Deans Weekly Significant Activities Report

Transcription

1 i Deans Weekly Significant Activities Report 3 February 2016 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 Picture of the Week CLS Cadets Collect Soil & Water from USMA Ranges 1

2 Upcoming Event COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER AND MODERN WAR INSTITUTE Challenging Extremism through Social Media Come hear teams from Pakistan, Switzerland, Kuwait, and Finland discuss their projects that created social media campaigns, tools, and applications to counter ISIS recruitment and violent extremism. F.A.T.E. - From Apathy to Empathy Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan Faces4Heritage Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano, Switzerland Raise Your Words Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait City, Kuwait Choose Your Future Turku School of Economics, Turku, Finland Thursday, February 4 th Dean s Hour Presentations ( ) K Hour Optional Q&A ( ) Washington Hall

3 Department of Law On 27 January 2016, the Lawfare Blog posted a post written by LTC Shane Reeves titled, What Now for the Golan Heights? The blog can be found at: On 28 January 2016, The International Human Rights Law Journal (DePaul University College of Law) has offered to publish an article authored by LTC Steve Gariepy entitled, Human Rights in North Korea-The Pump don't work cause the Vandals took the Handles. The article will examine how the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (DPRK) has created a pervasive culture of impunity and lack of accountability for systematic, widespread, and gross human rights violations within their territory. Respect for individual human rights, such as those rights that are defined within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, simply does not appear to exist within the DPRK. In contrast, implementation and enforcement of these very same rights have flourished within the Democratic Republic of South Korea. In order to understand this ideological divergence on the Korean peninsula, it is necessary to analyze the claimed universality of international human rights in relation to the current state of human rights within the DPRK. This analysis highlight both the limitations of international human rights law as well as the importance of several political factors unique to the DPRK impacting their suitability therein. While international human rights are universal in nature, they are also fragile and susceptible to abuse by regimes such as the DPRK. If international human rights are to flourish throughout the Korean Peninsula, the international community must remain resolute in their belief as to their universality and continue to hold the DPRK accountable for their violations. They must not question 3

4 whether or not the pump of international human rights law works, but instead focus their collective efforts in prosecuting the DPRK for taking away its handle. Department of Chemistry and Life Science CLS Cadets Collect Soil & Water from USMA Ranges Upper Left: Cadets Charles Neild, Rufus Huffman, and Rebecca Sauter collect soil sample at Range 5 firing line. Upper Right: Cadets Jordan Bush and Anna Gulbis collect soil sample from berm in front of target station on Range 5. Lower Left: Cadet Jeremy Schwartz collects firing line soil sample from Range 5. Lower Right: Cadets Rebecca Sauter and Rufus Huffman collect soil sample behind target location on Range 11B under the observation of Dr. Dawn Riegner, CH487 Course Director. Class of 2016 chemistry majors from CH487, Advanced Chemistry Laboratory, under the supervision of Dr. Dawn Riegner, Course Director, and Dr. Nick Fell, ARL Visiting Scientist, collected soil and water samples from several USMA Firing Ranges on Thursday, 28 Jan The cadets will analyze the samples they collected for inorganic (metal) content and residual organic materials (energetic material decomposition products) as one of their projects in CH487. Samples of soil were collected from Ranges 5, 11, 11B, and 12 and water samples were collected from the creek running through Range 11 and the intersection of Zint s Brook and Popolopen Creek. Zint s Brook will contain run-off materials from the Impact Area and feeds into Popolopen Creek. The collection was conducted in support of and coordinated with the USMA Range Control Office and the results will be reported to USMA Range Control personnel and USMA Environmental Office personnel. CH487 is the chemistry program capstone course in which the cadets design and conduct their own experiments in order 4

5 to answer a specific question posed by the course director, other faculty, or outside agencies. Combating Terrorism Center On 22 January, the Combating Terrorism Center s Director of Research Dr. Daniel Milton briefed the leadership of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Major General Gary J. Volesky, commander of the 101st, and approximately 50 of his staff attended and participated in Dr. Milton s presentation. Dr. Milton provided the group with the CTC s latest research on the Islamic State. MG Volesky and his team were particularly interested in the Islamic State s known vulnerabilities to determine how to exploit them within the confines of their mission. Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering 1. Army Women s Powerlifting Club. On 23 January 2016, Cadets Katie Biddle, Shaina Coss, Heather Reed, Amy Slaughter, Blaise Paulo, Camiesha Jackson, and Danielle Peck [pictured left to right] competed in the Northeast Iron Beast Winter Classic outside of Albany, NY. Despite being only the second powerlifting meet ever for these cadets, many won awards for their performance and each qualified for the USAPL Collegiate Nationals competition. Also pictured are Dr. Dan Jaffe (Coach Powerlifting Club, DPE), Dr. Greg Freisinger (Coach Women s Powerlifting Club, CME) and MAJ Nate Showman (OIC Powerlifting Club, DPE) [pictured left to right]. POC is Dr. Greg Freisinger at gregory.freisinger@usma.edu. 5

