Potomac Institutefor Policy Studies

Past event · Regents in Conversation

Robie Samanta Roy on Turning Innovation into National Security Capability

Date
October 13, 2026
Time
Not listed
Format
Recorded interview
Watch the recording (opens in new tab)View on potomacinstitute.org (opens in new tab)

Recap

Jen Buss speaks with Robie Samanta Roy, a new Potomac Institute board member whose career has spanned the Institute for Defense Analyses, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Senate Armed Services Committee, large defense industry, venture-backed startups, and private capital. The conversation explores how government, industry, academia, and finance must work together to turn science and technology into real national security capability.

Key takeaways

  • Use independent technical analysis early to separate stakeholder agendas from the real policy problem.
  • Focus not only on invention, but on adoption, scale, and operational transition across the national security enterprise.
  • Align Congress, DoD, industry, academia, and private capital around shared priorities in critical technologies.
  • Strengthen policy tools that support trusted supply chains, industrial capacity, and technology transition in sectors like microelectronics.
  • Treat economic security, capital formation, and innovation adoption as core elements of national security strategy.
  • Design policy with full awareness of second-order effects, especially in emerging technology, industrial policy, and global competition.

Event Series

More from Regents in Conversation

Full series