Brian Shirley

Member, Board of Regents and Senior Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

ShirleyBrian Shirley is a senior executive and advisor with over 34 years of broad-based experience in the semiconductor industry, including fourteen years as an executive officer of Micron Technology, a US-based Fortune 500 leader in semiconductor memory.  He has been a senior consultant to the US government on topics related to the semiconductor industry and US national security. He is listed as an inventor on 82 US patents and helped drive Micron’s expansion into specialized memory for servers, and mobile and networking solutions. At Micron, he drove DRAM diversification, product expansions in NAND solid-state memory and related SSD product lines, and productization of multiple emerging memory technologies. He has served on the boards of numerous joint ventures and industry organizations. Mr. Shirley retired from Micron in December 2019. In 2020, Mr. Shirley joined CTC Aero consulting with multiple departments of the US government. In addition, he is serving as a senior advisor and board member to multiple semiconductor startups, as well as serving as a member of the Board of Regents and Senior Fellow of the Potomac Institute.

Tim Welter, PhD

Welter

Senior Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

Tim Welter conceived and led the Potomac Institute’s Global Competition Project (GCP). Having worked in the private sector, the military, and on Capitol Hill, Tim Welter brings valuable experience in national security and defense policy to the Institute. After serving on active duty in the Air Force for several years, he worked on Capitol Hill as Legislative Director for two different Members of Congress and later as a Professional Staff Member with the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Upon leaving the Hill, Tim worked with the foreign and defense policy research team at the American Enterprise Institute. He later completed a research fellowship at the National War College during which he finished his PhD dissertation in Political Science with the University of Missouri, writing about the political nature of defense policy in Congress. A US Air Force Academy graduate, Tim holds Master’s degrees in political science, national security strategy, and management. Just prior to joining the Institute, Tim served at the Pentagon where he helped stand up an organization dedicated to future force design and the development of capabilities and concepts required to meet emerging national security challenges.

Alyssa Adcock, PhD

Research Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

Alyssa

Dr. Alyssa Adcock is a S&T Policy Research Fellow. At the Institute, she has been involved with several efforts focused on providing strategic S&T recommendations and technical forecasting to government customers including ongoing work with NASA. Dr. Adcock obtained her PhD from Georgetown University in Inorganic Chemistry. Her graduate research focused on bismuth and rare earth element materials to address energy, lighting, and security needs as well as uranium chemistry relevant to nuclear waste and environmental management. Prior, she received her B.S. in Chemistry at Jacobs University in Germany and served as an intern at the Carnegie Institute of Washington’s Geophysical Laboratory focusing on origin of life and geochemistry research. Dr. Adcock is a member of the Graduate Education Advisory Board of the American Chemical Society.

Jeff “Skunk” Baxter

Senior Fellow and Member, Board of Regents, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

AlyssaJeff Baxter currently serves as Chairman of the Civilian Advisory Board for Ballistic Missile Defense. He has acted in an advisory capacity for Congressmen Curt Weldon and Dana Rohrabacher, both members of the House Science Committee, and has participated in numerous wargames for the Pentagon. Mr. Baxter was invited to serve on the Laser Advisory Board at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and has lectured at the University of Manitoba School of Political Science on the topic of regional conflict and missile defense. He is a world-renowned guitarist and a former member of both Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers.

Claire Costenoble-Caherty, PhD

Research Analyst, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

Claire

Prior to joining the Institute, Dr. Claire Costenoble-Caherty received her doctorate in Emerging Infectious Diseases from the Uniformed Services University in 2020, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from The University of Maryland College Park in 2013. She conducted her doctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Ann Jerse, where she developed murine models of gonorrhea/chlamydia coinfection and upper reproductive tract infection, and studied the immune response in the context of such infections.

Mike Fritze, PhD

Senior Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

MFritze1Dr. Mike Fritze is a Senior Fellow and former Vice President at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. He is responsible for the Microelectronics related portfolio with interests and activities in the areas of secure access strategies, supply chain issues, support of legacy technologies, DoD innovation policy, outreach to Industry and strengthening the US Industrial Base. Customers have included OSD, DARPA, USAF and NNSA. Dr. Fritze is active on the NDIA Electronics Division co-chairing the Policy subcommittee. Prior to his affiliation with the Institute, Dr. Fritze ran microelectronics Programs at USC-ISI and was a Program Manager at DARPA MTO. Prior to that, he was a staff member at MITLL.

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