The Naval Innovation Center at NPS is designed to bring industry in earlier, working alongside expert faculty and warfighter students, to take on the real challenges facing our Department of Defense. In this video, leaders from NPS and its industry partners talk about what makes this collaboration different, why the work already underway matters, and how the NIC at NPS, currently in development, will scale this work to develop solutions faster, together. Watch.
“Anything that can accelerate innovation in the defense community, given the threats this country faces, is crucial. The Innovation Center will accelerate that process." - Don Beall, Former Chairman and CEO of Rockwell
In May, we shared how U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Ryan Helm, MS in Operations Research '23, used his NPS thesis to create ARES (Augmented Reconnaissance and Estimate of the Situation), a decision-support tool designed to accelerate combat planning for ground maneuver leaders.
Here’s what’s happened since:
• ARES was validated during pre-deployment training by BLT 1/5, who used the standalone app to support ship-to-shore maneuvers. Their feedback confirmed that ARES rapidly produced optimal, non-obvious courses of action.
• ARES has been integrated into broader platforms like the Small Unit Mission Planner (SUMP) and Higher-Echelon Mission Planner (HEMP), both supported by the Office of Naval Research.
• ARES’ HLZ detection module was tested and validated by pilots and fleet users, with plans to deploy it across Marine Corps-issued Android tablets this summer.
• Ongoing development of ARES subcomponents is being supported by the Marine Innovation Unit and the ONR Warfighter Performance Department.
Helm’s thesis project is now a field-tested capability helping Marines plan faster, with better data. Read more.
U.S. Navy Lt. Christopher Hoskins, a recent graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School, is contributing to research that could shape the future of missile defense.
As a Rear Adm. Wayne E. Meyer Scholar and graduate of the Space Systems Operations program, Hoskins’ research centered on the operational planning and tasking of a terahertz imaging camera developed jointly by the NPS Department of Physics and Space Systems Academic Group.
The camera is currently in orbit aboard a CubeSat launched by NPS in 2024, forming part of the school’s continuing efforts to lead in space-based research and hands-on satellite operations. The imaging technology, based on terahertz frequency sensing, has potential for future integration into homeland defense systems. Read more.
“I joined the program so that way I could kind of round myself out as an officer, expanding not only from my cryptologic warfare experience and informational warfare experience, but also branching out into some of the surface problems as well,” Hoskins said. “Some of the things I've learned at NPS through both the Meyer Program and the Space Systems Academic Group will directly tie into my role as an acquisitions officer.”
First-of-its-Kind, Self-Powered Ocean Buoy to Enhance NPS Research and 5G Maritime Communication ApplicationsIn collaboration with Ocean Power Technologies and AT&T, the Naval Postgraduate School deployed a self-powered ocean buoy in Monterey Bay to support real-time maritime sensing and communications research. Equipped with a 5G maritime base station, the buoy enables persistent data collection from undersea, surface and atmospheric sensors. The project supports applied research in naval operations, maritime domain awareness and environmental modeling, and serves as a testbed for autonomous systems and resilient communications networks. The buoy is already being used by the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability’s Hopkins Marine Station, and is available to a wide range of regional research institutions and defense partners.
NPS’ second Naval AI Hackathon achieves results for Army NETCOM and Marine Aviation
Executed in conjunction with the latest iteration of the Naval AI Summit, five NPS student “hacker” teams presented their solutions to defense-driven challenges to the attending faculty, students, NPS leadership and visiting experts on campus and online. “Two teams applied a variety of machine learning techniques to achieve unexpectedly impressive results on a challenging Army NETCOM network traffic analysis problem. And three teams gave Marine Aviation’s AI-powered assistant “Alfred” additional capabilities in the form of agentic AI tools, and deployed Alfred’s engine on NPS’ High-Performance Compute cluster including NVIDIA hardware,” said Dr. Mathias Kolsch, associate professor in the NPS Department of Computer Science.
Joint Foreign Area Officer Course held at NPS provides mentorship, insights to next generation of leaders
Held every six months, JFAOC is a strategic-level program that serves as a crucial onboarding process for newly selected Foreign Area Officers. Throughout the week, participants engaged with senior leaders, interagency partners, and experienced FAOs, gaining invaluable insights into the political-military landscape they will help shape. “NPS offers a unique platform for new FAOs to dive deep into the culture, politics, economics and security of the regions they will be operating in. It builds a strong professional foundation critical for success throughout a FAO’s career,” said Rear Adm. Tuan Nguyen, U.S. Navy FAO lead and recently appointed Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché to China.
