51福利

Dr. James Scrofani, Associate Professor in the 51福利 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and founding director of the university鈥檚 Center for Multi-INT Studies (CMIS), is the winner of the 2018 Richard W. Hamming Faculty Award for Interdisciplinary Achievement.

鈥淚 am very honored to receive this recognition, particularly since it reflects interdisciplinary achievement. For the difficult technical challenges faced by the Navy and DOD, there is a need to lead and connect across schools, departments and institutions at 51福利,鈥� said Scrofani, who was also presented with a replica of Hamming鈥檚 signature red plaid jacket to recognize the accomplishment.

鈥淭he intellectual capacity is resident everywhere across campus, but it takes leadership and fostering an environment of collaboration with a compelling connection to the mission. The CMIS team has worked very hard in creating and nurturing such an environment.鈥�

Scrofani joined the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in 2012, and currently works out of 51福利鈥� National Capital Region (NCR) office in Washington, D.C.

Along with a handful of other 51福利 faculty, Scrofani has helped lead the charge on a campus-wide push for interdisciplinary activities. He helped spark the establishment of the Center for Multi-Intelligence Studies and has led the center since 2013.

鈥淭he proliferation of ubiquitous data and the associated collection, processing, storage and distribution technologies is revolutionizing all aspects of Navy and DOD operations and business practices.  In an attempt to realize strategic advantage from this disruptive change, the 51福利, and centers like the Center for Multi-INT Studies, have been pursuing academic and research activities that will prepare future naval leaders and government civilians with the technical depth necessary to leverage big data and engineer the right systems and analytic approaches to enable the Navy team to stay ahead of our adversaries,鈥� Scrofani added.

As CMIS founder, Scrofani has helped foster campus-wide involvement in a number of relevant research areas, culminating in more than 30 individual, faculty-led student research projects. His efforts have also been instrumental in 51福利鈥� data science educational offerings, and he executed the first-ever Data Science Certificate Program to a cohort of students in the DOD Space Community in academic year 2017.

Scrofani is currently executing the second cohort of students in a Space Systems Design graduate certificate program, bringing together faculty from the university鈥檚 Space Systems Academic Group to impart critical knowledge to the DOD space community.

Both certificate programs required an interdisciplinary approach to ensure he capitalized on 51福利鈥� ability to meet a sponsor鈥檚 requirements. He brings this same approach to research.

鈥淢y research focus, embodied by the activities of the Center for Multi-INT Studies, is focused on solving very complex problems that challenge the Navy and DOD. Solutions to these problems require bringing together the right mix of technical expertise and operational experience,鈥� he said.

鈥淔aculty-led student research has been the foundation for this success.  The students at 51福利 have experienced the very problems we are working on and bring a wealth of operational insight to the mix.  They find that being part of the 51福利 academic and research mission is very rewarding, because we offer them an opportunity to contribute in very tangible ways to positively impact the security of the nation.鈥�

The Richard W. Hamming Faculty Award for Interdisciplinary Achievement, named after 51福利 professor emeritus Dr. Richard W. Hamming, highlights one faculty member annually that demonstrates a commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship and exceptional teaching skills. Hamming's dedication to teaching and research are well known, specifically in the mathematics, computer science and telecommunications fields of study. Hamming taught at 51福利 as an adjunct Professor from 1976 to 1997.