May 15, 2023

Cadet team conducts robotics research

Cadets and faculty gather in Fairchild Hall to catch a glimpse of the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Ghost Robotics Vision 60 robot, Feb. 8, 2023. Cadets, in collaboration with professors from the Academy’s Warfighter Effectiveness Research Center, are gathering data, employing model-based systems engineering concepts and developing solutions to determine the practicality of integrating robots into base defense missions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley) By Tech. Sgt. Zach Vaughn U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – A team of professors and cadets with the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Warfighter Effectiveness Research Center, a...

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March 28, 2023

Dean presents Annual Research Awards

Cadets and faculty gather in Polaris Hall for the Dean’s Annual Research Awards presentations at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo., March 20, 2023. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Justin Pacheco) U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Research is an integral part of a cadet’s experience at the U.S. Air Force Academy, giving cadets ample opportunity to tackle tough topics and solve real-world issues. Each year, some of the most innovative and inspiring projects are recognized at the Dean’s Annual Research Awards. These awards acknowledge the work of both cadets and faculty across many disciplines....

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February 2, 2023

Disruptive technology debated at Strategy and Warfare Symposium

Cadets participate in the inaugural Strategy and Warfare Center Symposium in Polaris Hall at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Jan. 27, 2023. (U.S. Air Force photo by Justin Pacheco) U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo - The inaugural Strategy and Warfare Center Symposium at the U.S. Air Force Academy focused on disruptive technologies in future conflict. Service academy and ROTC cadets participated in high-level discussions on topics such as hypersonics, artificial intelligence and quantum computing during the three-day event. Military and strategic studies professors, panelists and industry experts encouraged attendees to think about the integrated...

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November 23, 2022

Cadets create plant experiment to go to space

U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Cadets and faculty at the U.S. Air Force Academy are participating in some out-of-this-world research. Their plant project is one of several chosen as part of the Polaris Dawn mission’s science and research portfolio. The mission is expected to launch no earlier than March 2023 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “It blows my mind that cadets at the Academy have opportunities to work on projects like this,” said Cadet 1st Class Caroline Harshbarger, one of the cadets involved in the plant project....

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September 13, 2022

Cadets earn summer research awards

U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Academy officials recognized 17 cadets and their efforts to accelerate change through research and innovation during the Cadet Summer Research Program awards ceremony here, Sept. 9.  Cadet research ranged from improving medical treatment in deployed locations, exploring human behavior, immigration assimilation and space-focused agile combat employment.  “I see these research experiences as invaluable,” said Cadet 1st Class James Landy, who earned the Dean’s Summer Research Program award. “They provide us an opportunity to apply what we are learning in the classroom to a real-world issue.” This year, 370...

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September 7, 2022

Cadets benefit from Academy-led concussion research

Cadets set up an EEG to monitor brain activity as part of concussion research at the U.S. Air Force Academy, 2017.  By Blaire Brush U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – A behavioral science professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy is garnering international attention for his concussion research. Dr. Christopher D’Lauro’s study about underrepresentation of women in concussion research was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and cited in a Washington Post article. Next month D’Lauro will attend the 6th International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport. There experts will use the...

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March 7, 2022

Five life and innovation hacks from a cadet inventor

By Rachelle Stoll, Strategic Communications Photos by Josh Armstrong Cadet Schlichting stands in front of the United States Air Force Academy’s aeronautics laboratory. Cadet First Class Grant Schlichting, a senior at the United States Air Force Academy, holds a patent-pending for a device that will change how we fight the wars to come. Schlichting is the creator of the Aerial Tow Rehookup (ATR), an invention with a provisional patent under the US Patent and Trademark Office. The ATR involves the utilization of a military cargo plane to tow multiple aircraft at any given time, from the smallest of unmanned drones...

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November 19, 2021

Combustion shock tube provides shockingly fun research opportunities for cadets

  By Rachelle Stoll, Strategic Communications, Photo by Joshua Armstrong, Video by AJ Kievenaar Cadet First Class Kendra Middleton has always been fascinated with flight. Some of her earliest memories are of her grandfather, who built and flew his own planes alongside a ragtag gang of “little old men who would fly into each other’s back yards.” Kendra’s mother is also an aerospace engineer with a degree from University of Colorado Boulder. Having been born into a family of aviators, combined with a love for science and math, the Air Force Academy seemed a fitting place for Kendra. The culture...

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July 9, 2020

Cadet research at AF Academy in full swing despite coronavirus

Cadet 1st Class John Byrne works on his academic research project at his family home in Chesterfield, Missouri. The U.S. Air Force Academy cadet will return to the school in September to begin his senior year. (Courtesy photo) Story by Ray Bowden, July 9, 2020 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- The top research official at the Air Force Academy said it takes more than a global pandemic to stop summertime research at the school. Despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on universities across the U.S., cadet researchers are busier than ever, said Col. Chris McClernon, the Academy’s associate dean...

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November 1, 2018

Research at Academy is unparalleled among undergrad institutions

Story by Lt Col Don Rhymer, Nov. 1, 2018 U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — The United States Air Force Academy is a cutting-edge academic and military institution where innovation, warrior ethos and character development are a foundation of our heritage and the guiding priorities of our future. These pillars of our transformative experience make it possible to train and educate the future leaders of our Air Force to meet the challenges of a complex, sophisticated and fast-paced modern profession of arms. At the heart of the Academy’s innovative spirit is our research enterprise. Research at the Academy is unparalleled...

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