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Dean’s Weekly Significant Activities Report 17 August 2017

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. POC for the report is Mr. Besim Hoxha at 845-938-6318.

Picture of the Week

LTC Eslinger and MAJ Kent at the summit of Pikes Peak during their free time at the ASMCUE conference.

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Office of the Dean

Completed events: On August 16, 2017, Ms. Safire Pena, a Financial Technician in the Plans, Resources Division (PRD) of the Dean’s Office, was inducted as Vice President of the West Point Chapter. Mr Leslie Brehm, West Point’s G8 Comptroller officiated the induction into the American Society of Military Comptrollers (ASMC). ASMC is the non-profit educational and professional organization for persons, military and civilian, involved in the overall field of military comptrollership. ASMC promotes the education and training of its members, and supports the development and advancement of the profession of military comptrollership. The society provides professional programs to keep members abreast of current issues and encourages the exchange of information, techniques and approaches.

Left: Mr. Leslie Brehm, Second on the right: Ms. Safire Pena Upcoming events: Robotics Research Center Opening. The Institute for Innovation and Development is pleased to announce the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the Robotics Research Center (RRC) on August 25th at 1600 in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. The Dean of the Academic Board, BG Cindy Jebb, and the Army’s Chief Roboticist, Dr. Robert Sadowski, will provide remarks and facilitate the ribbon cutting for West Point’s newest center. The RRC will be the premier resource for expertise and academic scholarship in the field of robotics that enables interdisciplinary cooperation and concentrates Academy-wide research efforts in robotic systems. The center will support margin-of-excellence educational, scholarship and extracurricular activities focused on autonomous systems to educate and inspire leaders of character who are prepared to think critically, innovate and apply robotic systems in the Army. Point of contact is LTC Christopher Korpela, christopher.korpela@usma.edu

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Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership

Professors Morten Ender and Mike Matthews are co-editors with Dr. David Rohall at Missouri State University of a new book that is released this week. The full reference is: Rohall, David E., Morten G. Ender, Michael D. Matthews (eds.). (2017). Inclusion in the American Military: A Force for Diversity. (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books). Info at: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498560849/Inclusion-in-the-American-Military-A-Force-for-Diversity. The volume features chapters on trans military service and religion in the American armed forces. POC: Dr. Morten Ender, Morten.Ender@usma.edu

Dr. Marjorie Carroll and Dr. Lisa Korenman presented a paper titled "Comparison of male and female rape scripts" at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association in Washington D.C., August 3-6. POC: Dr. Marjorie Carroll, Marjorie. Marjorie. Carroll@usma.edu Professors Morten G. Ender and Michael D. Matthews with their longtime collaborator David E. Rohall at Missouri State University presented a paper titled "Narratives of Non-Enlistment: Why People Who May Have Wanted to Join the Military Chose Not To" on a session on Military Sociology at the 113th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association in Montreal, Canada, August 12th. POC: Dr. Michael Matthews, Michael.Matthews@usma.edu

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COL Tood Woodruff, CPT Dave Feltner, CPT John Borland, COL Everett Spain, CPT Steve Fennessy and LTC Andy Farina participated in the Class of 2021 March Back on 14 Aug.

MAJ Eljdid represented the BS&L Department on an African Military Education Program (AMEP) trip to Niger from 24-28 July to visit Niger's officer commissioning school - Ecole de Formation des Officers des Forces Armees Nigeriennes (EFOFAN). The trip was led by Dr. Bruce Keith and also included a representative from the DPE. During the trip, MAJ Eljdid presented an overview of the USMA military leadership curriculum (PL300) and led a discussion on the United States Corps of Cadets (USCC) leadership structure and its evaluation/assessment mechanisms. At the conclusion of his presentation, EFOFAN officials requested USMA’s assistance with the development of four (4) sequential leadership modules rooted in the behavioral sciences. Maj Eljdid will work with Dr. Keith on a proposal to support this request. We are also exploring the possible funding/inclusion of other faculty/cadets as a potential AIAD. POC: LTC Jordon Swain, Jordon.Swain@usma.edu

