Reported by Dean’s Institute of Innovation and Development www.westpoint.edu/innovation

Pag

e1

Dean’s Weekly Significant Activities Report

21 January 2015

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

DFL: Cadets Peter Neise, Left, and McKenzie Beasley, Right

visit the Mengjia Longshan Temple (龍山), a famous Buddhist

temple.

Reported by Dean’s Institute of Innovation and Development www.westpoint.edu/innovation

Pag

e3

Geoff Porter, Ph.D.

CTC Associate Dr. Geoff Porter’s latest publication, “The Impact of Crude’s Collapse on the

Islamic State,” was released this week. The analysis considers the centrality of oil revenue to the

Islamic State’s operations and how falling prices in the sector could disrupt the group’s ability to

provide social and other services in the areas it controls. Dr. Porter further examines how IS may

adjust to this new development and the broader implications of the group’s reaction to the

changes. The full “Perspectives” piece may be found at https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/ctc-

perspectives-the-impact-of-crudes-collapse-on-the-islamic-state.

Center for Enhanced Performance

BDE-consolidated TEE prep sessions.

On 14 and 15 Dec, the cadet tutor program conducted BDE-consolidated TEE prep study

sessions for seven plebe and yearling courses. A leader team of 18 cadets lead by CDT Stuart

Vanderkooi, ‘15, A-3, and Spenser Rapone, ’16, H-3 planned and executed the study sessions.

Approximately 550 cadets signed in for assistance for the two-hour sessions. The leader team

supervised a bank of 200 volunteer cadet tutors.

Reported by Dean’s Institute of Innovation and Development www.westpoint.edu/innovation

Pag

e4

Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership

Completed Events

Follow BS&L on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Point-

NY/Department-of-Behavioral-Sciences-Leadership/44253274507

Reported by Dean’s Institute of Innovation and Development www.westpoint.edu/innovation

Pag

e5

Department of Behavioral Sciences hosted Toys for Tots Drive

The Department of Behavioral Sciences & Leadership aind the West Point community

concluded its annual Toys for Tots drive with the Management Program’s Omicron Delta Kappa

(ODK) National Leadership Honor Society presenting toys to young children at Northeast

Gateway to Freedom Shelter in Newburgh,

NY on December 20th. Over $5000 and

additional toys were presented to the Marine

Corps Reserve of Orange County for

distribution to children in West Point area.

BS&L and ODK want to acknowledge the

great support received from ODIA, which

greatly enabled the campaign by allowing

ODK cadets to collect toys and donations at

Army football and hockey games. POC:

LTC Todd Woodruff,

Todd.Woodruff@usma.edu

Faculty member engages in online academic debate

Professor Morten Ender waded into the online debate waters of the Military Brats versus

CHAMPs controversy. He interviewed with the Washington Post in an article titled “Two

children’s book authors thought military ‘brats’ deserved a new name. The brats thought

otherwise.” The article appeared on December 30th and is available on-line at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/two-childrens-book-authors-thought-military-

brats-deserved-a-better-name-the-brats-thought-otherwise/2014/12/29/6a584f98-87d3-11e4-

9534-f79a23c40e6c_story.html?hpid=z5. The story was reprinted in the Stars & Stripes

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/book-tried-to-change-the-name-for-military-offspring-but-the-

brats-disagreed-1.321628 and Messenger-Inquirer.com of Owensboro, KY

http://www.messenger-inquirer.com/features/lifestyle/book-tried-to-change-name-for-military-

kids/article_c9c74454-033b-5996-9c3c-e41a2b66b31b.html. He did another interview with the

Omaha World-Herald and is quoted in an article titled “They're brats, and proud of it; mom,

daughter who tried to rename military kids feel harsh backlash,” available on-line at:

http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/they-re-brats-and-proud-of-it-mom-daughter-

who/article_e401c3ae-2594-5d95-ab11-43782eb9b79e.html/. The story was reprinted in the

North Platte Telegraph.com at: http://www.nptelegraph.com/news/state/duo-tries-to-rename-

military-kids-feels-harsh-backlash/article_efd4ef88-a448-5337-8382-edd2053c3ca7.html. POC:

morten.ender@usma.edu.

Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

EECS Cadets and Faculty Attend ShmooCon Hacker Convention

With a big thank you to Mr. Vinny Viola and the ShmooCon organizers, Heidi and Bruce Potter,

Reported by Dean’s Institute of Innovation and Development www.westpoint.edu/innovation

Pag

e6

28 cadets and 12 faculty attended the 11th

annual Shmoo Conference in Washington D.C. from 16-

18 January 2015. ShmooCon is an annual East Coast hacker convention offering three days of an

interesting atmosphere for demonstrating technology exploitation, inventive software and hardware

solutions, and open discussions of critical INFOSEC issues. This is one of the highlights of the

Cyber Leadership Development Program (CLDP) at USMA and facilitates growing and maintaining

the pipeline of competent Soldiers and leaders in the cyber domain.

