STEM educationTeams from U.S. service academies demonstrate potentially transformative technologies
DARPA’s mission is to ensure the technological superiority of U.S. military forces, and the agency continually seeks new sources of talent to accomplish that goal. The U.S. three military service academies are a promising source of that talent. The U.S. Air Force Academy team wins new competition — DARPA Service Academies Innovation Challenge — designed to encourage students at U.S. military academies to develop groundbreaking solutions to challenges facing the U.S. armed forces.
The U.S. Air Force Academy team wins new competition designed to encourage students at U.S. military academies to develop groundbreaking solutions to challenges facing the U.S. armed forces.
DARPA’s mission is to ensure the technological superiority of U.S. military forces, and the agency continually seeks new sources of talent to accomplish that goal. The U.S. three military service academies are a promising source of that talent. These institutions immerse the next generation of military leaders in an environment that blends academic excellence and deep understanding of current and future military needs. DARPA says that better to cultivate the potential of these young officers-to-be and encourage their career-long collaboration with DARPA, the agency two weeks ago hosted the first DARPA Service Academies Innovation Challenge.
Nine teams — three each from the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, and U.S. Naval Academy — squared off in a competition at DARPA’s offices in Arlington, Virginia. Cadets and midshipmen showed projects designed to develop practical, potentially transformative technologies that could address a wide variety of challenges facing the U.S. military. At the end of the day, an Air Force Academy team emerged as the overall winner, earning a trophy and bragging rights.
“The Cadets and Midshipmen truly impressed us in terms of developing brilliant new concepts and innovative prototypes that could create positive impact for the military,” said Daniel Ragsdale, DARPA program manager. “The projects spanned the technology spectrum — from software and robotics to avionics and materials science — and showed the interdisciplinary, solution-focused thinking DARPA is always looking for.”
“Everyone was impressed with the amount of thought put into all the projects — and this is the real DARPA trademark — in not a lot of time,” said Dan Kaufman, director of DARPA’s Information Innovation Office (I2O), which oversaw the event.
DARPA notes that preparations started last October, when the academies created more than thirty teams, each with a project designed to address an issue that team members chose. The academies picked the nine teams with the strongest projects for the final competition that took place 29 April.