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Department of Chemistry and Life Science

Life Science Faculty Present Biology Education Research

LTC Melissa Eslinger and MAJ Elizabeth Kent traveled to Denver 25-30 July, 2017 to present their work as part of the Life Science Biology Education Research Group (BERG). The team won an Institutional Travel Award sponsored by the National Science Foundation Grant to Emory University and Research Experiences in Introductory Laboratory Biology (REIL-Biology). The faculty attended a workshop where they generated a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) for the upcoming academic year. This year REIL-Biology was held in conjunction with the 24th Annual American Society for Microbiologists Conference for Undergraduate Educators (ASMCUE). LTC Eslinger and MAJ Kent were selected for both a poster presentation and Microbrew presentation for ASMCUE, which gathers 350 scientists and educators to share the latest in biological sciences and educational research.

LTC Eslinger presented “Implementation of a Biology Concept Assessment Tool (BCAT) for Non-Majors Biology”. This effort includes education research from the first year of core biology. Her team of LTC Timothy Hill and CPT Ryan Rodriguez analyzed predictive performance data against individual events and demographics. The team recently submitted a manuscript of these data to the Journal of Microbiology and Biological Education (JMBE).

MAJ Kent presented a talk entitled “A Guided Exercise to Improve Scientific Literacy and Critical Analysis Skills” to the audience. She discussed a capstone project within core biology whereas cadets deliberately dissect primary literature in a topic of their choosing. This also concurrently supports the West Point Writing-in-the-Core initiative. This project was also recently submitted to JMBE for consideration. Together, these conferences promoted further collaborative efforts and initiatives with several universities and organizations beginning in AY18.

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(Top Left) LTC Eslinger presents her research poster during the ASMCUE conference; (Top Right) MAJ Elizabeth Kent presents a CURE poster during the REIL-Biology Workshop; (Bottom Center) LTC Eslinger and MAJ Kent at the summit of Pikes Peak during their free time at the ASMCUE conference.

Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering

Follow-on Work for Cadet Capstone Project: 2LT Charlie Christianson and 2LT Matthew Schmitt, creators of the Muzzle Obstacle and Obstruction Sensor Enhancement (MOOSE) device, traveled to Fort Carson, CO 10-12 August 2017 to conduct familiarization training with armor Soldiers from 3d Armor Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. The lieutenants, both mechanical engineering majors from the class of 2017, provided critical assistance with final preparation for a Limited User Test (LUT) with 1-68 AR. During maneuver and live fire, gun tube obstacles and obstructions can present a risk to both the crew and to those operating in the vicinity of the tank. The MOOSE combines proximity sensors as well as pressure-activated switches with a crew alert interface that reports local information encompassing the tank muzzle area. The MOOSE was recently upgraded by the Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center (ARDEC). 2LTs Christianson and Schmitt met with SSG Lunebach, an Abrams main battle tank Master Gunner (MG), to explain the installation procedures and demonstrate the function of the device. The MOOSE will be transported to Europe for LUT activities with 1-68 AR. POC is LTC Joshua Keena at joshua.keena@usma.edu or 845.938.8898.

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2LT Schmitt (’17), 2LT Christianson (’17) explain the MOOSE to 1LT McGill and SSG Lunebach.

2LT Schmitt, 2LT Christianson, and SGM Williams hold the MOOSE. Of note, SGM Williams provided the original problem statement that led to the capstone project. He also served as a technical advisor to the team.

