Our Team

Bob Kavetsky co-founded ETC in 2006 to develop research, science, and engineering programs in Southern Maryland. He served as ETC’s Executive Director, and then President. He is now the company's CEO. Mr. Kavetsky worked for 32 years in the Department of the Navy, where he built and operated hypersonic wind tunnels and developed undersea weapons. He also served as the first Warfare Center Liaison to the Office of Naval Research. He established the N-STAR program, a Navy-wide effort to promote science and technology within the Navy's Warfare Centers. Additionally, Bob has co-authored 11 books on national defense topics. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science in Engineering Administration from Catholic University.

Mr. Durant manages the Energetics Science and Technology program, which utilizes Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence techniques. The goal is to help the company become the lead information integrator across the Energetics community. His approach is to build a collaborative team that focuses on a development path. Will spent four years designing, building, and deploying cabled and un-cabled undersea electronic sensor systems for DARPA and the Navy. He became the technical project lead for ground-based and UAS platform EO/IR systems with onboard processing and multi-spectral threat detection. Mr. Durant has a BSEE from the University of South Alabama.

Mr. Martin manages all business operations of ETC. He brings a broad business background and local development expertise to our Fast FORWARD initiative, drawing technology-based economic development to Indian Head, Maryland. Matt started his career in public accounting, held several senior executive positions, and serves community organizations such as the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center and Charles County Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Martin has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Messiah College.

Mr. Lobo is responsible for developing and implementing ETC's strategic communication plan and elevating our tactical messaging. He advises on branding, public relations, public affairs, and engagement. Luiz is the editor/designer of ETC's newsletter, our video executive producer, presentation coach, and director of web development. He has collaborated with dozens of companies worldwide, improving their strategic stakeholder communications, leadership skills, critical messaging, planning, and rollout of global events. Mr. Lobo has an Honors Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication and a Master of Arts Degree in Multimedia Design from the University of Iowa. He furthered his professional training in Design Thinking, Broadcast Journalism, Executive Production, and Global Affairs.

Ms. To has more than 25 years of experience as a project manager for the Department of Defense (DoD) and the United States Army. Ginny led traditional and distributed academia, industry, and government research and development personnel teams. She has managed several complex technical and scientific programs, developed strategic plans and technical program roadmaps, established Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and workforce development programs, led proposal and grant teams resulting in successful awards, managed all aspects of program/project financials, schedules, and deadlines, and established lasting and strong relationships with academic, DoD, commercial, and government scientific partners. Ginny focuses on supporting ETC’s Partnership Intermediary Agreement with the Army Research Laboratory. She has a BA in Mathematics from Barnard College, NYC, and an MS in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.

Dr. Fischer joined ETC as a Principal Scientist to support the Department of Defense's energetic materials research and development. During his 36-year tenure with the Federal Government, he served as the Director of Department of Defense Laboratory Office, as Director of Homeland Security's Science and Technology, and as Director of Chemical-Biological Defense Division. He also worked as an energetics materials research chemist for the Navy at China Lake, California. Dr. Fischer has experience in many technical leadership positions on weapons-related chemistry and materials, including Advanced Technology Manager for the Tomahawk Cruise Missile Project Office. He was selected to the Senior Executive Service (SES) to lead Naval Aviation Science & Technology Office and Systems Engineering Department for Naval Air System Command. Dr. Fischer has a BA and Ph.D. degrees in Organic Chemistry along with a Post-Doctorate in Chemistry.  

Mr. Millemaci is experienced in policy and strategy development for the DoD in various arenas and assists with the commercialization of Intellectual Property through ETC's Partnership Intermediary Agreements. Before ETC, he worked for different defense contractors performing design, development, testing, and evaluation of military hardware systems. John was involved in the development of one of the first frequency hopping communications systems that was integrated into a liquid chemical agent detector, developed an automated submarine periscope head window cleaner, and was involved in several UXO testing programs, including the detonation of ordnance fuzes using high power RF energy and development of a tele-operated excavator for UXO recovery. John has Masters degrees in Electrical Engineering and Business Administration. He is also a certified Project Management Professional.