6 Army Women s Powerlifting Team with high spirits following their second competition, with all women qualifying for the collegiate national competition. Department of English and Philosophy Department of English and Philosophy: Works In Progress Colloquium On Tuesday, February 2 nd, The Department of English and Philosophy hosted its fifth Works in Progress Colloquium in the Cullum Hall Memorial Room. Dr. Cassandra Nelson led the discussion with her piece, Possessed of a Selflness, a Teeming Soul: Terrorism, Technology, and Transcendence in Don DeLillo s Mao II. In it, she considered the way in which technology, belief, and identity are closely linked in Don DeLillo s fiction, particularly in relation to the creation of material text versus Mass Media. The presentation sparked an extended discussion about what DeLillo refers to as a zero-sum game in which, what terrorists gain, novelists lose. POC is MAJ John Madden, DEP, (john.madden@usma.edu). 6

7 Dr. Cassandra Nelson responds to a question about DeLillo s interpretation of identity in relation to the material text. Cadets and Faculty listen to Dr. Nelson s presentation in the Cullum Hall Memorial Room. DEP UPCOMING EVENTS: 21 FEB 2016: Ethics Bowl Nationals in Virginia Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science From January 2016, United States Military Academy cadets attended the annual ShmooCon Conference, an annual network and computer security conference held in Washington, D.C. It is one of the premiere annual security conferences and brings well-known experts from around the United States and the world to demonstrate, discuss, and present cutting-edge security research. It provides a great opportunity for cadets and faculty to attend talks and workshops and to interact with some world-class cyber security talent. CPT Mari Torres supervised this tremendous training opportunity, escorting more than 30 cadets who attended this year s conference. They learned valuable hacking skills critical for today s cyber warriors, practicing everything from physical security to network traffic analysis, defending against zero day exploits, and everything in between. They even had a friendly Army-Navy competition in the Lock- Pick Village with some midshipmen in attendance. They also attended important discussions about legislative policies regarding privacy and how do we train our future Cyber Security personnel to be effective. 7

8 Cyber Center of Excellence Deputy G6 and Chief Knowledge Officer Visit USMA On 22 January, the Deputy G6 and CKO (Mr. Quinzel Chestnut) of the Cyber Center of Excellence, Fort Gordon GA, conducted a site visit to USMA. The day of meetings and information exchange included discussions with Director NEC, Mr Scullion, USMA Chief Information Officer (LTC Teague) and his Deputy of IETD (Don Cantwell), COL Kobylski (D/Math representing current USMA KM efforts), ACI (Dep Dir, Dr. Maymi, Researcher MAJ Bundt, IT Lead Mr. Dean). Mr. Chestnut was most interested in establishing lines of communication between CCoE and USMA's ACI and CRC at the institutional support level (how CRC and ACI interact with NEC and higher to support education and training) and potentially sharing lessons learned between the organizations. Mr. Chestnut provided information to the ACI and NEC that contributes to the hand-off process ACI is already pursuing with DIA about the SCIF in Taylor Hall. Mr Chestnut demonstrated to Mr. Scullion, LTC Teague, and Mr. Cantwell the newest set of free-to- USMA and provided-by-netcom electronic staff routing capability called He also demonstrated it to COL Kobylski, who had been previously unaware of NETCOM's efforts and availability of the capability. CRC and ACI shared valuable insights in ways to improve regulations and other controlling documents to account for the education-based requirements of the technology centric commands (e.g., educational robots and microcontrollers on networks, offensive cyber operations classes and infrastructures purely in the unclass realm). Mr. Chestnut will be taking those insights back to CCoE as well as to other 8

9 forums where there may be lessons learned USMA can absorb. This trip was worthwhile for CCOE, CRC, and ACI, with ancillary but deliberate discussions about Knowledge Management at the institutional level. Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering Department Upcoming Events: Dessert with Dirt February 4 th Guest Lecture: Parasitology by Dr. Dwight Bowman, WH5327, February 5 th African Symposium April 19 th G&EnE Faculty and Cadet Scholarship. The first edition of the Undergraduate Journal of African Studies is now available! UJAS is an annual, reviewed journal dedicated to multidisciplinary African Studies. The journal recognizes and fosters outstanding and original undergraduate work that advances the scholarship on African Studies. The objectives of the journal are to encourage greater cultural understanding, support undergraduate field work in Africa, and publish original research on issues pertaining to the history, current conditions, or future of the African continent and the African diaspora. This edition features 7 cadet papers from across the Academy. POC Amy Richmond Krakowka at amy.krakowka@usma.edu. 9

