manager for the Joint Strike Fighter program; Robert Lightfoot, associate administrator of NASA; and Bobby Smart, a member of the Senior Executive Service and deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition integration.

“The Haslam College of Business is grateful for the opportunity to help shape the conversation around aerospace and defense business practices, which are critical to this industry and our nation,” White said. “Our participation is an honor that recognizes the university’s leadership in this arena.”

The Haslam College of Business houses the Aerospace and Defense Business Institute, which includes the Aerospace and Defense MBA program and numerous executive education programs in addition to applied research work serving the industry. Lockheed Martin’s Babione is one of more than 250 graduates of UT’s one-of-a-kind ADMBA program.

The college has done extensive work for a decade with the Air Force and other military services to help improve business practices to support military readiness. The college’s effort also includes work and teaching with private industry employers supporting the aerospace and defense sector.

To learn more about the UT Aerospace and Defense Business Institute, visit the website.