Major Tiffany M. Phan is a Senior Instructor of Computer and Cyber Sciences at the Dean of Faculty, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. She is responsible for educating, training, and inspiring men and women to become officers of character upon graduation and commissioning as second lieutenants. She develops lessons and teaches cadets the fundamentals of programming, networks, artificial intelligence, and data literacy. She is also the Assistant Director of the Academy Center for Cyberspace Research, connecting students and faculty with external research projects, and the department representative for the Cadet Summer Research Program that provides cadets with summer internships with various organizations worldwide. She is also the Officer-In-Charge of the Academy Club Swim Team and the Women in Computing Club.

The major entered the Air Force in May 2016 through ROTC at the University of Texas at Austin. She completed her master’s in cyber operations in March 2018 followed by cyberspace officer training in November 2018. Since then, Maj Phan has led small teams embedded in operational flying and space units to provide communications support and network integration.

While stationed at Osan Air Base, ROK, with the 51st Operations Support Squadron, Maj Phan equipped three flying squadrons with communications and facilities to conduct contingency operations and prepared and maintained warm sites for units deployed to the area. With the 3d Space Experimentation Squadron at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., the major led a small team of airmen, civilians, and contractors to integrate and maintain ground systems for testing experimental satellite missions and to provide change management for those systems. Prior to her current position, Maj Phan was a student at the University of Texas at Austin, working towards her Ph.D. in Computational Science, Engineering, and Mathematics.

Master of Science, Computational Science, Engineering, and Mathematics, The University of Texas at Austin (2023)

Master of Science, International Relations, Troy University, Troy, Alabama (2021)

Master of Science, Cyber Operations, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (2018)

Bachelor of Arts, Mathematics, The University of Texas at Austin (2016)

Bachelor of Science, Physics, The University of Texas at Austin (2016)

Senior Instructor of Computer & Cyber Sciences, Dean of Faculty, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. (January 2026 – Present)

Instructor, Department of Computer & Cyber Sciences, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. (July 2024 – December 2025)

Ph.D. Student, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas (August 2021 – July 2024)

Mission Generation Flight Commander, 3d Space Experimentation Squadron, Schriever AFB, Colo. (March 2020 – August 2021)

Mission Generation Flight OIC, 3d Space Experimentation Squadron, Schriever AFB, Colo. (December 2019 – March 2020)

Assistant Director of Operations, 51st Operations Support Squadron, Osan AB, Republic of Korea (December 2018 – December 2019)

Cyberspace Operations Student, 333d Training Squadron, Keesler AFB, Miss. (March – November 2018)

Graduate Student, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (June 2016 – March 2018)

Air Force Commendation Medal

Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster

Natural language processing

Generative artificial intelligence

Information extraction

Space applications