Deans Weekly Significant Activities Report

Transcription

1 Deans Weekly Significant Activities Report 15 July 2015 The Dean s Weekly Significant Activities Report is an internal report on all activities conducted within the Departments, Centers & Staff. The Report is provided to the Dean for situation awareness, throughout the organization for shared situation awareness, and to select external organizations for outreach and communication. Portions of the Dean s Weekly Significant Activities Report are further staffed in a report to the Superintendent. POC for the report is MS Lesley Beckstrom at Events In the future, some Key upcoming events will be listed here. Try to include these in your reports. Picture of the Week CTC: (Left to right) CTC Cyber Fellow Dr. Aaron Brantly with cadets Mack Bartle, Amy Slaughter, and Samuel Parker during their three-week AIAD trip to Mongolia 1

2 Combating Terrorism Center (Left to right) CTC Cyber Fellow Dr. Aaron Brantly with cadets Mack Bartle, Amy Slaughter, and Samuel Parker during their three-week AIAD trip to Mongolia Dr. Brantly and cadets visit with members of a nomadic Mongolian family. 2

3 Cadets Amy Slaughter, Mack Bartle and Samuel Parker along with OIC Dr. Aaron Brantly, the Combating Terrorism Center s Cyber Fellow, recently traveled for three weeks (12 June 3 July) on an AIAD trip to Mongolia. In country, they worked on human rights in domestic violence matters and prisoner rights with local NGOs and metropolitan police. In addition to their human rights work, they observed Khaan Quest 2015, a joint peacekeeping exercise involving 21 nations including the United States and Mongolia. They were also able to travel and participate in various activities, including a day spent with a nomad family and hiking in special reserved areas of Mongolia. Dr. Brantly and cadets Bartle, Parker, and Slaughter are featured on the front page of the U.S. Embassy in Mongolia s website. 3

4 On July 7-9, the Combating Terrorism Center concluded a series of classes in the Washington, D.C., area for the FBI-led interagency High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG). Under the direction of its deputy director, Brian Dodwell, the CTC planned and delivered five classes over the past five months on terrorism and counterterrorism topics to agents and analysts assigned to the HIG, in addition to personnel from other units in the FBI. The course, which was facilitated by CTC members Dr. Geoff Porter, Dr. Nelly Lahoud, Dr. Daniel Milton, and Don Rassler, provided detailed lesson blocks on terrorist and militant groups from key regions, to include South Asia, the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, and Africa. Center for Enhanced Performance Dr Angela Fifer participates in Association for Applied Sport Psychology Job Task Analysis: On 29 and 30 June Dr Angela Fifer served as a member of a job task analysis team for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) in Indianapolis, IN. Dr Fifer was one of thirteen sport psychology subject matter experts selected from a pool of 60 applicants to create the curriculum for the future AASP Certified Consultant Certification Exam. During this process the subject matter experts identified the major domains of practice, determined the major tasks within those domains, and finally described the knowledge and skills necessary for competent performance of those tasks. POC for this event is Dr. Nate Zinsser at x7814 AASP Certified Consultant Certification Exam Job task Analysis Team Dr Angela Fifer, front row left 4

5 Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering AIAD at the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA). During the past three weeks, Cadet Nathaniel Marks has worked with analysts at NGA and other intelligence agencies to formulate his research project which he will continue to work on as a capstone project during the next academic year. Cadet Marks research seeks to integrate multidisciplinary domain knowledge to motivate innovative modeling perspectives for predictive analysis that can support international policy development. The project goal is to assess risks associated with an anticipated surge of maritime traffic in the Arctic. Raster and vector data sets are assembled within a GIS environment to capture and model inter-related processes among various components. POC is LTC Chris Oxendine (christopher.oxendine@usma.edu or ). Cadet Nathaniel Mark and USAFA Cadet Pinto at the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. 5