Savannah is a Machine Learning Data Engineer with the Energetics Science and Technology program. Before ETC, Savannah worked as a consultant specializing in data analytics, management, and engineering. She researched novel techniques for modeling nuclear quantum effects on reaction rates during her education. She earned her Master of Science in Chemistry at Princeton University and her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Applied Mathematics at Furman University.

Dr. Ciufo is a Machine Learning Scientist working with the Energetics Science and Technology program. Ryan researched computational methods for the application of energy materials at the University of Texas, where he earned his PhD in chemistry. He then served as a postdoctoral fellow where he continued development of a machine learning framework for supplementing chemical simulations. Ryan also holds a BS in Biochemistry from Marist College. 

Ms. Crespo supports the Navy SBIR/STTR programs conducting outreach for the DON Underrepresented Outreach Project. She helps bring awareness to the DON SBIR/STTR programs by steadily engaging local economic development stakeholders. Rachel has experience developing internal strategic processes, marketing materials, and communication campaigns for external use. Before working at ETC, she worked as a Biomedical Technician, installing, maintaining, and ensuring the hospital’s medical equipment was safely functional. Ms. Crespo has a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Catholic University of America.

Mr. Crowe focuses on providing analysis and support to various ETC projects related to Economic Development. He brings a focus on qualitative, eco-system focused, research to make reports and recommendations, presently focused on supporting Department of the Navy SBIR/STTR programs. Matthew recently graduated from Xavier University where he has received a Master of Arts in Public Affairs and Bachelor of Arts in History. While in graduate school, he worked as both a Teaching Assistant and a Research Assistant. 

Dr. Doherty is involved in the Energetics Global Awareness initiative and has worked in the Machine Discovery and Invention projects at ETC. Ruth brings a wide range of experience in the international arena, including NATO and The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP). Ruth has researched explosives formulation and crystallography of energetics. She is an internationally recognized expert in energetic materials, with more than 30 years of experience in the research and development of energetics. Dr. Doherty has a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Maryland. She is currently an Associate Editor of the journal Propellants, Explosives, and Pyrotechnics.

Mr. Finson provides support and maintenance to ETC's information technology systems focusing on one-on-one technical support, security enhancements, and documentation. Rob has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management Information Systems and Business Analytics from the Colorado State University Global Campus.

Mr. Gargano maintains the IT systems for ETC. He began working with ETC in 2009, supporting the Navy STEM outreach program in elementary, middle, and high schools across Southern Maryland. Since then, he has worked on various Army and Navy projects, including website development, web-based interactive historical timeline design and development, database design, and other technical tasks. Shane has an Associate of Applied Science in Information System Security Degree from the College of Southern Maryland and a Bachelor of Science Degree in CyberSecurity from the University of Maryland University College.

Stacy is an Outreach Specialist for ETC, supporting the Army Research Laboratory's initiatives. Her primary responsibilities include planning and developing the curriculum for RoboMasters and other ARL STEM Programs at the Robotics Research and Collaboration Campus (R2C2) in Middle River, MD, and teaching these programs. Before joining ETC, she spent 13 years as an elementary educator. Ms. Hackbarth holds a Master of Arts in STEM Education from Notre Dame of Maryland University and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary and Special Education from Towson University.

Mr. Hardy assists with ETC's Machine Discovery and Invention projects. He is mastering his ability to search, extract, organize, evaluate and use information relevant to ETC research projects. He uses this framework to extract data from documents and classify them using different programming techniques. Lloyd, a recent high school graduate, plans to pursue a mechanical engineering degree.

As an Outreach Specialist, Ms. Hosto supports ETC’s Partnership Intermediary Agreement with the Army Research Laboratory (ARL). She promotes and supports partnership engagement and workforce development with our team at ARL’s Robotics Research and Collaboration Campus (R2C2) in Middle River, MD. Before coming to ETC, she was a long-time educator. Christine has her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from California State University, Sacramento, and her Master in Education from National University.

