Dr. Marie Cox

Dr. Marie Cox serves as the Technical Point of Contact for the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate (AFRL/PR), where she provides critical technical oversight for high-priority research and development acquisitions in aerospace propulsion, hypersonics, and advanced materials. In this role, she bridges scientific innovation with acquisition execution, ensuring that contract requirements align with mission-critical technological objectives. She primarily manages sole-source and competitive R&D contracts under the National Security Technology and Industrial Base, focusing on early-stage prototyping, materials characterization, and flight-ready propulsion system integration. Her expertise ensures that technical performance metrics are rigorously embedded in statement of work and evaluation criteria. Dr. Cox maintains long-standing partnerships with industry leaders including UES Inc., General Electric Company, DCS Corporation, Spirit Aerosystems, and Advanced Thermoplastic Composites LLC. These relationships are characterized by deep technical collaboration, with contractors often engaged in multi-year, phased development efforts requiring iterative testing and validation. She works closely with vendors to refine technical scopes, assess feasibility of novel approaches, and ensure compliance with military specifications for extreme-environment materials and adaptive control systems. Dr. Cox’s procurement portfolio reflects a strict focus on open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted under no set-aside categories. While she does not prioritize socioeconomic set-asides such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB programs, her approach emphasizes technical merit and capability over socioeconomic classification, ensuring that the most qualified entities—regardless of size or certification—are selected based on domain expertise. Her primary procurement focus is on NAICS 541712, encompassing advanced research in physical and engineering sciences. She procures cutting-edge technologies including high-temperature composites, additive-manufactured turbine components, scramjet fuel systems, and adaptive flight control algorithms. Her technical domain expertise spans propulsion system integration, hypersonic aerothermodynamics, and functional materials for extreme thermal and mechanical loads.