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Dean’s Weekly Significant Activities Report
8 October 2014
The Dean’s Weekly Significant Activities Report is an internal report on all activities
conducted within the Departments, Centers & Staff. The Report is provided to the Dean
for situation awareness, throughout the organization for shared situation awareness,
and to select external organizations for outreach and communication. Portions of the
Dean’s Weekly Significant Activities Report are further staffed in a report to the
Superintendent. POC for the report is MS Lesley Beckstrom at 938-5105.
Picture of the Week
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Department of Systems Engineering: Read the
details about this picture in this report!
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Combating Terrorism Center
CTC Director MAJ Bryan Price and Deputy Director Mr. Brian Dodwell attended the 10th
anniversary of the FDNY's Center for Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness (CTDP). The
CTDP's Director, Assistant Chief Joe Pfeifer, is also a Senior Fellow at the Combating Terrorism
Center. The CTDP has hosted the CTC-FDNY Crisis Simulation Exercise for cadets in the
SS464 Homeland Security class, an annual event for the past six years. The CTC congratulates
Chief Pfeifer and the CTDP team for a decade of service to the safety and security of New York
City.
FDNY Chief Joe Pfeifer with the CTC’s MAJ Price and Mr. Dodwell
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CTC Director MAJ(P) Bryan Price speech on ISIS at the Union League Club, NYC
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The Union League Club invited CTC Director MAJ Bryan Price to speak about the growing
threat of ISIS on Monday, September 29th, to a packed audience in NYC. MAJ Price spoke
about the group’s history, finances, military operations, propaganda, and its governance activity.
This is the second time the ULC has invited a member from the SOSH Department to speak to
the Club in the last few months – Dr. Rob Person gave a talk on the Ukraine crisis in August.
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Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering
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1. CME Faculty Publishes. Dr. Brock E. Barry, Associate Professor and Mechanics Group
Director published an article titled “Impact of Professional Skills on Technical Skills in the
Engineering Curriculum and Variations Between Engineering Sub-Disciplines” in the journal
Teaching Ethics. The article was co-authored with Dr. JoAnna Whitener, a former faculty
member in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. POC is Dr. Barry,
[email protected], x5850.
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2. CE390 Total Station Familiarization Training. Cadets from CE390 (Civil Engineering
Site Design) conducted familiarization training on a total station in preparation of an
upcoming surveying lab. The total station is a surveying instrument used to determine
information such as the distance (line of sight, horizontal, and vertical) and the horizontal
azimuth between two points. CE390 focuses on site selection and the associated land
development for civil engineering projects. Several types of surveys such as boundary,
topographic, and construction are important aspects of the overall land development process
and CE390 provides an overview of those surveys, along with some hands-on training. The
Course Director and instructor for CE390 is LTC Brad Wambeke. The POC is LTC
Wambeke at [email protected].
Brazilian exchange Cadet Caio Parente (photo on the left) takes a reading from a total station while fellow
Brazilian Cadet Paulo Henrique adjusts a surveying prism. The prism serves as a target and reflects a laser back to
the total station, enabling it to determine the precise distance between the total station and the prism. Henrique and
Parente are both Class of 2015 Civil Engineer Majors.
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3. CME Instructor Qualified as Pilot-in-Command. CPT Drew Curriston successfully
qualified as Pilot-in-Command with CW4 Kyle Sylvester of West Point’s 2nd AVN
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Cadet Justin Fahn levels a total station while Cadets
Patrick Heller and Abigail Imelio observe.
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CME Lab Technician Mr. Chong Ahn instructs Cadets
Spence Buan, “AR” Al-Hanzab, Pace Murray, and Jager
Metz (from left to right) on how to level a total station.
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Detachment on Thursday, October 2nd. The flight consisted of evaluating CPT Curriston’s
ability to conduct flight under both Visual Flight Rules and Instrument Flight Rules in the
CME Department Cessna 182 aircraft, as well as successfully conduct a flight lab for ME481
(Aircraft Performance and Static Stability). This qualification allows CPT Curriston to fly
single pilot and perform flight labs with cadets for both ME387 and ME481. The upcoming
flight lab beginning October 20th will allow cadets to experience the static and dynamic
stability characteristics of a C-182 aircraft and take measurements of control forces as part of
the ME481 Flight Lab #2. The POC is CPT Curriston at [email protected].
