WASHINGTON, July 1, 2025 – SMI is pleased to announce that Dr. Aisha Haynes, a leading figure in the Pentagon’s efforts to transition advanced materials and other emerging technologies, is joining the firm as vice president.
Dr. Haynes most recently served as Principal Director for Advanced Materials in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, where she led the department’s materials science and technology portfolio and developed strategies to accelerate novel materials using advances in AI, automation, and advanced manufacturing.
“Aisha brings over 20 years of experience working for the Department of Defense, with deep expertise in advanced materials, materials dynamics, and science and technology strategy,” said SMI COO Ken Wetzel. “We are thrilled to welcome Aisha to the team and look forward to the vision and technical leadership she will bring to our mission.”
Said Haynes: “For two decades I have been focused on how the government can be more successful in transitioning materials from the research phase all the way to fielded systems. I have learned that the key to success is strong partnerships with academia and industry, but at times, it can be difficult to move forward with them at the speed we need from inside the government.”
“SMI’s ability to align industry and academia to federal agencies’ strategies gives me the opportunity to continue my mission to ensure we get the right materials to the warfighters when they need them and remain competitive,” she added. “We have an urgent task as a nation to outpace our adversaries, and I am excited to leverage my expertise in a new capacity to drive solutions that secure our leadership in materials and help the government achieve its goals.”
Previously, Haynes was Senior Scientific Technical Manager for Materials, Producibility, Engineering Analysis, and Prototyping at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities and Development Command, managing a multi-disciplinary workforce in materials science and engineering, computational structural and fluid dynamics, and armaments manufacturing and producibility.
Dr. Haynes has also taught materials science at the U.S. Army’s Armaments Graduate School at Picatinny Arsenal and was an adjunct professor of materials science and engineering at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
She earned a B.S. in Engineering Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Founded in 1993, SMI has been the premier choice in Washington for companies, universities, nonprofits, and industry associations for federal marketing and lobbying services focused on national security, defense, clean energy, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and research and development.