Mr. Imrie supports the Global Awareness effort. He worked as a full-stack engineer on the Unified project, a platform targeted for the business-to-business (B2B) market. Aaron helped design and create the order writing, forum, and chat capabilities for the platform. He also helped develop the user interface of an Electronic Medical Record system called Nymbl Systems. Aaron is originally from Canada but currently resides in Birmingham, AL. He has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Alabama. 

Josiah Lerman started with ETC in October 2021 in support of the Army Research Laboratory PIA (ARL). He has a mind for writing and research analysis, which aids in the program’s contribution to the United States national security enterprise. Josiah graduated from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology with a Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy.

Dr. McDuffie brings more than a half-century experience as an international thought leader in cybersecurity awareness, education, training, and workforce development. Ernest is the founder and CEO of The Global McDuffie Group, LLC and vice-chair of the Board at ETC. After earning a Ph.D. in computer science from the Florida Institute of Technology, Ernest went to work for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He was selected to lead an all-of-government national campaign designed to improve every segment of the population's cyber behavior, skills, and knowledge, which enabled safer cyberspace. Dr. McDuffie spent five years as the first Lead for the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education.

Ian works on ETC's Machine Discovery and Invention project, writing and evaluating code and researching novel methods for future Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning efforts. He has experience with Python and Matlab. Ian has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland.

Mr. Miller brings to ETC over four decades of federal service. His primary duties focus on ETC's Army Research Laboratory efforts and ETC's Strategic Planning and Technology Transfer efforts. He retired from the Army Research Laboratory where he worked as a patent attorney in the legal office. He previously held attorney positions at NASA and worked as a patent examiner at the US Patent & Trademark Office and electronics engineer with the Naval Surface Weapons Center. Mr. Miller has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland, a Masters in Engineering Administration from the George Washington University and Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law. He is a member of the MD Bar, Patent Bar and Lifetime Member of the IEEE. 

Mr. Nietubicz brings in four decades of federal service, including three years of active duty in the US Army. He retired from the Army Research Laboratory, where he worked as an experimental and computational research scientist in ballistics and aerodynamics. He was the Division Chief of the Computational Science and Computing Division and the first Director of the ARL DoD Supercomputing Center. Charlie's assignments also included work at the Pentagon's office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition Logistics and Technology and a research assignment at NASA AMES Research Center in CA. Mr. Nietubicz has a Bachelor's and Master of Science Degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Dr. Owens joined ETC as a Technical Program Manager to develop a Department of Defense-wide Energetics Plan to address risks associated with supply chain, manufacturing technologies, and sustainable propellant, explosive, and pyrotechnic production capabilities. He previously worked with Koch Agronomic Services as a Sr. Research Chemist in new product development and commercial product support, where he was responsible for improving manufacturing capabilities and did benchtop to full production scale up of nitrogen fertilizer stabilizer formulations. He also served as an R&D Synthesis chemist performing production support and new energetics development for BAE Systems at the Holston Army Ammunition Plant, as well as for Solvay Specialty Polymers as a Research Scientist in process chemistry, improving liquid separation capabilities and manufacturing capacity for the polysulfone business unit. He earned his B.S. in Biochemistry from Kennesaw State University and his PhD in Organic Chemistry at Emory University.

Matthew Paesch is a Systems Engineer who assists with energetics Joint Venture setup activities, manufacturing and pilot scale developments, and ETC's AI/ML programs. Previously, he worked at Lockheed Martin as a Propulsion Engineer in Advanced Programs, where he conducted propulsion unit trade studies, designed and integrated propulsion systems, and oversaw suppliers and process improvement. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland.

Mr. Paulin’s duties focus primarily on efforts associated with the Indian Head FastFORWARD initiative. Indian Head FastFORWARD is an initiative to cultivate the energetics science and technology ecosystem. The focus is to support the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division and the economic development and revitalization of the Town of Indian Head and surrounding community. Paulin has spent the last several years working in the Town of Indian Head, specifically on its revitalization and economic development initiatives, bettering the community where he grew up. He was integral in creating and developing the CSM Velocity Center, Maryland Technology Center, Potomac River Boardwalk, and many other projects. Mr. Paulin holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University.