Army West Point PIAD: On 9 August 2017, 27 members of the Army West Point Cross Country and Track and Field program traveled to New York City as part of their three-week Physical Individual Advanced Development (PIAD) program. This NYC PIAD event consisted of an effective training session at Van Cortlandt Park, followed by an outreach opportunity to a NYC high school. After the run at Van Cortlandt, one of the nation’s most historic cross country race courses, the team moved to the Joseph Yancy Track and Field complex to serve as collegiate trainers for an outreach event with high school students from Frederick Douglass Academy. Planned and resourced by the team captains, Cadet Abigail Halbrook and Cadet John Valeri, the cadet athletes conducted challenging, safe, and effective conditioning drills with the high school athletes including Starting Block, Hurdle Mobility, Mini-band, Core, and Strength. Afterward, the cadets hosted a discussion covering collegiate academics, NCAA athletics, and of course cadet life. Feedback from the coach, Mr. Torey Williams, as well as the student athletes, was extremely positive as the cadets provided athletic and scholastic mentoring during the round robin session. POC is LTC Joshua Keena at joshua.keena@usma.edu or 845.938.8898.

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Cadets from the Army West Point cross country and track and field program pose

at historic Van Cortland park after an effective training session.

Cadets and student-athletes from FDA pose at Joseph Yancy Field which is located just south of Yankee Stadium (visible in the foreground).

Department of English and Philosophy Shakespeare’s War Plays AIAD DEP has continued its tradition of taking a group of cadets to London to study the intersection of war and theater in the age of Shakespeare. The trip began with a visit to West Point’s Special Collections to see documents connecting West Point with Shakespeare’s works. In London, cadets visited historical sites, including the Tower of London, Westminster Abby, the British Museum, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the Imperial War Museum, to place Shakespeare’s works in context and learn about the history of war in England. During visits to the reconstructed Globe Theatre, cadets watched and discussed two of Shakespeare’s plays: Romeo and Juliet, which depicts cycles of gang violence in an otherwise peaceful city-state, and Twelfth Night, which explores post-trauma grief and personal identity. At the Globe, the cadets also attended a lecture about the history of the theatre in Shakespeare’s day and the deep connection between warfare and theatre in early modern England, after which they participated in a stage-combat workshop, learning about principles of eye contact and body movement, and practicing basic moves with

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sword and dagger. The group also traveled outside of London to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s home town, where they visited the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to explore early printed editions of Shakespeare’s plays as well as performance archives dating back to the seventeenth century. They finished the evening with a production of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Titus, which begins with a victory after a long war, dramatizes the power struggles and trauma that result as Roman society tries to transition to peacetime governance. POCs are Joshua Leone (Joshua.Leone@usma.edu) and Cordelia Zukerman (Cordelia.Zukerman@usma.edu).

Cadets track life and work of WWI soldier-poet Siegfried Sassoon on AIAD to UK This summer marked the 100th anniversary of “Finished with the War: A Soldier’s Declaration,” Siegfried Sassoon’s famous letter protesting Britain’s continued involvement in World War I.

The group in front of the Imperial War Museum. From left: MAJ Joshua Leone, Cadets Celine Gunderman, Anthony Wentz, Hannah Homsy, Frantz Jedonne, Jake Hohmann, Rachele Smith, and Dr. Cordelia

The group outside the reconstructed Globe Theatre, London.

Left: The group after examining the archives with two instructors from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

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Rather than court-martial Sassoon, the British Army sent him to Craiglockhart, a military hospital for shell-shocked officers in Edinburgh. While at Craiglockhart, Sassoon penned many of his well-known poems and helped other war poets develop their work as well. Sassoon eventually returned to the war and afterward spent several decades as a successful writer. In June, four cadets and one OIC spent 15 days on post and abroad studying Sassoon’s life and work in order to better understand how literature can be used to shape and process wartime experiences. Highlights of the AIAD included: traveling to Edinburgh to tour the remnants of Craiglockhart, which today houses an archive comprising hundreds of items pertaining to the hospital’s WWI history; studying some of Sassoon’s private papers at the Imperial War Museum in London; touring a museum in Wales dedicated to the Royal Welch Fusiliers, the historic regiment in which Sassoon served; taking a day-trip to Dover Castle, which has a very deep connection to British military history especially during the twentieth century; and visiting Cambridge University Library for hands-on work with the Sassoon Archive, which includes Sassoon’s war diaries, post-war journals, and original drafts of some of his most notable poems. POC is Dr. Brianne Bilsky, Assistant Professor, DEP (Brianne.Bilsky@usma.edu).

