2018 MILCOM

Amy Sun, Ph.D.
Principal Systems Architect, Narrowband MILSATCOM Advanced Programs Lead
Lockheed Martin Space


Dr. Amy Sun is a principal military space systems architect, responsible for developing innovative satellite, network, terminal, waveform and application system solutions that enable dramatic user pull and demand for future tactical, protected, and wideband growth. She leads Lockheed Martin's Advanced Programs for Narrowband SATCOM in the Military Space line of business where she is responsible for next generation capabilities and technologies to meet evolving and future tactical missions. For her technical leadership of the U.S. Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), used by the U.S. and its allies for secure cell-phone-like services worldwide, Dr. Sun has been awarded the Navy Arctic Service Ribbon, the Lockheed Martin NOVA Award, and the Asian American Engineer of the Year award. Dr. Sun began her career at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company in 1997 as an ASIC and processors design engineer with the Fleet Ballistic Missile and Airborne Laser Programs. Throughout her career, Dr. Sun has held a variety of increasingly responsible technical positions in design, systems engineering, and satellite vehicle integration including leading a technology investigation for the use of microelectromechanical systems in missile and launch vehicle systems and more recently the use of lasers for free space communications between satellites. She led the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) System Integration Lab project during its Component Advanced Development phase. She has developed several new market technology pursuit opportunities as a research engineer in mission and business concepts. Dr. Sun is co-founder and president emeritus of a non-profit global organization committed to building technical capacity of a locality, improving individuals' abilities to develop themselves and their communities. She led a multinational team to develop a sustainable, low cost, open source broadband internet system with a replicable business model which has been piloted successfully in Afghanistan, Kenya, and elsewhere. She has been a board member of BattleBots IQ, an educational program aimed at middle and high school science, technology, engineering, and math hands-on instruction. In 2011 she was recognized as a PopTech Social Innovation Fellow for her work in accessible digital fabrication and grassroots technology development for and by the community. Dr. Sun earned her PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Bits and Atoms where she investigated synthetic programmable boundary layers with the goal of developing innovative energy transport mechanisms. Her Masters degree was focused on field fabricated solar thermal turbines. She holds dual electrical and computer engineering Bachelors degrees from Purdue University.

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