6 Journal Editor Selection. Dr. Adam Kalkstein was first nominated and then selected to serve as a guest editor for a specialized section of Current Climate Change Reports, a quarterly journal published by Springer. The publication covers a variety of areas in current climate change research, and this particular section will focus on climate change and human health. POC is Dr. Adam Kalkstein (Adam.Kalkstein@usma.edu). Dense Urban Environment Workshop. Dr. Richard Wolfel attended the Dense Urban Environment Workshop from June 30 through July 1 at the Army Geospatial Center in Alexandria, VA. During the workshop, he participated in various breakouts, sidebar and roundtable discussions emphasizing USMA's capabilities in supporting the Army's Megacities Initiative. This workshop helped deepen The Center for Languages, Cultures and Regional Studies' and the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering's connections with the S&T Community, the Geospatial Community and establishing us as a leader in the Army's megacities initiative. POC: Richard Wolfel (richard.wolfel@usma.edu). Department of Systems Engineering Professor Patrick Driscoll participates in Counter-UAS Threat working group. On 7 July 2015, Dr. Driscoll participated in the first DoD/DHS/MOD Counter-UAS Threat working group meeting at the UK Embassy, Washington, DC as part of ongoing Army S&T Systems Adaptive Red Team 6.3 Program under ASA(ALT) and as a member of the newly formed PSEAG Standoff Weapons Defeat working group. The session laid the ground work for near-term cross-governmental collaborations, and served as a knowledge exchange in support of the upcoming Systems Adaptive Red Team UAS- Threat field experiment in August. POC: Dr. Patrick J. Driscoll at patrick.driscoll@usma.edu. 6

7 Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering Completed Events Triathlon: On 14 June, LTC Ken Allen competed and placed 28 th in his division in the Ironman Triathlon Australia, which took place in Cairns, Queensland. It was quite an experience for Ken, swimming just off the Great Barrier Reef and biking down the historic Captain Cook Highway. He completed the race in 11 hours and 22 minutes. Nuclear Criticality Safety Program: During June, MAJ Nestor Echeverria traveled to Los Alamos National Lab, Sandia National Lab, and Nevada National Security Site with Class of 67 Endowed Chair, Dr. Leo Bitteker. The purpose of the trip to the Department of Energy s Nuclear Criticality Safety Program was twofold. First, it was a professional development opportunity as a faculty member in USMA s nuclear engineering program. Second, it was a fact-finding mission in preparation for potentially sending cadets to attend either the same course or one that we develop that is similar. This trip was headed by Leo Bitteker, a Los Alamos National Lab employee who is currently serving in the PaNE endowed chair position at West Point. Additionally, MAJ Tom McQuary attended as a representative of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency s Nuclear Science and Engineering Research Center. His primary mission was to determine if sending cadets to this course contributed to the NSERC s mission of research and development, and if so, to determine if the NSERC was justified in funding the trip. Retirement Ceremony: On 26 June, COL John Hartke retired COL Bryndol Sones, Professor of Nuclear Engineering, after 28 years of service to the United States Army. The Ceremony was held in Bartlett Hall s West Point Room. 7

8 COL John Hartke addressing the Sones Family COL Hartke and COL Sones 8

9 COL Hartke and COL Sones COL Sones remarks 9

10 Workshop: During 22 June-2 July, Dr. Mitch Pfenning attended the Workshop for Theorists at Undergraduate Institutions at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, CA. Mormon Tabernacle Choir: MAJ Stacy and Mrs. Julia Godshall helped provide a tour to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir prior to the Choir's participation in the 4th of July Concert. Stacy talked to them about the Great Chain and the West Point Hotel; Julia talked to the group about Fame, Battle Monument, and Sedgwick's Statue. You can see both Stacy and Julia at approximately 1:25-1:30 minutes into the video. Additionally, an article in the LDS Church News (see link below) contains a picture of Stacy talking to Choir members about the great chain. West-Point-for-Independence-Day-celebration.html Visit: On 8 July, BG(R) Black, a USMA graduate and member of the Class of 1967, visited the Department while at West Point to attend the Army Football Club Golf Reunion. BG Black served as an instructor in the Department of Physics from , and then again from July 2007-June 2008 as the first occupant of the Class of 1967 Endowed Chair in Physics. During his service as our Endowed Chair, he was instrumental in the strengthening of our ties with the Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) which resulted in the establishment of our Space and Missile Defense Command Research and Analysis Center. BG Black was briefed on our Department plan to establish a Space and Missile Defense Program with a Space and Astronautics major, and he is working to assist us in strengthening our relationship with SMDC. During his visit, BG Black was escorted through the current Bartlett Hall facilities and also through the west wing of Bartlett Hall which will come out of renovation in May BG Black also had an office call with BG Timothy Trainor, the Dean of the Academic Board. Since BG Black chairs the West Point applicants nominating committee for Congressman Mo Brooks (5th Congressional District, Alabama), he also met with the Southeast Regional Commander from West Point Admissions. Current Events CST: During summer 2015 (17 May 9 August), five officers from The Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering are supporting cadet summer training events. IAD(A)s: The Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering has 43 cadets (including seven plebes) going on AIADs to nineteen locations (two international) this summer. 10