NPS Students visit US Space Command and Defense Industry Organizations
NPS graduate students in the Space Systems and Meyer Scholar programs conducted an experience tour visiting U.S. Space Command and other defense industry facilities. During the week, the Missile Defense Agency hosted the NPS group to learn more about needs and classified capabilities for hypersonic and ballistic missile tracking and targeting, relevant to the Golden Dome initiative, and how training is conducted with the Space Force aggressors and Navy Satellite Adversarial team. The group also met with MITRE to discuss research efforts and opportunities and visited Tendeg, Orion Space Solutions, Maxar Technologies and Redwire.
By Air and by Sea: Validating NASA’s PACE Ocean Color Instrument
A team from NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, with partners at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), and the Naval Postgraduate School, spent two weeks on the California coast gathering data on the atmosphere and the ocean to verify what satellites see from above. In spring 2025, the team returned to gather data under different environmental conditions. The PACE mission, which stands for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem, was launched in February 2024 and designed to transform our understanding of ocean and atmospheric environments. Flying the instruments for the validation and research requires use of a Twin Otter plane, operated by NPS and unique for its ability to perform extremely low-altitude flights.
From Lab to Launch: NPS' First Reverse Pitch Day Connects Inventors with Partners
As a hub of innovative solutions to real-world operational problems, NPS held a Reverse Pitch Day for five NPS inventors, faculty and alumni, to showcase their patented technologies to industry, investors and entrepreneurs with the goal of finding partners to accelerate their ideas from lab to launch. Pitches spanned several key technology areas including autonomy, energy security, underwater systems and advanced manufacturing — each one a potential game-changer. [Learn about the technologies here.]
“We believe that pairing real-world problems with cutting-edge research and strong private-sector collaboration is how we accelerate impact and solutions for national security challenges,” said Kaitie Penry, NPS Director of Emerging Technology and Innovation. “We’re proud of our presenters and the teamwork to make this event happen with our partners from Fleetwerx, the NPS Foundation, and Techlink, and with the NavalX Central Coast Tech Bridge.” Read more.
Western Flyer returns to Monterey Bay as a floating classroom
A partnership between the Western Flyer Foundation and the Naval Postgraduate School invites high school interns for a week of hands-on marine research. Onboard, real scientific tools are part of the lesson plan. Interns are working alongside experts, learning to sample water, analyze marine life, and navigate the tech behind ocean science. The hope is to inspire future scientists and make marine education more accessible to the next generation. Read more.
Introducing "The Iran Reckoning with Afshon Ostovar" [Podcast]
Hosted by Dr. Afshon Ostovar, Associate Professor, Associate Chair for Research, National Security Affairs Dept.
A Defiant Iran Draws on the Lessons of an Earlier War
Quoted – Dr. Afshon Ostovar
Iranian Authorities Make Sweeping Arrests in Wake of War with Israel
Quoted – Dr. Afshon Ostovar
After Iran's war with Israel, questions return about Khamenei's potential successors
Quoted - Dr. Afshon Ostovar
U.S. Denies Reports Warship Violated Iranian Waters
Quoted - Dr. Afshon Ostovar
Hidden Threads: The Whole Person
By Dr. Zachary Shore, Professor, National Security Affairs Dept.
Caught in the Middle: South Korea’s Strategic Dilemma in a Taiwan Contingency
By Jihoon Yu, MA in Security Affairs ‘06
The MLR ≠ The Stand-in Force
By Lt. Col. Brian Kerg, Graduate Certificate in Human Systems Integration ’21, Lt. Col. Bobby Fowler and Maj. Anthony Johnson, USMC
Midrats Podcast Ep. 728: Non-State Special Operations, with Craig Whiteside and Ian Rice
Featuring Craig Whiteside, Professor, National Security Affairs at the US Naval War College resident program at NPS, and Ian Rice, adjunct Senior Lecturer, Department of Defense Analysis, NPS
Trident Room Podcast Ep. 68 Part 1 – A Conversation with NPS Dean of Students
Trident Room Podcast Ep. 68 Part 2 – A Conversation with NPS Dean of Students
Two-part interview with Capt. (SEAL) Eric J. Skalski, USN
Navy Aims to Harness Innovation, Modernize Fleet Capabilities
Adm. Daryl L. Caudle, MS in Physics '92, Senate Armed Services Committee hearing
'BEAR Base' Unveils Innovative Wargame to Enhance War Reserve Materiel Readiness
Featuring Col. Brandon S. Maroon, Certificate, Basic Analytic Wargaming Course ‘20
Trident Room Podcast Ep. 67.5 – TRP Unfiltered #2
International Energy Agency Policies Hurt Africans
By Brenda Shaffer, Faculty Associate – Research, Energy Academic Group
19th Baku Summer Energy School successfully concluded
Guest Speaker - Brenda Shaffer, Faculty Associate – Research, Energy Academic Group
Rear Adm. Michael A. York, MS in Operations Research ‘08, assumed command of Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support (NAVSUP WSS) during a change-of-command ceremony at Naval Support Activity Philadelphia, June 9, 2025. York relieved Rear Adm. Kristin Acquavella, MS in Management ‘01, who will be reporting as chief of staff, U.S. Transportation Command, at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. More.
