WHO WE ARE

X Executive Director

As Army Applications Laboratory's executive director, Dr. Casey Perley leads the mission to reshape how the Army works with industry to provide the best tech in the world to the best Army in the world. Her vision is for AAL to work from problem inception to sustainment hand in glove with stakeholders across the Army and the Department of Defense to accelerate and assess the Army's ability to ingest innovation.

Casey knows AAL better than anyone, having served most recently as the deputy director and before that as the first director of Insights and Analysis, where our scientists and entrepreneurs collaborate to bring the best companies and technologies into solving Army problems. Prior to AAL, Casey was a postdoctoral fellow at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), where she managed research projects across a range of topics and stakeholders. She designed DNA vaccines and worked in the lab with bio threats including Ebola. Casey holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology from Duke University and a BS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale.

Casey's orchestral harp work can be heard on more than 120 recordings, one of which was nominated for two Grammy awards.

X Deputy Director

COL Robert "Clay" McVay leads the day-to-day operations of the Lab. He manages our diverse team of military, science, tech, and academic professionals to harness real innovation and accelerate technology into the hands of Soldiers. He oversees AAL's budget, events, and special initiatives; manages talent; and ensures the Lab has the resources it needs to succeed.

With just over 22 years in the Army, Clay has deployed to Kosovo in support of peacekeeping operations, and twice in support of combat operations to Iraq. Most recently he completed a fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin with the Clements Center for National Security. Prior to that, he was in the Army Futures Command headquarters and on the Army staff where he helped develop the Army's budget for its major transformative capabilities including Army modernization priorities such as long-range precision fires, next-generation combat vehicles, future vertical lift, and more.

Clay has both bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering. He taught mechanical engineering courses at the United States Military Academy at West Point. His research was focused on human-borne exoskeleton devices and other robotics.

X Director of Communications & Strategy

With a mission like ours, transparency and credibility matter. Count on Scott and his team to bring an expert hand to public and internal relations. Whether the focus is outward to industry, government, and media, or inward to Army stakeholders and AAL staff, Scott and his team focus on maximizing the reach and results of our engagements while assisting the director to guide AAL's strategic direction.

For media inquiries, please contact

X Director of Operations

Paul and the operations team are the engine that keeps AAL moving forward. Paul was an Army artillery officer who did 23 years in uniform serving in units from tactical to strategic, including two NATO tours. After he retired, Paul worked at Installation Management Command — Europe where he supported facilities for roughly 165,000 US Army personnel living on or near the eight Army garrisons in Europe, including the first ever U.S. Army Garrison in a former Warsaw Pact country in USAG Poland, in Poznan. He worked as a contractor for G3 Exercise Division US Army Europe in Germany where he was responsible for planning and executing multinational exercises.

Paul met his wife in 1989 at a Bruce Springsteen concert in Berlin and in keeping with her lifelong plan to leave chilly climates, they settled in Texas in the heat of the summer. His priority mission? To find a pint in Austin equal to the quality and taste of German beer.