Cadet Summer Research
The Cadet Summer Research Program (CSRP) at the U.S. Air Force Academy provides cadets with intensive undergraduate research experience in collaboration with military, government, and industry partners. This immersive summer program enables cadets to explore operationally relevant challenges beyond the classroom while contributing to meaningful, real-world problem-solving. Through CSRP, cadets engage in mentored research, scholarship, and creative inquiry that advances knowledge and prepares them to become leaders of character, critical thinkers, and effective warfighters.
Undergraduate research is widely recognized as a high-impact educational practice that enhances student learning and development. Within CSRP, research is broadly defined to include traditional research, scholarship, and creative inquiry, all focused on complex, real-world challenges within cadets’ disciplines. Unlike traditional work-based learning experiences such as internships or apprenticeships, CSRP emphasizes rigorous intellectual engagement paired with practical application and tangible outcomes.
The Academy maintains hundreds of research partnerships with external entities, fostering collaboration across the private sector, government, and academia. These collaborations provide cadets with unparalleled access to advanced facilities, cutting-edge technologies, and expert mentorship at organizations such as Air Force Research Laboratory, National Security Agency, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, National Nuclear Security Administration sites, The Aerospace Corporation, GE Aerospace, McKinsey & Company, Syracuse University, Baylor University, and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
The program has a broad and measurable impact across diverse fields of study. From human-AI collaboration and cognitive performance to aerospace engineering, cyber operations, and space domain awareness, cadets conduct applied, mission-driven research aligned with national security priorities. Recent projects include automating electronic warfare intelligence analysis, modeling aircraft configurations using computational fluid dynamics, developing data-driven tools to optimize drone operations in dynamic weather environments, and designing systems for space-based signal detection and logistics. Cadets also engage in highly specialized opportunities, such as developing and implementing technical scenarios for a joint cyber exercise involving more than 40 partner nations and integrating emerging technologies, including FutureG capabilities within the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering. Additional efforts span environmental engineering, economic terrain modeling, and strategic policy analysis across energy systems and spaceport governance. These wide-ranging, sponsor-driven projects not only produce operationally relevant solutions for the Department of War and interagency partners but also provide cadets with unparalleled access to resources, global networks, and experiential learning opportunities that directly translate to future operational careers.
Whether stateside or abroad, CSRP also provides opportunities for cadets to engage in research across diverse geographic and operational environments, broadening their global perspective and preparing them for military service.
Interested in partnering with the Cadet Summer Research Program? We welcome collaboration with organizations seeking innovative solutions to operational and strategic challenges. CSRP offers a unique opportunity to engage cadets in meaningful research that delivers real impact while building a pipeline of future leaders. Connect with the Academy’s Office of Research to begin developing a partnership.
CONTACT US
Dr. Jana Weiner, Assistant Director of Research Curriculum and Program
Cadet Jamie Landy
Universidad Francisco Marroquin, Guatemala
My research explored the necessary principles of a free society, especially in the Latin American context. My colleagues and I also engaged in a design project to create private-sector solutions to various challenges associated with immigration.
Through this experience, my group designed a food festival-type forum that uses economic incentives to create a space for two-way cultural assimilation while also helping bolster entrepreneurship among immigrants.
Cadet Hannah Kim
RAND Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
My research explored and analyzed China’s response to economic sanctions placed on Russia and its implications for future conflicts. Through conducting this research, I discovered a ripple effect pertaining to China’s concerns on primary and secondary sanctions, leading to their gradual fortification of financial systems and economic self-sufficiency.
Cadet Gabrielle LaRochelle
Earth and Environmental Sciences Team at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico
My research involved testing and defining workflows for LiDAR data preprocessing and analytics; resulting in a method of obtaining 1 cm resolution and accuracy models of the earth’s surface at a rate 30 times faster than the current imagery based workflow.
Through conducting this research, I enabled my team to collect, analyze, and classify minute changes on the Earth’s surface after an underground explosion takes place in a timely and relevant way. The intent is that by defining these changes the resulting phenomenology can be transferred to nuclear weapon testing monitoring capabilities.
Cadet Rachel Price
School of Visual Arts BioArt Residency Program, New York City, New York
My research explored BioArt as an emerging field which aims to bridge the gap between science, technology, and the natural world. I spent five weeks working in the BioArt lab with a number of pioneers in the field to innovate new mediums and technologies into sustainable art forms.
Through conducting this research I sought to bridge the gap between art and our military mission in such a way that presents art as a convincing means of processing and communicating our human struggle.
Cadet Jabari Bowen
Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado in Aurora, Colorado
My research involved learning about the National Reconnaissance Office mission and seeing the application of electrical and computer engineering knowledge, across various projects. Through conducting this research, I developed my electrical and computer engineering skills related to signals processing, specifically in the Fourier Transform and various coding languages.
Cadet Mathew Core
Space Exploration Technologies, Hawthorne, California
My research involved introducing the concept of Agile Combat Employment in Space. Through conducting this research I found that from design to deployment of space assets, both the timeline and costs can be reduced by more than 50%.