Capt. Brandon Monaghan, MS in Electrical Engineering ‘05, relieved Capt. Clint Hoskins, MS in Systems Engineering ‘09, during a change of command ceremony at Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport in Keyport, Washington, June 27, 2025. More.
Cmdr. Don Coomes, MS in Modeling, Virtual Environments & Simulation ‘07, relieved Cmdr. Chris Rose, MS in Mechanical Engineering ‘06, as the commanding officer of Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Alexandria (SSN 757) in a ceremony held aboard Alexandria at Naval Base Point Loma, June 2. More.
Cmdr. Hannah M. Shipp, MBA in Financial Management ‘16, relieved Cmdr. Patrick J. Moore, MA in National Security Affairs ‘14, as commanding officer of Busan, South Korea-based Military Sealift Command Office Korea (MSCO-K) during a change of command ceremony at the United Nations Peace Memorial Hall in Busan, June 17, 2025. Shipp takes command having served most recently as executive officer at MSCO-K. More.
Cmdr. Michael Sapienza, MS in Applied Physics ‘09, relieved Cmdr. Travis Brinkman, Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity ’19, as commanding officer of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3 during a change of command ceremony held June 6, 2025, aboard Camp Shields. NMCB-3 is forward-deployed throughout the Indo-Pacific region and U.S. territories. The battalion serves as the stand-in, crisis-response naval engineering force for Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet. More.
Defense Logistics Agency Distribution Bahrain, Southwest Asia welcomed its new commander, Navy Cmdr. Joshua Langhorne, MBA in Supply Chain Management ‘18, during a change of command ceremony held June 11 onboard Naval Support Activity Bahrain. Langhorne relieved Navy Cmdr. John Olabode, MS in Operations Research '16, who led the distribution center for two years. More.
Major General Kapila Dolage, MA in Security Affairs ‘17, has officially taken up duties as the 67th Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army, marking a significant milestone in a military career that spans more than three decades. He previously held the post of Commandant of the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force (SLAVF), to which he was appointed in February 2025, and concurrently serves as the Colonel Commandant of the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps. More.
Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) celebrated the retirement of SSP’s outgoing chief engineer, Dr. Steven Van Dyk (SES), MS in Electrical Engineering ‘95, on June 27, 2025, marking the end to an exceptional 27-year run with the command and putting the capstone on 43 years of military and federal service with the U.S. Navy. Van Dyk served as the eighth chief engineer for Strategic Systems Programs since the command’s inception in 1955. More.
Surface Combat Systems Training Command (SCSTC), fellow shipmates, family, and friends celebrated Capt. George A. Kessler, Jr.’s remarkable journey after 30 years of honorable and dedicated naval service, May 29, onboard Naval Support Facility Dahlgren, Virginia. Kessler, MA in National Security Affairs ‘01, most recently served as commodore for SCSTC. More.
The National Space Society honored former NASA and Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson, MS in Aeronautical Engineering ‘92, with the inaugural Anita Gale Memorial Award for exemplary service to the space community on June 22 at its International Space Development Conference® (ISDC). More.
Matt Garner, MS in Systems Engineering Management ‘08, has been appointed President of S&B’s subsidiary TAI Engineers (TAI). Garner brings more than 28 years of executive leadership and technical expertise in maritime technology and defense systems. Most recently, he served as VP of Engineering at Trident Maritime Systems. His career includes senior leadership roles at Gibbs & Cox and nearly two decades with the U.S. Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command. More.
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