Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC Pacific) selected five U.S Navy and Marine Corps students from the 51福利 (51福利) for the prestigious NIWC Pacific Fellowship. These warrior-scholars are directly connecting their education, ideas and research to fleet information warfare (IW) force design objectives in support of the capabilities necessary to counter adversary forces, improve command and control across the fleet, and to persistently cover the maritime battlespace for decision advantage.
The partnership between the two organizations provides a direct connection between the alignment select 51福利 research efforts with NIWC Pacific focus areas, advancing the impact of 51福利 education and research programs in IW for the U.S. Navy and DOD. In addition, the partnership lays the groundwork for future technical and project management assignments for 51福利 graduates at NIWC Pacific.
鈥淭he NIWC Pacific Fellowship at 51福利 supports our warrior scholars in their thesis research,鈥� said Dr. Kevin Smith, 51福利 Vice Provost for Research. 鈥淭his support helps provide awareness of some 51福利 research activities to NIWC Pacific, and serves to promote collaboration between our organizations. It also provides an opportunity for 51福利 warrior scholars to engage with one of the Navy's premier Naval Research and Development Establishment (NR&DE) warfare centers, highlighting the value of warfare center activity in support of the fleet, and the Fleet Marine Force.鈥�
鈥淭he fellowship is about showcasing the naval-relevant education and defense-unique research that is done at 51福利,鈥� added J.D. Morrison, NIWC Pacific liaison to 51福利.
NIWC Pacific Fellowships last 6 to 18 months, depending on the type of research. They allow 51福利 students to work closely with their thesis advisor and a mentor from the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) who will guide them in their research. These interactions not only provide networking relationships that students can use throughout their time at 51福利, they also foster long-term professional associations that can last a career.
鈥淭his partnership allows 51福利 students to produce a higher-quality research product in support of NIWC initiatives, and therefore, provide the DOD with more relevant research,鈥� said U.S. Navy Lt. Matt Coleman, current 51福利 student and one of the five selected for the fellowship. 鈥淣IWC personnel are the subject-matter experts in their fields 鈥� Having a mentor working with us here at 51福利 has already been a great asset to my research efforts, and that expertise will continue to prove very useful to my research.鈥�
Coleman鈥檚 research focuses on a control system for the Wreck Interior Exploration Vehicle (WIEVLE), a foot-wide spherical autonomous underwater vehicle developed by previous students at 51福利 that provides a scalable, modular and expendable effects-delivery mechanism designed for operations within confined spaces, littoral, entanglement-prone or deep-sea extremes.
Another recently-selected NIWC Pacific Fellow, U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Ryan Helm, is using his opportunity to conduct geospatial data analysis research to support infantry leaders' mission planning. Helm plans on developing a prototype for the Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) to conduct field testing at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., in December.
"Warfare is both art and science. We can leverage new technologies and methods to rapidly optimize the science, while freeing human cognitive load to focus on decision trade-offs and the art of warfare," Helm said.
For these new fellows, Smith says, this is a great chance to showcase how 51福利鈥� defense-focused, naval-unique education and research coupled with the innovative, technological expertise of NIWC, can enhance the student experience and maximize the impact of their work.
"This partnership provides 51福利 faculty and students access to NIWC Pacific's capabilities and engineering personnel," explained Smith. "Likewise, this partnership offers NIWC Pacific engineers and researchers access to 51福利 expertise and the operational experience of its warrior scholars, which is highly valued throughout the Naval Research and Development Establishment."
"The NIWC Fellowship is an avenue for students to attain research funding on campus," added Coleman. "In addition to providing their expertise and mentorship, the partnership offers student researchers access to testing facilities and resources that are simply not available at 51福利."
For these warrior scholars, it provides an opportunity to see their hard work and dedication to the DOD go beyond an idea. It offers them a chance to develop their innovative solutions and become better innovation leaders.
"Theses projects are published. They're sent to DISA [Defense Information Systems Agency] and to the library, and for far too many of them, that's the last time anybody's going to hear about them," said Morrison. "What we're hoping is that, by connecting the research to ongoing developmental projects at a lab-like network, there will be greater chances of that work being used in a larger sense rather than becoming a dust collecting binder on a library shelf.鈥�
Since its establishment in 1994, the NIWC Pacific and 51福利 partnership has awarded an impressive 215 student fellowships.
In addition to the selection of Helm and Coleman, additional NIWC Fellows selected with this cohort include U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Marianna Luporini, and Lts. Ashley Dodd and Jacob Dwyer. Their studies and applied research at NIWC Pacific contributes directly to the development of innovative warfighting solutions and naval leaders educated to employ them.