10 Current Week HIGHLIGHTS: Department of Foreign Languages German: DFL faculty (German Section) and members of the USMA Color Guard attended the 56th Quadrille Ball in New York City (Manhattan) at the Pierre Hotel. The Quadrille Ball is a White Tie Benefit Ball to support the Germanistic Society of America's Scholarship Fund for the Exchange of American and German Students. Faculty of the USMA German Section (DFL) have been honored guests for many years and continue to strengthen ties between DFL and the Germanistic Society of America in New York City. Members of USMA Color Guard and DFL faculty, LTC Rolf Metz (German Liaison Officer), CPT Charles Brown and CPT Timothy Kibbe from the German Section. Members of the USMA Color guard open the Quadrille Ball ceremony by carrying the colors. 10

11 Chinese: Cadets Eric Tao, Tara Mastriano, Leah Tonetti, Meredith Shea, and Daniel Mo had the opportunity while studying at Peking University in Beijing China to meet with the USMA Superintendent, LTG Caslen and the President of Peking University, Lin Jianhua. The same group of cadets also visited the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City with the USMA Superintendent later in the week. Left to Right: Peking University President Lin Jianhua, LTG Caslen, Dan Mo, Meredith Shea, Leah Tonetti, Tara Mastriano, and Eric Tao. 11

12 Left to Right: CSM David Clark, Cadets Leah Tonetti, Tara Mastriano, Eric Tao, Dan Mo, LTG Robert Caslen, and Cadet Meredith Shea. Left to right: CSM Clark, SFC Figueroa, MAJ Hilderbrand, Cadet Meredith Shea, MAJ Kessler, Cadet Dan Mo, LTC Voorhies, Cadet Eric Tao, COL Ebner, LTC Gregory, Cadet Leah Tonetti, Cadet Tara Mastriano, and LTG Caslen, visiting Tiananmen Square on the coldest day in Beijing in the last 30 years. 12

13 Chinese: DFL leadership and Chinese section faculty participated in the USMA Superintendent s visit to China from 18 Jan to 25 Jan During the Visit LTG General and the group visited Peking University, Tsinghua University, The National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), and The People s Liberation Army s University of Science and Technology (PLAUST). Left to Right: LTC John Gregory (Chinese AP), LTG Caslen, LTG Yang Xue Jun (President NUDT) discussing future cooperation between USMA and NUDT. Left: PLAUST and USMA representatives discussing future exchange opportunities. Right: LTG Caslen leaving his remarks. 13

14 LTG Caslen discussing future Semester Abroad opportunities for USMA cadets at Tsinghua University with Chen Xu the Party Secretary for Tsinghua University. 14

15 Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering Completed Events Colloquium: On 28 January, Dr. Phil Valek, Principal Scientist, Space Science and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), San Antonio, TX, provided a guest lecture for lesson 8 of PH472: Space and astrophysics. He provided an overview of particle motion, plasma characteristics, measurements of space plasma, and the associated spacecraft instruments that enable scientists and engineers to learn more about our heliosphere. Dr. Valek also provided a colloquium presentation on 28 FEB entitled Observing Plasma Throughout the Solar System. During this colloquium, he discussed how spacecraft instruments that SwRI has designed, tested, and calibrated for NASA have significantly improved our understanding of our heliosphere. Several of those instruments are onboard the JUNO spacecraft which will insert into Jupiter s orbit in July 2016 (o/a 4 JUL 2016). The following pictures and diagrams from his presentation depict JUNO s mission. The Jovian Aurora (upper right-hand diagram and image) is one aspect of the Jovian environment that will be studied by the Jovian Auroral Distribution Experiment (JADE) Ion sensor (JADE-I) onboard JUNO (bottom righthand photo). PaNE s MAJ(P) Godshall assisted Dr. Valek, and others on the SwRI team, test and calibrate JADE-I in PaNE will be sending several cadets to SwRI on AIADs to work directly with scientific instrumentation that are part of ongoing space flight missions such as JUNO Mission to Jupiter, New Horizons Mission to Pluto, and the 4-satellite Magnetospheric Multi-Scale Mission (MMS) studying the Earth s Magnetospheric magnetic field reconnection phenomena. As Cadets continue to be interested in the new Interdisciplinary Science-Astronautics Track (ISA0), PaNE s Space and Missile Defense Program, spacerelated AIADs, space-related Cadet Independent Research opportunities, and the new SA473: Introduction to Astronautics course, we hope to continue to inspire Cadets to pursue the 3Y-Space Enabler Skill Identifier and other critical needs of the Army including possibly becoming FA40: Space Operations Officers! 15