Erik K. Antonsson is currently the Corporate Director of Technology for the Northrop Grumman Corporation. This position reports directly to the Corporate Chief Technology Officer and has responsibility for setting strategic directions for Northrop Grumman’s global science and technology R&D portfolio, and leading its strategic university research relations. He previously served as the Director of Technology Strategy & Planning for the Aerospace Sector of the Northrop Grumman Corporation where he was responsible for coordinating technology strategy across the organization and for establishing and growing external strategic relationships. From 2007 through 2011, he established and led the Northrop Grumman Aerospace Research Laboratories (ARL).

Prior to his career at Northrop Grumman, Dr. Antonsson served on the faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology and as the Chief Technologist for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Dr. Antonsson earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and a master's and doctorate in mechanical engineering from MIT. He is an ASME Fellow and is currently on the editorial board of the international journal Research in Engineering Design. He has published more than 140 scholarly papers, has edited three books, and holds eight U.S. patents.

Large organizations are frequently criticized for being unable to innovate, in comparison with small and newly formed organizations, especially start-ups. This talk titled "Innovation in Aerospace" will demonstrate that one large, century-old aerospace organization has consistently demonstrated innovations ranging from early flight, to the first rockets and spacecraft, the lunar lander, advanced microelectronics, unmanned air systems, and to the next generation of space telescopes. Both the challenges, and the opportunities for innovation in a large mature organization will be explored.