The Naval Postgraduate School Emerging Tech Showcase & Student Thesis Fair on July 24, 2025, brought together more than 30 industry partners with hundreds of NPS students and faculty to explore technology, discuss key operational challenges, and discover partnership opportunities.
Bringing industry to the NPS campus to connect directly with the 1,500+ operationally experienced active-duty students, defense-focused faculty, and DOD professionals enhances opportunities to learn about emerging technologies and potential use cases, drive collaborative research and education, and build an innovation ecosystem that addresses our most pressing defense needs.
Attendees also learned about the dynamics of R&D partnerships between DOD and industry, while the newest students were introduced to a wide variety of possibilities for thesis or capstone projects.
An industry panel, “Operationalizing AI: Responding to Key Operational Challenges,” featuring experts from Anduril, Saronic and Dell Technologies kicked off the event. Retired Marine Col. Randy Pugh, Vice Provost for Warfare Studies and Director of the NPS AI Task Force, led a lively discussion about the challenges and opportunities of AI in defense, what steps the services need to take to accelerate its adoption, and how industry can contribute.
Key themes throughout the discussion included multi-partner collaboration in order to rapidly scale solutions and get AI to the tactical edge, and the importance of directly working with the end user – NPS students – to get the right tools developed through iterative prototyping and field experimentation.
During the Q&A, the panelists highlighted the issues with centrally controlled policies and the archaic need for everything to be a program of record. One panelist noted that defense and industry professionals shouldn’t be asking “why is AI being applied to this problem or process, but rather why aren’t we using AI?”
The event also included an Operational Challenges Breakout Room, where NPS faculty, students and industry representatives broke out into eight small groups to discuss topics like Low-Cost Attritable Platforms, Augmented Network Resilience, Wargaming, and Leveraging AI.
During the afternoon showcase in NPS’ Herrmann Hall, defense primes, major tech companies and startups demonstrated and displayed new capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomy, space, cybersecurity, modeling and simulation, wireless network capabilities and more.
Companies such as NVIDIA, RTX, Lockheed Martin, Qualcomm, Dell Technologies, Anduril, Circle Protocol, Sterling Computers, Gallatin AI, AEON Industries, Allen Control Systems, LMI, Ocean Power Technologies, and many more presented opportunities for collaborative research and experimentation with the intent to develop and rapidly scale solutions.
Current students and faculty were present to showcase their research work, including projects focused on operationalizing AI and leveraging the NVIDIA technology at NPS for defense solutions such as low-cost missiles, aviation, and golden dome and space operations.
The NPS Foundation, under the auspices of a Partner Intermediary Agreement with NPS, holds the Emerging Tech Showcase & Student Thesis Fair on a semiannual basis. The next iteration is scheduled for January 28-29, 2026.
As a partner intermediary, the NPS Foundation provides direct support to NPS to build a culture of innovation and enable the Naval Innovation Center through tech scouting, tech transfer, enhanced corporate engagement, and STEM outreach.
The NPS community can reach out to the Office of Research & Innovation or the NPS Foundation to learn more about opportunities to collaborate with industry.
Participating companies included:
AEON Industries • Allen Control Systems • Anduril Industries • Anduril Industries • Cambium • CHAOS Industries • Circle Protocol • CX2 • Dell Technologies • ECM PCB Stator • Elroy Air • EMPEQ • Gallatin AI • HII • Humana Machina Inc • LMI • Lockheed Martin • NVIDIA • Ocean Power Technologies • Peregrine • Prometheus Intelligence • Qualcomm Technologies • Resilinc • RTX • RUCKUS • Saronic • Scout AI • Spring Rock Capital • Sterling • SubSeaSail • Trend Micro • 8VC
