Deans Weekly Significant Activities Report

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Deans Weekly Significant Activities Report
22 June 2016
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. Portions of the Dean’s Weekly Significant Activities Report are further staffed in a report to the
Superintendent. POC for the report is MS Lesley Beckstrom at 938-5105.
Picture of the Week
On 6-10 June 2016 local middle school students
participated in the first annual Tom Lainis STEM Seminar
organized by the Center for Leadership and Diversity in
STEM (CLD STEM) and Department of Physics and
Nuclear Engineering.
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Center for Leadership and Diversity in STEM
2016 Tom Lainis STEM Seminar
On 6-10 June 2016 local middle school students participated in the first annual Tom
Lainis STEM Seminar organized by the Center for Leadership and Diversity in STEM
(CLD STEM) and Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering. The seminar was
named after Tom Lainis a faculty member in the Math and Physics Departments for 28
years, who devoted a lifetime to inspiring students to pursue STEM careers. Thirty-six
students in grades 6-8 got up early during their first week of summer recess to attend
workshops each morning.
The students participated in a two day robotics workshop where they built a Clawbot
and then used the robots to accomplish set tasks. The Physics team led them through
several demonstrations and activities including an Angry Birds Artillery lab, Mind over
Matter workshop, demonstrations of the power of air and sound, and a Solar Walk
through Central Post Area. On Thursday the group completed an 'Escape the
Traditional Classroom' activity where the students had to use communication,
collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking to solve 38 STEM puzzles and activities to
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decode a message and 'escape' the classroom. On Friday the students had the
opportunity to run through simulations at the Simulation Center. At the Closing
Ceremony, after a week of being an apprentice cadet, the students and their guests had
a chance to picture themselves as a West Point cadet, Class of ’24, ’25, or ’26. It was a
fun week to do what Tom did best, inspire students to share his passion for STEM.
Pictures of the students participating in each of the activities can be found on the CLD
STEM FLIKR site:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131569529@N08/albums/72157669308416291 .
CLD STEM workshop in the Bronx
On 17 June 2016 Lori Sheetz and MAJ Mike Seminelli went down to New York City to
teach a VEX robotics workshop to students at the Bronx Charter School for Children.
The students learned a little about West Point from MAJ Seminelli and then were
introduced to STEM topics by Mrs. Sheetz before beginning to build the VEX IQ robots.
The workshop uses robotics to teach students skills in the science, technology,
engineering, and math fields and is designed to encourage collaboration and
communication among the students. In the afternoon the students learned basic robotic
programming and then the teams participated in a competition to see who could
program the robot to most closely follow a challenge track.
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Combating Terrorism Center
Combating Terrorism Center Director LTC Bryan Price, Deputy Director Brian Dodwell,
and Director of Research Dr. Daniel Milton traveled to Washington, D.C., on 6-8 June
for a series of high-level meetings with several government agencies. These included
the JIATF-NCR (Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region); National
Counterterrorism Center including the NCTC’s counterterrorism director for the White
House; National Security Council; Global Engagement Center at the U.S.
Department of State; and 902nd Military Intelligence Group at Fort Meade with COL
John Bonin as well as his commanders and staff.
On 16 June, the Combating Terrorism Center briefed Under Secretary of the Army
Patrick Murphy. CTC Director LTC Bryan Price led a command brief from Under
Secretary Murphy and provided an update on the Center’s recent research on the
Islamic State’s media efforts.
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CTC Director LTC Bryan Price greets Under Secretary of the Army Patrick Murphy during his
visit to the Combating Terrorism Center.
On 18 June, the Combating Terrorism Center provided Major General Wayne W.
Grigsby, Jr., with a two-hour briefing on the Center’s research regarding foreign
fighters, the Islamic State’s media efforts, and the ongoing challenge of Mosul. MG
Grigsby is Commander of the 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley.
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Major General Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr.
On 21 June, the Combating Terrorism Center briefed General Raymond A. Thomas,
III, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. CTC Director LTC Bryan Price
provided GEN Thomas with an overview of the Center’s most recent research efforts, to
include its examination of the Islamic State’s media efforts and foreign fighter capacity.
The CTC also briefed GEN Thomas on its hostage research.
LTC Price leads the CTC’s briefing to USSOCOM Commander General Thomas.
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Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering
Completed Events
Triathlon: On 20 June, Academy Professor LTC Ken Allen and Instructor CPT John
Davis of PaNE competed in the Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Syracuse, NY. This was CPT
Davis’ first time competing at the 70.3-mile distance, and he finished with a very good
time of 6 hours and 38 mins. LTC Allen finished the race in 5 hours and 18 mins and
was 11th out of 189 competitors in the 45-49 year old male division, and 98th overall out
of 1699 total athletes who finished the race.
