Draft
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3
ARRIVE. CONNECT. SET THE STAGE.
7:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Registration Opens
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Professional Development & Short Courses
Deep-dive learning opportunities led by experienced practitioners and subject-matter experts. Titles and abstracts are available on the ITEA website. Special registration and pricing required.
TBA | Leadership Meet & Greet – In the planning stages
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4
CHALLENGE THE WAY WE THINK.
7:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Registration Desk Open
7:45 – 8:25 AM | Coffee & Connections in the Innovation Pavilion
8:30 – 8:40 AM | Welcome to FORGE 2026
8:40 – 8:50 AM | Special Recognition of Association Awards
ITEA leadership invites the recipients of the Chairman’s Award, Energizer Award, and Board of Directors Award to the stage to be recognized for their outstanding contributions to ITEA.
8:50 – 9:00 AM | Setting the Stage – Day 1
9:00 – 9:30 AM | Opening Keynote – Government [Captain Cameron Mackley, USN, Commander, Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC)]
9:30 – 10:00 AM | Opening Keynote – Industry [To be Confirmed]
10:00 – 10:30 AM | Break with our Exhibitors + Innovation Pavilion
10:30 – 11:30 AM | Interactive Session: Testing in a Digital Environment [Moderated by Andrew Caldwell, Head Research and Development, Test and Evaluation in Ministry of Defense (MOD’s) Strategic Programmes Directorate]
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM | Cross Talk: The Latest Urgent Needs and Solutions in Support of Testing at Test Ranges [Moderated by James Amato, Executive Technical Director, US Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC)]
12:30 – 1:30 PM | Networking Lunch
1:30 – 3:00 PM | Four Concurrent Technical Sessions – Topics to be Announced
3:00 – 3:30 AM | Break with Exhibitors + Innovation Pavilion Live demonstrations, emerging technology, vendor showcases, student displays, and informal conversations with innovators.
3:30 – 4:00 PM | Guest Speaker – US Navy T&E [To be Confirmed]
4:00 – 5:00 PM | ITEA Partnerships: How Test Serves as the Glue for this Community – Continuity [Moderator: John Frederick, ITEA Senior Advisory Council President, Veracity Engineering]
Jim Sherman, (AIAA) Aeronautics at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Senior Director
Mica R. Endsley, Ph.D., (HFES) Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, President, SA Technologies,
Antonios Kontsos, Ph.D., (DTC) Digital Twin Consortium, Henry M. Rowan Professor at Rowan University’s Mechanical Engineering Department and Director of the Digital Engineering Hub
David Harrsion, (NDIA), National Defense Industrial Association, Project Manager and Test Engineer, Lockheed Martin Space Systems
4:45 – 5:00 PM | FORGE Takeaways
5:00 – 7:00 PM | FORGE Under the Desert Sky: Networking Reception ### Where Connections Begin Southwest-inspired outdoor reception featuring refreshments, networking, sponsors, exhibitors, and the FORGE community.
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5
TEST. DEMONSTRATE. COLLABORATE.
7:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Registration Desk Open
7:45 – 8:25 AM | Coffee & Connections in the Innovation Pavilion
8:30 – 8:40 AM | The State of ITEA
ITEA leadership provides an update on your association to its members and guests.
8:40 – 8:55 AM | Recognition of the Professional T&E Awards
ITEA leadership invites the recipients of the Major General Richard G. Cross Jr. Award, Dr. Wilson N. Felder, II, Early Career Award, Technical and Special Achievement Awards, the Publications Award and the highest award bestowed by ITEA, the Dr. Allen R. Matthews Award, to the stage to be recognized for their outstanding contributions to their commitment to advancing the field of Test & Evaluation.
8:55 – 9:00 AM | Setting the Stage – Day 2
9:00 – 9:30 AM | Morning Keynote [The Honorable Pedro M. Allende, Undersecretary for Science & Technology, Department of Homeland Security]
9:30 – 10:00 AM | Featured Guest Speaker [Troy A. Asher, Acting Director, NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center]
10:00 – 10:30 AM | FORGE Break with Exhibitors + Technology Demonstrations in the Innovative Pavilion
10:30 – 10:45 AM | Dr. Allen R. Matthews Award
10:45 – 11:30 AM | Non-Traditional T&E Roundtable Discussion Non-defense industries share lessons on rapid development, large-scale testing, autonomy, AI, manufacturing, safety, and technology adoption.
11:30 AM – 12:00 PM | Afternoon Keynote [The Honorable Dr. Amy E. Henninger, Director, Operational Test & Evaluation]
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM | Lunch in Honor of the Recipients of the T&E Professional and Association Awards and their guests.
1:00 – 1:30 PM | STEAM Challenge: Where Future Engineers Put T&E to the Test
Experience the excitement of the morning’s student competition, see their incredible builds in action, and celebrate the winning teams with scholarship awards.
1:30 – 2:15 PM | Panel Discussion on Office of the Undersecretary of Defense (OUSD) Prototyping and Experimentation
2:15 – 3:15 PM | Interactive Session Small-group discussions designed around specific challenges rather than traditional presentations Moderated by James Amato, Executive Technical Director, USA Army Test and Evaluation Command
Ms. Karen Saunders, Principal Deputy Director, Operational Test and Evaluation
Terry Murphy, Director Teat and Evaluation, Science and Technology, Department of Homeland Security T&E
Paul Murphy, Director, Independent Test & Evaluation/Operational Test Authority, National Security Agency (NSA)
Eric Neiderman, Deputy Director, Federal Aviation Administration’s research section, William J Hughes Technical Center
3:15 – 3:45 PM | FORGE Break with Exhibitors + Innovation Pavilion
3:45 – 4:15 PM | Robert (Houston) Riddle, new assignment to be announced.
4:15 – 5:15 PM | ITEA and its International Partners, [Moderated by Andrew Cunningham, QinetiQ – UK]
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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6
TURN CONVERSATIONS INTO ACTION.
7:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Registration Desk Open
8:30 AM – 2:30 PM | Exhibits and Innovation Pavilion – Closed / Tears Down
9:00 AM | Setting the Stage – Day 3
9:00 – 10:00 AM | An AI Roundtable Discussion [Moderated by INVITED Dr. Laura Freeman, Deputy Director, Virginia Tech National Security Institute]
INVITED Dr. Laura Rabbit, Deputy Director, Rapid-Test & Evaluation Cell (R-TEC), DoW Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO)
University of Arizona, To be confirmed
To be confirmed
10:15 – 11:00 AM | Rapid Fire Discussion with Senior Leaders Out-brief from Leadership Meet & Greet
11:00 – 11:30 AM | Special Guest Speaker [Potential CUI]
11:00 – 11:30 AM | Special Guest Speaker [Non-CUI]
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM | Featured Closing Speaker [To be confirmed]
12:15 PM | FORGE Call to Action
12:30 PM | FORGE 2026 Adjourns