Captain Mechikoff is the Director of Academic Operations and Instructor of Biology, Department of Biology, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He and his team are responsible for the planning of academic operations to include course offerings, scheduling, enrollment caps, grade certifications, final exams, and curriculum changes. He also serves as the department’s Cadet Summer Research Program coordinator where he facilitates cadet summer internships with over 30 partner organizations. In addition, Captain Mechikoff is an academic advisor for 22 cadets and research advisor for 5. Lastly, he serves as the department’s Character and Honor Liaison Officer.

Captain Mechikoff received his commission to the Air Force from the Air Force Academy in 2018. As a recipient of the Graduate Scholarship Program and AFIT’s Civilian Institution Program, he received a Master of Science in Biological Engineering from Purdue University.  He served as a cyber warfare officer at Edwards AFB, CA, where he was the OIC of Infrastructure, OIC of the Mission Defense Team, and Operations Officer of the 412^th Communications Squadron.  In addition to this, he deployed as a Liaison Officer in support of Operations ENDURING SENTINEL, INHERENT RESOLVE, and SPARTAN SHIELD. He remains active in research and in 2024, he published a chapter in the leading Synthetic Biology protocols textbook. Lastly, he established a partnership with Columbia University using novel techniques to identify viral pathogens, earning the Air Force Academy’s nomination for the Colorado Governor’s Research Awards – Outstanding Early Career Scientist.

Undergraduate Cyber Training, Keesler AFB, Mississippi (2020)

Master of Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana (2019)

Bachelor of Science, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado (2018)

Director of Operations, Instructor of Biology, Dean of Faculty, USAFA, Colorado (2022- Present)

Operations Officer, 412th Communications Squadron, Edwards AFB, California (2022)

OIC, Mission Defense Team, 412th Communications Squadron, Edwards AFB, California (2021-2022)

OIC, Infrastructure, 412th Communications Squadron, Edwards AFB, California (2020-2021)

Air Force Commendation Medal

Air Force Achievement Medal (One Oak Leaf Cluster)

National Defense Service Medal

Global War on Terrorism Service Medal

Genome engineering and synthetic biological pathways. Endonuclease development and application. Pathogen detection and monitoring.