STEM: West Point was proud to host the first COL (Ret) Tom Lainis STEM Seminar,
6-10 June, sponsored by the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering and the
Center for Leadership and Diversity in STEM. This seminar drew children from the
West Point Community, bringing together 34 children from local schools, a child from
the home school community, and a child who flew in from Ohio to attend. The STEM
Cadets spent the week building and programming their robots, participating in science
experiments, exploring the universe (which was set up between Grant Turnaround and
Trophy Point), problem-solving in a PaNE Escape Room, and capping it off with a
morning in the Simulation Center, learning to shoot targets, maneuver on a battlefield
and fly a helicopter. The Faculty and Staff support from the academic departments and
the Simulation Center enabled STEM Cadets to ask questions and learn more about the
West Point experience.
Student Demographics:
50% male
50% female
19% minority (7 out of 36)
1 Out of State
1 Home Schooler
1 Local School
33 West Point Middle
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During the COL(R) Tom Lainis STEM Seminar, Dr. Carolann Koleci demonstrates the
principle of conservation of angular momentum
Dr. Eric Myers demonstrates the principle of conservation of energy
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Dr. Dave Hutchinson’s students examine the properties of marshmallows after
exposure to a vacuum
Hands go up as students hypothesize the outcome of an experiment
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MAJ Ed Peskie helps students calculate the trajectory of a projectile
STEM students with faculty and volunteers. Phyllis Lainis, after whose husband the
program is named, was escorted by COL Naessens, 2nd row, right.
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SLE: The Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering hosted 106 candidates 2-8
June as part of the second session of Summer Leaders Experience. The day with
D/P&NE included half a day discussing Physics and half a day discussing Nuclear
Engineering. The Physics half included an overview of the physics principles relating to
forces, torques, energy, light, hydrostatics, and hydrodynamics. The hands-on
opportunities include using superconductivity (during which the candidates used liquid
nitrogen to help levitate a small magnet over a sample of superconducting material),
firing a vacuum gun, and riding a “build it yourself” hovercraft. In the nuclear engineering
half of the workshop, the candidates had a student-centered discussion of nuclear
energy and weapons, discussed research opportunities for cadets at USMA in the
Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering and toured the Department’s
subcritical assembly, and performed a hands-on nuclear science laboratory in which
they used two different radiation detectors to calculate the effectiveness of various
radiation-shielding materials and identify an unknown radioactive sample.
Supervisory Physicist Dr. Dan Shultz presents an Introduction to Nuclear Engineering
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MAJ Reggie Rice gives a presentation on electricity
MAJ Nestor Echeverria discusses energy exploration
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Responsibility Shift: COL Ed Naessens has returned from Afghanistan, and has
resumed his role as PaNE Department Head.
Triathlon: On 20 June, Academy Professor LTC Ken Allen and Instructor CPT John
Davis of PaNE competed in the Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Syracuse, NY. This was CPT
Davis’ first time competing at the 70.3-mile distance and he finished with a very good
time of 6 hours and 38 mins. LTC Allen finished the race in 5 hours and 18 mins and
was 11th out of 189 competitors in the 45-49 year old male division and 98th overall out
of 1699 total athletes who finished the race.
Current Events
AIADs: PaNE is supporting 74 Cadets participating in AIADs this summer.
PaNE Relocation: Renovation of basement, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floor classrooms has been
completed and staff and faculty have begun transitioning into their new permanent
teaching spaces. Renovation of 4th floor offices is just about completed, but furnishings
aren’t due in until mid-July.
Department of English and Philosophy
Department of English and Philosophy: Occupation, Assassination, and Reprisal:
WWII Case Study AIAD
Over the past two weeks, LTC Todd Burkhardt, and four Cadets traveled to Prague,
Czech Republic, in order to study a historical case and the ethics of war regarding it.
The AIAD focused on Nazi Germany’s unjust occupation of Czechoslovakia; Operation
Anthropoid which was the assassination of the Butcher of Prague (SSObergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich) by the Czechoslovakian government-in-exile,
the British Special Operations Executive, and the Czechoslovakian Special Forces; and
on the reprisal that Adolf Hitler ordered on the town of Lidice which called for the
complete destruction of all of its inhabitants (men, women, children, animals, and
buildings). Cadets spent two days with Slovakian Special Forces officers (MAJ Tomas
Bernat and CPT Viktor Szitkey) who introduced us to Mr. Emil Sneberg, a WWII Czech
resistance fighter, as well as provided an amazing tour of the SS Gestapo HQ and
interrogation cells, the War Museum, and of St. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral where
the famed Czechoslovakia SF soldiers led by Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš made their
final stand. POC is LTC Burkhardt, DEP, ([email protected]).
