Prof. Marilyn J. Smith Director of the Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence at Georgia Tech

Professor Marilyn J. Smith was a featured speaker at the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement's (IDGA) 4th Annual International Military Helicopter USA, held July 29-31 in Washington, DC. 

The three-day summit featured key decision-makers from the military and private sectors. As the director of Georgia Tech's multi-university Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence (VLRCOE), Smith is widely respected as a thought leader and top researcher in the field.  Her talk focused on the past, present and future role of the VLRCOEs in performing cutting-edge research for the Future Vertical Lift Directive. She also spoke about the role the VLRCOEs play in educating the generations of engineers and scientists for vertical lift.

"The Vertical Lift Centers of Excellence are key partners to the US military in developing advanced technologies for future vertical lift," Smith noted.

"Our alumni have played key roles in the US Military, especially in science and technology. And we are very proud that one of our VLRCOE alumni, Gen. James "Jimmy" McConville is to become the new U.S. Army Chief of Staff on August 9."

The IDGA 's 2019 summit gave participants a platform to discuss the ongoing efforts to meet the next generation of innovative rotary winged assets to bolster air and battlefield overmatch. It also focused on the continued rotary wing asset modernization and the US Future Vertical Lift (FVL) directive, which, together, are seen as driving helicopter capability development on a global scale, ushering in a new age of rotorcraft capability.