Press Kit

Speaker Bio

Maynard Holliday is a senior engineering and robotics expert currently at the RAND Corporation currently working on working on autonomous vehicle safety metrics and policy, the bias in AI, swarm robotics, and drone defense. With over 25 years of expertise within the private sector and the government, he managed interdisciplinary projects of international and commercial importance at Lawrence Livermore (LLNL) and Sandia National Labs, as well as several robotics start-ups across Silicon Valley.

Maynard convened and led the joint Department of Energy (DOE)/NASA international Pioneer Project Team that designed and fabricated a radiation-hardened telerobotic mobile vehicle for site characterization and remediation tasks at Chernobyl unit 4.

Maynard was awarded the Department of Energy's Meritorious Service Award, its highest award, for his exceptional service in helping secure tons of weapons-grade nuclear material.

He is also a 3 time DARPA PI on tactical mobile robotics, visual pattern recognition, and micro air vehicle navigation programs. In his spare time, Maynard is involved in initiatives that increase access and success within the robotics industry, including being a co-organizer for Black in Robotics and as a co-founder of Robot Garden and a host of other programs aimed at leveling the playing field for the industry.