Dan Patt

Senior Fellow, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology

dan_patt

At A Glance:

Dan Patt is a senior fellow with 91 Institute’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology. His work at 91 focuses on the role of information and innovation in national security.

Biography

Dan Patt is a senior fellow with 91 Institute’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology. His experience is at the intersection of technology, business, and national security strategy. His work at 91 focuses on the role of information and innovation in national security.

Dr. Patt supports strategy at national security technology provider STR and supports Thomas H. Lee Partners’ automation and technology investment practice. He has more than 20 years of experience operationalizing emerging technology, including applied artificial intelligence, networked information systems, robotics, supply chain automation, and enterprise information technology. He holds advisory board roles at the University of Michigan College of Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Andrew W. Marshall Foundation.

Previously, Dr. Patt cofounded and was CEO of Vecna Robotics, a commercial venture-backed warehouse robotics and workflow orchestration company. Dr. Patt also served as deputy director for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s Strategic Technology Office (STO), where he managed a portfolio of technology investments including command and control; decision aids; communications and networking; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; and electronic warfare. He also launched the Mosaic Warfare initiative at DARPA. In 2017, Dr. Patt supported the deputy secretary of defense in leading an effort to define a new modernization initiative for the Department of Defense as part of the 2018 National Defense Strategy effort.

Dr. Patt previously held technical and leadership positions in the automotive and aerospace industries focusing on emerging technology, including robotic and uncrewed systems, process automation, and human-machine integration. His contributions to technology, national security, and business have been recognized with more than a dozen career honors and awards.

Dr. Patt received his BA, MS, and PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan.

Events
12
December 2024
Past Event
Accelerating Replicator and Fielding Technologies for Today’s Fight
Featured Speakers:
Bryan Clark
Aditi Kumar
Dan Patt
Deputy Director, Defense Innovation Unit
12
December 2024
Past Event
Accelerating Replicator and Fielding Technologies for Today’s Fight

Join 91 Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Dan Patt for a fireside chat with Aditi Kumar, deputy director of the Defense Innovation Unit, to discuss Replicator’s progress and its promise for the future.

Deputy Director, Defense Innovation Unit
Featured Speakers:
Bryan Clark
Aditi Kumar
Dan Patt
29
October 2024
Past Event
Advancing Joint Experimentation to Solve Operational Problems
Featured Speakers:
Dan Patt
Thomas Browning
Bob Stephenson
Bryan Clark
Arun Seraphin
US Army Staff Sgt. Stetson Manuel carries the Ghost-X Unmanned Aircraft System on March 11, 2024, at Fort Irwin, California. (DVIDS)
29
October 2024
Past Event
Advancing Joint Experimentation to Solve Operational Problems

Join the National Defense Industrial Association’s Emerging Technology Institute and 91’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology for a symposium exploring the future of joint experimentation for new technology-enabled operational concepts.

US Army Staff Sgt. Stetson Manuel carries the Ghost-X Unmanned Aircraft System on March 11, 2024, at Fort Irwin, California. (DVIDS)
Featured Speakers:
Dan Patt
Thomas Browning
Bob Stephenson
Bryan Clark
Arun Seraphin
12
June 2024
Past Event
The New Iron Triangle: Achieving Adaptability and Scale in Defense Acquisition
Featured Speakers:
Rob Wittman
Aditi Kumar
Lt. Gen. Robert M. Collins
Mitch Skiles
Andy Green
Joe Laurenti
Michael Brasseur
Michael Hiatt
Josh Martin
Moderators:
Nadia Schadlow
Bryan Clark
Dan Patt
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Andrew Hill, a motor transport operator assigned to Combat logistics Battalion 6, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, fastens the propeller arms on a Tactical Resupply Vehicle 150 (TRV) unmanned aircraft system during test flight operations in Setermoen, Norway, Feb. 6, 2024.   (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Christian Salazar)
12
June 2024
Past Event
The New Iron Triangle: Achieving Adaptability and Scale in Defense Acquisition

Join 91 for a three-part event discussing the challenges and opportunities facing Western militaries and defense industries as they attempt to achieve relevant capability at scale.

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Andrew Hill, a motor transport operator assigned to Combat logistics Battalion 6, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, fastens the propeller arms on a Tactical Resupply Vehicle 150 (TRV) unmanned aircraft system during test flight operations in Setermoen, Norway, Feb. 6, 2024.   (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Christian Salazar)
Featured Speakers:
Rob Wittman
Aditi Kumar
Lt. Gen. Robert M. Collins
Mitch Skiles
Andy Green
Joe Laurenti
Michael Brasseur
Michael Hiatt
Josh Martin
Moderators:
Nadia Schadlow
Bryan Clark
Dan Patt
15
May 2024
Past Event
Flipping the Cube: Transforming the Defense Budget Structure
Featured Speakers:
Jamie Morin
David Norquist
Dan Patt
A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II assigned to the F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team performs a practice airshow performance at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Jan. 11, 2023. The F-35 Demo Team performs rehearsal flights regularly to maintain flying certifications and to uphold and maintain their mission and Air Force recruiting standards. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kaitlyn Ergish)
15
May 2024
Past Event
Flipping the Cube: Transforming the Defense Budget Structure

Join 91 Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Dan Patt for a discussion on restructuring the defense budget with two commissioners who shaped PPBE reform proposal.

A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II assigned to the F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team performs a practice airshow performance at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Jan. 11, 2023. The F-35 Demo Team performs rehearsal flights regularly to maintain flying certifications and to uphold and maintain their mission and Air Force recruiting standards. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kaitlyn Ergish)
Featured Speakers:
Jamie Morin
David Norquist
Dan Patt
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Caption
A Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessel and the guided-missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black (DDG 119) operate in the Arabian Gulf on January 8, 2023. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jeremy R. Boan)
dan_patt
dan_patt
Senior Fellow, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology
bryan_clark
bryan_clark
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology
Reports
7 Min Read
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Caption
Amid intensifying threats military from China, Taiwanese soldiers carrying artillery to tanks during the two-day live-fire drill in Pingtung, Taiwan, on September 7, 2022. (Photo by Ceng Shou Yi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
bryan_clark
bryan_clark
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology
dan_patt
dan_patt
Senior Fellow, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology
Reports
11 Min Read
A-10 software engineers work together in teams to verify functionality of organically developed operational flight program software on November 5, 2020, at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, before it is released to the warfighter. (US Air Force photo by Alex R. Lloyd)
Caption
A-10 software engineers work together in teams to verify functionality of organically developed operational flight program software on November 5, 2020, at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, before it is released to the warfighter. (US Air Force photo by Alex R. Lloyd)
dan_patt
dan_patt
Senior Fellow, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology
Jason Weiss
Jason Weiss
Chief Software Officer, Conquest Cyber
Commentary
12 Min Read