There were over 40 talks, including one given by COL Greg Conti and LTC Dave Raymond of

the Army Cyber Institute on the art of deception in cyberspace. In addition to the talks, there were a

number of other events occurring simultaneously with the cadet favorite being “Hack Fortress.” Our

team of 10 cadets (Avery Austin '18, Sawyer Stacey '18, Will Brattain '15, Kenny McGaffey '17,

John Dimmer '17, Thomas Dubyak '15, Noah Ogrydziak '17, Dan Zablocky '17, Ames Evans '15 and

MAJ Olson '04) competed against a number of skilled teams to solve hacking challenges in a time-

based event, eventually making it to the semi-finals.

There were also hands on labs where attendees could learn advanced (or basic) skills on physical

security, Wi-Fi hacking, or any other type of related topic in the open labs. Vendors also provided

their own competitions while introducing new technologies in the security field. For those who

would like to try a challenge themselves, a recommended example that will be available until the

end of February can be found at the following URL: http://pen-testing.sans.org/challenge2015. Feel

free to contact MAJ Karl Olson (karl.olson@usma.edu), or CPT Will North

(william.north@usma.edu) for hints (or solutions). MAJ Olson and CPT North developed working

solutions and entered them into a drawing for $2,500 of cyber training from SANS.org.

Overall, it was once again an eye-opening experience for all USMA attendees regarding the pace

of advancement and emergence of new threats being discussed, new research topics being explored

and the rapid increase in technical capabilities of the average home user.

2015 ShmooCon Attendees

Reported by Dean’s Institute of Innovation and Development www.westpoint.edu/innovation

Pag

e7

(CDTs Gabriel Bann, Tate Bowers, Will Brattain, Daniel Brown, Sean Deaton, John Dimmer, Ames Evans, Gun Woo

Kim, Leo Kosta, Dale Lakes, Chris Maixner, Askia Mapp, Thamas Dubyak, Kenny McGaffey, Noah Ogrydziak,

Andrew Parker, Matt Seyfried, Adrian Julea, Leo St. Amour, Xiao Tan, Fred Ulrich, Adam Van Prooyen, Jacob Weiss,

Allen Hezekiah, Andreas Kellas, Dan Zablockey, Sawyer Stacey, Avery Austin)

The Hack Fortress team preparing for a competition round.

Department of Systems Engineering

1. Initiation of the Engineering Immersion Internship Pilot Program at Redstone Arsenal,

Alabama. The Department of Systems Engineering (DSE) initiated the Engineering Immersion

Internship Pilot Program on 5 January 2015. DSE sent four engineering majors in their Second Class

year on an Engineering Immersion Internship experience for their spring semester, Academic Term

(AT) 15-2, from 05 January 2015 through 16 May 2015. Cadets Matthew Loza, Zachary Sostak, and

Owen Bailey from DSE, and Cadet John Geiger from CME will work directly with and for Aviation

and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) engineers leading

programs such as the Grey Eagle Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system, the UH-60V Blackhawk

program, Small Unmanned Aerial Systems, and the Multipurpose Munition Launcher Air Defense

platform. The cadets will work part-time as engineering interns for programs within the AMRDEC at

Redstone Arsenal, AL, while also taking classes at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).

The purpose of the internship is to give cadets a better understanding of engineering practice, provide

perspective for their engineering courses, and inspire engagement with their discipline. Their

functional duties will include project planning and management, software/hardware/complex

electronics development, requirements development and management, system design, formal

verification and qualification, interoperability testing of Army portfolio elements.

Reported by Dean’s Institute of Innovation and Development www.westpoint.edu/innovation

Pag

e8

Top Left to Right: Mr. Bill Crawford (AMRDEC Public Affairs Officer), Cadet Matthew Loza, Cadet Owen Bailey,

Mr. Kerry Wagner (AMRDEC Chief Systems Engineer). Bottom Left to Right: Cadet John Geiger, Cadet Zachary

Sostak

Department of Foreign Languages

Current Week HIGHLIGHTS:

Semester Abroad Program (SAP) / Academic trip sections:

Arabic: Five Arabic students arrived in Amman, Jordan on Sunday, 18 JAN and began in-

processing with AMIDEAST. In addition to academic counseling, registration, and local

orientation they will go to the US Embassy Thursday to receive a security and procedures brief

before they begin their studies. The three Arabic students in Morocco have completed the pre-

session studies at AMIDEAST in Rabat and transitioned to Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane,

Morocco, this past Friday. They are also going through add-drop and orientation before

beginning their studies later this week.

