Dana Weinstein, a professor in Purdue University’s Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and co-chair of the Defense Innovation Purdue Engineering Initiative (PEI). (Purdue University photo)

Dana Weinstein, a professor in Purdue University’s Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and co-chair of the Defense Innovation Purdue Engineering Initiative (PEI), will deliver the opening keynote address at the 2026 Government Microcircuit Applications & Critical Technology Conference, known as GoMACTech, on March 10 in New Orleans.

Weinstein’s talk, titled “Materials to Systems: Boosting MEMS Innovation for National Security,” will highlight emerging opportunities to accelerate defense innovation through advances in microelectromechanical systems, including the role of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The GoMACTech Conference is the nation’s premier defense microelectronics conference. Established in 1968, the conference reviews developments in microcircuit applications for government systems and focuses on advances in technologies developed by the U.S. Department of War (DOW) and other federal agencies. The event has served as a platform to announce major government microelectronics initiatives, including the Very High Speed Integrated Circuit program and the Microwave and Millimeter Wave Monolithic Integrated Circuit program, and provides a forum for government program reviews.

More than 1,500 representatives from semiconductor companies, defense industrial base organizations, DOW laboratories, universities and the federal government are expected to attend.

The conference aligns with Purdue’s Defense Innovation PEI, which is focused on strengthening national security and advancing defense-related research and partnerships.