Upcoming Events:

16 Aug: Supt’s Run

16 Aug: Department Welcome

21 Aug: First Day of Classes

CDT John Colliton (C-4, 2019), CDT Aaqib Syed (H-4, 2018), Dr. Brianne Bilsky (DEP), CDT Anastasia Bistrow (B-1, 2018), and CDT Arran Rounds (D-3, 2018) at Craiglockhart in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Siegfried Sassoon’s WWI pistol and medals on display at the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum in Caernarfon, Wales.

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Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering

Completed Events

Habitat for Humanity:

Eclipse Outreach: On Monday, 14 August, Dr. David O. Kashinski of D/PNE gave two public lectures/workshops centered on the upcoming partial solar eclipse of 23 August. Hosted by the Cornwall Public Library, the interactive workshops were held in the library's multipurpose room from 1630-1700, and again from 1700-1730. Designed for grades K-5 (all were welcomed), the programs focused on eclipse viewing safety and the basic principles of how eclipses (solar and lunar) occur. Two scaled models of the sun, moon, and earth were used for demonstrations of these basic principles. At the end of the workshop, viewing glasses, provided by Star-Net, were given to the attendees (https://www.starnetlibraries.org/2017eclipse).

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Dr. Dave Kashinski lectures on the fundamentals of an eclipse

Participants help Dr. Kashinski demonstrate how the moon casts a shadow on the Earth

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AIADs: The department had 33 cadets (including 8 rising yearlings) go on AIADs to 15 different locations (including 1 international) this summer. Below are some pictures of the cadets on their AIADs:

CDT Matthew Anderson, G3, ’18, PHY0, with his research team at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Matthew’s project was The Effects of Nonuniform Soil Discretization on Underbody Blast Finite Element-based Simulations to assess ground vehicle protection for occupants against buried explosives.

CDT Keegan Crow, G1, ’19, CSC1, at his final presentation of his project at Purdue University. His AIAD was sponsored by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

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Left: CDT Jafr Kazmi, C1, ’19, PHY1H, working in a laboratory at Purdue University. Jafr’s research focused on assessing how different mechanical stresses, specifically direct impact, affected the performance and safety of Lithium ion batteries and was sponsored by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Right: CDT Daniel Messenger, H1, ’20, PHY1, working with Dr. Roman Gomez at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, TX. Daniel’s project was working on the Hot Plasma Composition Analyzer for space environment experiments.

Above: CDT Collin Parker, H3, ’20, at Los Alamos National Lab with several midshipmen and the lab director, Charles McMillan.

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Future Events

Majors Briefing: On 21 August, the Department will present a briefing to all cadets majoring in PaNE. Solar Eclipse: On 21 August, as you are most likely already aware, there will be an eclipse! The eclipse will start in our area at 1323 hrs (1:23pm), eclipse maximum at 1444 hrs (2:44pm), and it will end at 1600 hrs (4pm). For our location, it will be a partial eclipse (about 77% of totality).

See the animation of what the eclipse will look in the NYC area at https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/usa/new-york .

DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE ECLIPSE WITH YOUR NAKED EYE.

You have 3 options if you want to view the eclipse safely:

1) Obtain or build a pinhole viewer

http://www.newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/2017/06/solar_eclipse_2017_when_and_how_to_watch_without_burning_your_eyeballs.html

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/box-pinhole-projector.html

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/make-pinhole-projector.html ; or

2) Get a pair of ISO and CE Certified Solar Eclipse glasses. Some possibilities can be found online (i.e. Amazon)

3) View the eclipse through a telescope with an appropriate solar-viewing capable filter.