Spanish: 5 Spanish Language Cadets departed on 21 January to Mexico for their semester

abroad. Cadets Connor Wernecke, Brian Fydenkevez, Nathan Swanson, Jeremy Tetro, and

Benjamin Greif began their journey as the first USMA cadets to attend Mexico’s famed

Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). UNAM is the largest university within

Latin America and originated from the oldest University in North America. The cadets will

study a variety of topics ranging from Mathematics and Engineering to Philosophy and English

Literature. Apart from the Cadets individual courses, they will each further their Spanish skills

through host family interactions, cultural immersion trips, and advanced Spanish courses.

Reported by Dean’s Institute of Innovation and Development www.westpoint.edu/innovation

Pag

e9

Cadets Peter Neise, Left, and

McKenzie Beasley, Right visit the

Mengjia Longshan Temple (龍山), a

famous Buddhist temple.

Chinese: The Chinese Language cadets

studying in China and Taiwan have

settled in to their new environments and

have started to venture out and get a feel

for the new cultural environments.

Cadets Beasley and Neise in Taiwan

visited several Buddhist temples. Cadets

Brad Smith, Lashondra Maddox, Dylan

Maher, Thomson Phung and Christopher

Young have started working their way

through the Beijing subway system in

order to be able to enjoy the cultural sites

in and around Beijing.

Language or International Club key events: This Sunday 25 January the Model Arab League

begins its weekly Sunday evening meetings in which the Cadets research their assigned Arab

state for upcoming competition and teach themselves parliamentary procedure. The Cadet in

Charge, Ian Myers ’16, will be on semester abroad in Paris, France this term, so the ACIC,

Wilhelm Bunjor ’16 will assume leadership of the club for the coming term. The next

intercollegiate competition is 6-8 Mar in Los Angeles, CA, where the team will face off against a

number of new opponents including the US Air Force Academy.

Reported by Dean’s Institute of Innovation and Development www.westpoint.edu/innovation

Pag

e10

Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering

Members of the West Point Energy Council discuss with DPW contractors about potential locations of

energy meters and monitors that could be incorporated into cadet education. Pictured in the center are

DPW Garrison, West Point contractors Marissa Almstrom (left) and Brian Balzar (right), surrounded by

members of the West Point Energy Council on the left MAJ Pat Sullivan (MATH) and LTC Mark Smith

(GENE), and on the right Dr. Russ Lachance (AARS), LTC Mindy Kimball (GENE), and COL Fred

Meyer (CME).

Energy metering and monitoring incorporated into cadet education. On

Wednesday, 14 Jan 15, members of the West Point Energy Council met with contractors for

DPW Garrison, West Point to discuss opportunities for energy metering of West Point buildings

to be designed in such a way that the building energy use information could be incorporated into

cadet education and be used in future cadet energy reduction competitions run by cadet Energy

and Environmental Officers. The meters would be supported by graphical interfaces that would

be located within a secure computer network that could display a variety of energy information

about a particular West Point building. The participants discussed the need to develop a secure,

accessible manner this information could be viewable to cadets, faculty, and staff. Future

meetings about this topic are planned. POC is LTC Mark Smith at x3136,

mark.smith@usma.edu.

.

Department of English and Philosophy

1. American War exhibit for Cadets enrolled in EP374 (The Arts of War).

On 16 January, the USMA Library’s Special Collections and Archives Staff hosted a Spanish-

American War exhibit for the 17 Cadets enrolled in EP374 (The Arts of War). The exhibit

Reported by Dean’s Institute of Innovation and Development www.westpoint.edu/innovation

Pag

e11

contained archived letters, memoirs, and photographs from the Spanish-American War,

specifically from deployments to Cuba and the Philippines. The exhibit included Andrew

Rowan’s wartime account How I Carried the Message to Garcia (USMA 1881), personal

correspondence from President Theodore Roosevelt, the journals of John “Gatling Gun” Parker

(USMA 1892), and several other artifacts. This display enabled cadets to witness the military

tradition of wartime correspondence and journaling. POC is COL John Nelson, DEP,

john.nelson@usma.edu.

Cadets enrolled in EP374 (The Arts of War) examine artifacts from the Spanish

American War. Cadet Katja Rowell (’17) browses through news accounts of the

conflict, while Cadets Scott Filbert (’15) Nicolos Archuleta (’16) appreciate

wartime correspondence and photographs.