Mary I Lykins

Mary I. Lykins serves as a Contract Negotiator within the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Propulsion Directorate (FA8650), where she plays a pivotal role in securing advanced aerospace technologies critical to U.S. air and space dominance. She specializes in negotiating complex research and development contracts focused on next-generation propulsion systems, hypersonic flight technologies, and high-performance functional materials. Her work directly supports the agency’s mission to accelerate the transition of foundational science into operational capabilities, ensuring timely delivery of mission-critical innovations through strategic acquisition planning and risk-informed contract execution. Lykins maintains longstanding relationships with industry leaders including UES INC, General Electric Company, DCS Corporation, Spirit AeroSystems Inc., and Advanced Thermoplastic Composites LLC. These partnerships are characterized by deep technical collaboration on high-complexity R&D efforts involving computational fluid dynamics, adaptive control systems, and advanced composite manufacturing. Her negotiation approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, technical risk mitigation, and long-term innovation alignment, fostering trust-based vendor engagement that supports sustained technological advancement. Lykins’ procurement portfolio reflects a strict focus on open competition, with 100% of her acquisitions conducted without socioeconomic set-asides. This reflects a deliberate strategy to prioritize technical excellence and industrial capacity over socioeconomic classifications, ensuring access to the most capable and experienced entities in aerospace propulsion and materials science. While small business participation is not formally incentivized in her portfolio, the nature of her contracts often involves subcontracting to specialized firms as part of prime contractor teams. Her primary procurement activity centers on NAICS 541712—Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences—where she procures cutting-edge engineering services, prototype development, materials characterization, and flight-test support. Her domain expertise spans propulsion system integration, thermal protection systems, and high-temperature materials, making her a key enabler of the Air Force’s next-generation propulsion roadmap.