Christine (Chris) Michienzi is a senior US national security and technology expert whose career spans advanced materials research, munitions design and production and strategic industrial-base policy. She currently serves as a special government employee (SGE) providing expertise to the Department of War’s (DOW) efforts to rapidly scale production of critical weapons systems to replenish US stockpiles, support allied requirements and prepare the defense industrial base for a potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific.
Chris previously spent nearly three decades inside the Department of Defense, including service as chief technology officer for industrial policy and as senior technology advisor to the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. In these roles, she shaped the department’s approach to industrial-base resilience, supply chain vulnerabilities, technology modernization, microelectronics, hypersonic-related materials and munitions, as well as energetics production. Her ability to translate deep technical understanding into strategic policy made her a central contributor to major modernization and rearmament efforts.
Before her senior policy roles, Chris was a leading scientist at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (Indian Head), where she conducted research in explosives, propellants and energetic materials, earning multiple patents and awards for innovation. Her work gave her the rare ability to bridge laboratory-level science with operational military requirements and large-scale production realities. Her Ph.D. in analytical chemistry focused on materials and advanced characterization methods, forming the foundation for her subsequent DOW work.
She is a trusted advisor on industrial-base resilience – in the US and with allies and partners, emerging technologies and national-security supply chains, supporting senior decision-makers across government and industry.