Brig. Gen. Michał Marciniak, Ph.D. Eng.

is the Deputy Head of the Armament Agency and the Plenipotentiary of the Minister of National Defense for Integrated Air & Missile Defense Program. He is responsible for all aspects connected with new Integrated Air & Missile Defense System, including acquisition, training, technical specification, logistic package and sustain, infrastructure, as well as development of unit organization. Commissioned in 2000 as a graduate of Military University of Technology – master’s degree of engineering – aircraft and helicopters avionics. In 36^th Special Airlift Regiment he has commanded helicopter maintenance unit and logistic section. In 2004 graduated Academy of National Defense – Air Force Management Postgraduate Studies and was posted to 36^th regiment’s staff. In 2008 Brig. Gen. Marciniak graduated security assistance course in DISAM (USA) to be prepared for staffing position as an Air Force Affairs Officer in Foreign Services Division (FMS Office), Armed Forces Procurement Department, Polish Ministry of National Defence. Additionally, on behalf of the Undersecretary of State – National Armaments Director, Brig. Gen. Marciniak was C-130 FMS Program Coordinator. In 2011 Brig. Gen. Marciniak was appointed to a position of Armament’s Program Branch Chief in Aviation Technique Division in Armament Inspectorate. After that he was promoted to Deputy Chief of Aviation Technique Division. During his service in aviation area he supervised the acquisition of JASSM and JASSM ER missiles, FMS follow-on support cases for F-16s, aviation simulators, C-295M and M-28 aircraft acquisition. From mid-2016 until the end of 2021 he was responsible for acquisition and development to the Polish Armed Forces VIP aircrafts – Gulfstream G550 and Boeing B737-800/BBJ2. In 2017 he was appointed as the Plenipotentiary of the Minister of National Defense and since that time he was focused on Integrated Air & Missile Defense Program development. In 2019 he earned PhD in Engineering in Air Force Institute of Technology in Warsaw. In 2022 appointed for the position of Deputy Head of the Armament Agency and in 2023 promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.

Brig. Gen. Prof. Przemysław Wachulak, D.Sc. Ph.D. Eng.

is a professor of sciences and rector-commandant of the Military University of Technology. His works on the development of new laser-plasma sources and their applications in nanoscience and nanotechnology. He is a member of national and international scientific societies. For his works, he obtained several national and international scholarships and awards. A graduate of the Military University of Technology, which he graduated with 1st place in 2004 at the Faculty of Electronics, in the field of electronics and optoelectronics. He also completed postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Cybernetics of the Military University of Technology in the field of European integration and international security. He started his professional military service in 2004 in the 3rd  Road and Bridge Regiment in Chełmno as a platoon commander. In 2005 – 2008 he was a Ph.D. student at the Colorado State University in the United States, wherein 2008 he obtained a doctoral degree. In 2009, he began his military service at the Military University of Technology at the Institute of Optoelectronics as a senior engineer, assistant, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. In 2013, he obtained his habilitation degree at the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw. On 30th of July, 2018, the President of the Republic of Poland awarded him the title of professor of technical sciences. On 29th November 2022 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general by the President of the Republic of Poland. He is an author and co-author of 1 book, 11 chapters in monographs, 114 JCR publications, 120 articles from other peer-reviewed journals, and over 330 conference abstracts. His work focuses on the development of new laser-plasma sources for the generation of extreme ultraviolet and soft X‑ray radiation for applications in nanoimaging, holography, absorption spectroscopy, optical coherence tomography, or radiobiology. He has participated in many national and international scientific conferences, including over 30 invited lectures and presentations. He is a member of national and international scientific societies, incl. Polish Young Academy of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Committee of Metrology and Scientific Apparatus of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Committee of Electronics and Telecommunications of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the American Chemical Society ACS, the Polish Society of Synchrotron Radiation PTPS. He is also a topical editor of the Applied Optics journal from 2017. During his academic career, he was a principal investigator in 7 projects, incl. financed by the National Science Center and the National Center for Research and Development (LIDER program). He also participated in 17 other domestic, foreign, and international projects. He obtained a scholarship from the Foundation for Polish Science (2009 – 2011) and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (2011 – 2014). Winner of many awards. For scientific and military activities he received the R&D 100 award (the USA, 2008), Young Scientist Medal (2014), Silver Medal for Merit for National Defense (2014), Medal for Merit of the Republic of Poland, 3rd  class (2018), Silver Medal of the Armed Forces in the Homeland Service (2018) and the award of the Minister of National Defense (2013 and 2019).

Riki Ellison

Mr. Riki Ellison is the Founder and Chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance; a non-profit organization launched in 2002 with a singular purpose and mission to drive for the deployment, development, and evolution of missile defense. Mr. Ellison has been involved with missile defense since 1980, being introduced to it by then Governor Ronald Reagan’s Senior Defense Advisor, Dr. William R. Van Cleave and Dr. Edward Teller. Since its founding, the organization has emerged as the expert voice on missile defense in the world. Mr. Ellison has been in attendance of over 278 missile defense tests, visited 770 U.S. and allied missile defense bases and platforms, and has advocated for missile defense in all 50 states and 31 countries. Mr. Ellison was awarded the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara in December 2011 and the German Air Force Air Defense Missile Badge in October 2018. Mr. Ellison also established the annual U.S. and Allied “Missile Defender of the Year Award Ceremony”. These awards are given to the best missile defense soldiers, sailors, airman, guardians, and national guardsmen from each of the military services involved with missile defense in the United States and among allied nations. There have been 78 DOY events hosted in eight countries that have recognized 967 DOY Awardees from 22 different nations since 2011.