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LTC Burkhardt, MAJ Bernat, CDT Olivia Smith, CDT Claire Jones, CDT Aaqib Syed, CDT
Andrew Holden, and CPT Viktor Szitkey are pictured here at St. Cyril and Methodius
Cathedral, Prague.
Department of English and Philosophy: “Art is Interdisciplinary” (Italian
Renaissance) AIAD
From 23 May – 03 June, DEP faculty members MAJ Adam Keller and Prof. Seth Herbst
led five cadets on an AIAD that explored the cultural and aesthetic influences of Italian
Renaissance art. The cadets spent the first week at USMA where they studied the
political, economic, and cultural conditions that led to the Renaissance. Through a
series of readings and guided seminar discussions, the cadets traced the development
of painting, sculpture, and architecture in the Italian city-states of Florence and Rome,
from the late byzantine period (late 12th and early 13th centuries) to the so-called “High
Renaissance” of the late 16th century. On 29 May, the group departed for Italy, where
they spent four days in Florence and Rome examining the masterpieces of famed
Renaissance artists and architects, including Giotto, Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Donatello,
Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, and Leonardo da Vinci. The trip culminated with a visit to
the Vatican Museum in Rome, where the group toured the Sistine Chapel. POC for this
AIAD is MAJ Adam Keller, DEP, ([email protected]).
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Cadets and faculty from DEP in front of Il
Duomo di Fireze, an exemplar of early
Renaissance architecture in Florence.
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Cadets and faculty from DEP in front of
Michelangelo’s iconic sculpture of David,
located at the Galleria dell’Accademia in
Florence.
Department of English and Philosophy: COL John Nelson’s Recent Publication
COL John Nelson co-edited the anthology A Companion to the War Film, recently published by
Wiley-Blackwell in June 2016. The anthology contains 27 essays that study the war film genre
and its evolution, particularly over the past decade. COL Nelson also contributed a chapter titled
“Fifty Years Hence: the Forgotten War Remembered in South Korean and American Cinema,”
which examines the way in which the national cinemas of the Republic of Korea and the U.S.
reflect on the trauma and sacrifice of armed conflict. POC is COL John Nelson,
([email protected]).
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A Companion to the War Film, edited by Douglas
Cunningham and COL John Nelson, Department of
English and Philosophy
Department of English and Philosophy: “Writing Today” AIAD
In conjunction with the West Point Writing Fellows program, the Department of English and
Philosophy sponsored the “Writing Today” AIAD between 23 May – 2 June 2016. Five cadets
and two faculty members engaged in a comprehensive residential study of the vital roles that
writing and its practice play in academia, government, journalism, non-profit foundations,
corporate America, and in the lives of the nation’s veterans. Through on-site visits over eleven
days throughout the Baltimore, Annapolis, and Washington, D.C. area, cadets engaged with
professors, social scientists, broadcasters and journalists, curators, consultants, and speechwriters
at Johns Hopkins, the Naval Academy, Rutgers, the Frameworks Institute, NPR, the
Smithsonian, Pherson Associates, Booz-Allen-Hamilton, the Pentagon, Congress, and the White
House. Notably, cadets met with the speechwriting teams for the President of the United States,
the Secretary of the Army, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chief and Vice Chiefs
of Staff and the Sergeant Major of the Army, and interacted with the digital media staff of the
Republican Conference in the House of Representatives. In each instance and across every
discipline, cadets learned about the importance of audience, framing one’s narrative, and
communicating with precision, concision, consistency, and substantive depth. POC is LTC Sean
Cleveland, ([email protected]).
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Writing Today cadets meet with senior leader speechwriters in the Pentagon. Cadets pictured
clockwise: Kayla Matute ’19, Michaela Holmes-Johnson ’19, Amen Uwudia ’19
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Writing Today cadets meet with NPR broadcasters, producers, and editors. From Left to Right:
Amen Uwudia ’19, Fred Mathelier ’19, LTC Sean Cleveland, Michaela Holmes-Johnson ’19,
Gabrielle Alford ’19, Korva Coleman, Kayla Matute ’19. Kneeling: Geoff Brumfiel (Science
Editor). Sitting: Kathy Rushlow (Senior Producer)
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Writing Today cadets meet with the President’s Foreign Affairs Speechwriter.
From Left to Right: Fred Mathelier ’19, Kayla Matute ’19. Amen Uwudia ’19, Michaela HolmesJohnson ’19, Gabrielle Alford ’19, Terry Szuplat, Dr. Jason Hoppe
UPCOMING EVENTS:
June-August: Department Sponsored AIADs
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