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Christopher J. Palmer

Principal Director for Human Machine Interfaces in the Critical Technologies Office, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering

 

Christopher J. Palmer, Ph.D., is the principal director for Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) in the Critical Technologies Office, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. As the inaugural individual for HMI, Palmer is responsible for developing and implementing the vision, strategy, roadmap, and collaborative efforts within this Critical Technology Area (CTA) identified by the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the Department of Defense. Palmer collaborates with, and leverages thought leadership, technical excellence, and national defense strategies with the Services, industry, academia, and partner nations to determine the appropriate vision and priorities for the HMI CTA.

The HMI CTA focuses on technologies and human sciences to reduce attentional and cognitive loads while delivering data to decision makers in relevant, prioritized contexts (e.g., mixed and augmented reality, etc.). The HMI CTA also focuses on advanced technologies that simplify control of complex military systems (e.g., Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Cyber and Joint All Domain Command and Control tools) through simplified, intuitive, natural, and decisive action (e.g., vocal, haptic, or brain-machine control). Together, these technologies and human sciences will enable Warfighter decision and action dominance, shorten the human- in/on- loop kill and survival chains in multi-domain operations, improve joint situational awareness and understanding, and provide immersive, distributed training approaches for improved joint warfighter outcomes.

Palmer has more than 15 years’ experience at U.S. Special Operations Command as a combat/capability developer, requirements generator, technology accelerator, and two-time program manager (Naval Special Warfare Development Group, program manager SOF Survival and Equipment Systems). Palmer has led Army science and technology portfolios in human sciences, wearable electronics research and development portfolios for the sports industry, and served as a CTO developing augmented and mixed reality systems and human sciences laboratories in the defense industry. Most recently, Palmer served as a systems engineering and technical assistance senior scientist for the U.S. Army’s Integrated Visual Augmentation Systems program at Program Executive Office Soldier. The complexities involving the successful integration of advanced technologies, the necessity of disciplined engineering approaches, and a robust human-centric view have been at the center of his work for more than 25 years. Palmer is an Army and Navy Acquisition Corps Member with full certifications in Program Management and Systems Engineering.

Palmer studied at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) for his master’s and doctorate degrees in exercise physiology/wearable electronics and sensory-motor control, with significant study at the Center for the Ecological Study of Perception-Action, University of Connecticut. Palmer served as industry chair, Center for Personalized Health Monitoring-Institute for Applied Life Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, where he holds an adjunct professorship. Palmer was an advisor for the Italian Institute of Technology European Union program on Cognitive Robotics (DARWIN), and chief scientist at HUXWRX Safety Company, helping to understand the near-mid-far physiological and neurological impacts of small arms exposure on the warfighter. Palmer was named a Distinguished UMass Alumni and was the 2016 Arthur S. Iberall Distinguished Lecturer on Life and the Sciences of Complexity.