D/PaNE will also be located on the Plain to share a small number of pinhole viewers and solar filtered glasses. D/PaNE will be (if all goes well) streaming the eclipse live on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/USMA.PANE

Check out these websites for more details:

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/facts-solar-eclipse.html

Any questions can be directed to LTC Stacy Godshall, stacy.godshall@usma.edu or LTC Diana Loucks, diana.loucks@usma.edu.

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Department Of Social Sciences

Morocco AIAD

In support of the USMA AIAD program, 5 cadets (Christine Sidhu, Aimee Edgington, Hallie Pound, Sean Kirchner, and Brian Tien) and 1 OIC (MAJ Aaron Wilcox) volunteered for 3 weeks in Rabat, Morocco participating in the primary Cross Cultural Solutions mission in the Middle East and North Africa. Cadets volunteered daily in the local orphanage assisting nursing staff with the care needs for Morocco’s physically and mentally disabled children. Cadets also volunteered in the local education center teaching English to increase both reading and writing proficiency for Moroccan children. On the weekends, cadets traveled on multiple cultural immersion trips throughout the country. From riding camels to overnight excursions in the Sahara, exploring the Medinas of Rabat and Fes, and touring the rich history of the region, cadets (and faculty) returned with an increased awareness of their world and better able to appreciate the challenges they will soon face as commissioned 2nd Lieutenants.

Cadets explore the largest desert on Earth, the Sahara, on camelback (left). The group takes time for a picture (right).

Council on Foreign Relations Fellowship

On Tuesday, 15 August, members of the SOSH faculty convened to attend a briefing on Council on Foreign Relation Fellowships. The Fellowship program affords selected visiting fellows the opportunity to broaden their understanding of international affairs either by pursuing research and writing in a scholarly atmosphere or by working in a policy-oriented setting with practitioners. Ms. Janine Hill, Director of Fellowship Affairs, and Ms. Victoria Harlan, Deputy Director, participated in the event, explaining the application requirements and answering any questions from faculty.

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Research

Dr. Sue Dynarski of the University of Michigan wrote an article for the Brookings Institution highlighting the work of Dr. Susan Carter, MAJ Kyle Greenberg, and MAJ Mike Walker on the effects of computer use in the classroom.

Zach Griffiths’ essay, Advising in Small Wars, took second place in the Small Wars Journal essay competition. The essay responded to General Anthony Zinni’s and Dr. David Kilcullen’s considerations and fundamentals for fighting small wars. In the essay, CPT Griffiths’ describes how his detachment recognized the deaths of 10% of his partner force, reconstituted them, and restored their confidence. This experience highlighted the impact a Special Forces detachment could have on local and operational-level security challenges.

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Combating Terrorism Center

On 8 August, the Combating Terrorism Center’s monthly publication, the CTC Sentinel, was featured in an article in one of the United Kingdom’s leading newspapers, The Times. Written by Rachel Sylvester, the Times piece looks at the nexus between crime and terrorism, and it features a quote by Alain Grignard, head of the Brussels Federal Police, which ran in the August 2015 issue of the CTC Sentinel.

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Department of Systems Engineering

85th Military Operations Research Society Symposium

The Military Operations Research Society (MORS) held its 85th national symposium at West Point on 19-22 June 2017, hosted by the Department of Systems Engineering. There were 781 attendees from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and across the United States who met to discuss their latest work in the mathematical modeling of military operations and force development. The theme of the symposium was “Pivoting on a Strong Foundation – to a Bright Future.” They keynote speaker was LTG Anthony R. Ierardi, Director, Force Structure, Resources and Assessment (J8), Joint Staff. POC: Dr. Burk, X4754.

LTG Ierardi Addresses the Plenary Session of the MORS Symposium.

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