Aptima
Laura Cassani is a Principal Research Engineer at Aptima, Inc. and Deputy Director of the Intelligent Performance Analytics Division, where she leads applied research on agentic AI, human–AI teaming, and operational modeling and simulation for defense and information operations. She has served as Principal Investigator on multiple DoW programs for DARPA, AFRL, ONR, and the Marine Corps, integrating AI into mission rehearsal, influence operations, and decision support. She served as the lead for test and evaluation on DARPA’s Semantic Forensics (SemaFor) program, developing rigorous methodologies and large-scale evaluation infrastructure to assess technologies that detect, attribute, and characterize manipulated and synthetic media, which she continues to support through its transition to the Digital Safety Research Institute. She also played a central role in several DARPA programs advancing AI agents and digital human modeling, including Building Resilient Information Ecosystems (BRIES), which develops agent-based simulation environments to model and evaluate information campaigns and population responses, and the Exploratory Models in Human–AI Teaming (EMHAT) program, which advances psychologically grounded Human Digital Twins to support experimentation, training, and evaluation of human–AI collaboration. Across these efforts, she has helped lead the development of AI agents, simulation environments, and evaluation frameworks used to assess mission readiness, decision-making, and operational resilience. Ms. Cassani has spent more than a decade advancing the Marine Civil Information Management System (MARCIMS), a deployed Program of Record supporting Marine Corps Civil Affairs operations. She frequently briefs government and operational audiences on AI evaluation, human–AI teaming, and modeling and simulation. Ms. Cassani holds an M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University and a B.A. in International Relations from Boston University.