Gary supports our customers at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head. His expertise lies in conducting Modeling & Simulation (M&S) of Navy weapon systems that incorporate Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS). With 33 years of experience at the Indian Head Division, Gary has extensive knowledge in solid rocket motor design and analysis and M&S of Navy mine countermeasure systems. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from George Washington University.

Ralph Balestrieri supports the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division as a consultant for munition fuze and initiation systems. Mr. Balestrieri has over 40 years of experience in Fuze/Safety and Arming systems and MEMS design, development, and testing. Prior to retiring he served on the Navy’s Fuze and Initiation Systems Technical Review Panel and the Joint Services Fuze and Ignition System Safety Authorities. Ralph holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University and a Master of Mechanical Engineering degree from Catholic University.

Michael is a dedicated BI analyst who brings his experience to transform data into actionable insights and drive informed decision-making at ETC. He honed his skills by utilizing various analytical tools and strategies to provide solutions and optimize operational processes in sales and advertising for his previous work. Michael graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County with a degree in Biology and has since focused on information systems, taking guided courses and attaining years of valuable real-world experience.

Dr. Sandusky received a Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1976 and then pursued research in detonation physics at the Naval Surface Warfare Center for 41 years.  He primarily studied hazards and survivability from heating, burning, high inertial loads, impact, penetration, and shock.  These experimental studies also required elucidation of the mechanisms, development of the necessary constitutive relations for models, and finally validation of the models.  A secondary area of study was development of explosives for insensitive munitions that maintain performance requirements. Now as a research engineer with ETC, he mentors and consults with the group from which he retired.

Dylan works alongside our Indian Head Naval customer on Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMs). He comes to ETC as a former patent examiner with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Art Unit 3725. Dylan also worked as a design engineer to design and modify engine components. Mr. Schommer has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky.

Ms. Shingleton started her work at ETC as an Engineer for the NavalX project and now works on the Army Research Labs (ARL) xTech Search competition and the ARL Grace Quarters robotics initiative. Catherine has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biomedical Engineering from The Catholic University of America.

Mr. Stiegler is an experienced Naval Program manager for the DDR&E National Defense Education Program and served as a Naval Systems Command's technical and program analyst responsible for developing and executing Naval educational outreach for K-12. He provides expert support in the strategic planning and implementation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) educational outreach programs. He provides technical, analytical, and program development expertise for developing viable technology programs leveraging existing investments, including SBIR, ONR, and DARPA efforts. Robert has a Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology, a Master of Business Administration, and a Post Graduate Certificate of Public Administration and Policy Analysis.

Justin supports the Global Awareness effort as a full-stack developer. He helps provide relevant data and valuable information to the Energetics community. Justin's roles include developing web applications and solving DevOps challenges required to run systems in a production environment. He spent over a decade as a defense contractor and software engineer in Maryland, designing, implementing, updating, and maintaining various business and data processing/analysis applications. Mr. Tavares received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from UMBC. After years living near Baltimore, he moved back to his hometown in Southern Maryland, local to ETC.

Stephen Wilkerson retired from the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Aberdeen Proving Grounds after 33 years of service. During his career with ARL he was an instructor at the United States Military Academy West Point for three years and the exchange scientist to Germany. He is currently an Assistant Professor at York College of PA. His research interests include unmanned systems, drones, control theory, and astronomy. Stephen has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

Treasure Williams is the Office Manager at ETC's Headquarters Office. Before joining ETC, Treasure worked as an Executive Assistant for non-profit organizations and healthcare education in the DMV area and remotely across the US. Her areas of expertise include project management, procurement of processes and procedures, and research. She holds a Business Management and Administration degree with a minor in Criminal Justice.

Dr. Wilson has been a Principal Engineer for ETC since he retired from the Department of Defense (DoD) in July 2016. He manages ETC's Machine Discovery and Innovation project. Before retiring, he worked for the DoD at the Navy's White Oak labs, the Air Force's Munitions Directorate at Eglin AFB, NSWC Indian Head, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Over his DoD career, Bill researched detonation science and energetic materials development, the last 12 years as Program Manager of DTRA's Advanced Energetics Program.