Department of English and Philosophy
Past Events
DEP Faculty Member Delivers Address to Commemorate Orange County Veterans
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On September 29, MAJ Stoney Portis was the keynote speaker at the Orange County Veterans
Memorial Day Ceremony in Goshen, NY. The event commemorated the 100th anniversary of
the Battle of the Hindenburg Line during World War I. Forty men from Orange County died on
September 29, 1918 while fighting as members of the 107th Infantry, a New York State National
Guard Regiment. During the event, MAJ Portis honored the fallen by discussing the lasting
effects of the Great War, which include the Army’s combat and operational stress control
program, the educational curriculum of the officer corps at West Point, and the esprit de corps of
military service members and their families. POC is MAJ Stoney Portis, DEP,
[email protected].
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MAJ Stoney Portis delivers address commemorating
the lives of 29 Orange County Veterans who fell 100
years ago during WW1’s Battle of Hindenberg.
2. EP367 Drama Students Participate in Workshop with USMA Band
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On 1 October, students in EP367 Drama participated in a workshop with the USMA Band on the
subject of American musical theatre. This interactive presentation, led by Dr. Marc Napolitano
and SFC Carla Loy Song, encouraged cadets to think about the narrative possibilities of the
musical as a theatrical genre. Over the course of the two-hour workshop, students discussed
ways in which music can manipulate time through sung discourse (consolidating several years
into a two-minute song, or stretching out a momentary glance into a five-minute ballad). The
cadets also contemplated the power of music to define individual characters’ personalities
through specific rhythms, vocal parts, and orchestrations. SFC Loy Song encouraged students to
consider how American musicals have addressed important and controversial social issues, from
racial prejudice in “Show Boat,” to gang violence in “West Side Story” to the AIDS crisis in
“Rent.” Throughout the workshop, students were given the chance to sing songs from
“Newsies,” “West Side Story,” “Sweeney Todd,” and “Frozen,” while SFC Loy Song performed
powerful numbers from “Big” and “Miss Saigon.” SGM Scott Arcangel accompanied them on
the piano. POC is Dr Marc Napolitano, DEP, marc.napolitano @usma.edu.
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CDTS Sarah Bateman(C3) and Danielle Diulus
(H3) perform “Seize the Day” from Newsies.
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SFC Carla Lay Sang discusses the tenets and
techniques of American Musical Theater.
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CDT Danny Trainor (G3) performs “Something’s
Coming” from West Side Story
3. Support of Cadet Competitive Club Competition
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On 5 October, Sensei Reno and DEP’s LTC Joe Wyszynski led eleven junior members of
the cadet judo team to participate in the Princeton Shiai. During the tournament, cadets faced
collegiate and open competition; opponents ranged from Ivy League students to former service
members and veterans of OIF. All the while cadets developed critical thinking skills and the
courage to face an individual opponent on the mat. Eight members of the team placed with four
cadets taking top honors. The POC is LTC Joe Wyszynski, DEP, [email protected].
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DEP’s LTC Joe Wyszynski poses for a snapshot with Sensei Reno and Cadets Brad Mikinski (B1), Michael
Emana (F1), Colin Shepard (G3), Ryan Roth (B1), Shinjoong Moon (D4), and Soderia Kakoulakis (A4), at the
Princeton Shiai.
4. Cadets in the Studio Arts Forum conduct outreach to Garrison Rehabilitation Home
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On 6 October, MAJ Lay Phonexayphova, OIC of the Studio Arts forum, led three cadet
artists to the Walter Hoving Home in Garrison, New York to teach women at the home how to
paint, shade, and draw portraits. Over 20 women, enrolled in rehabilitation programs participated
in the event and learned about the plastic arts.
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Major Lay Phonexayphova poses with cadet artists Caitlyn Laneve (I3),
Enrique Munoz Campa (D2) and Uzoma Ezeonyeka (A4) from the Studio Arts
forum at the Walter Hoving Home in Garrison, NY.
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1. Current and Former Systems Faculty Participate in ART/TSOA. From 8 – 12 September, seven
current and former members of the Systems Engineering Department along with a former member of the
Math Department took part in the Adaptive Read Team / Technical Support and Operational Analysis
(ART/TSOA) activities sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and held at Camp Roberts,
CA. The ART/TSOA activity provides an operational venue for companies developing technologies for
the military to assess the vulnerabilities of systems, vulnerabilities of technology and focus on
interactions with users, logistics, operations and integration with other systems. Over the course of five
days, the team conducted four in-depth hierarchical task analyses to assess the ease of use and training of
these systems for trained and untrained service members. Additionally the team evaluated over 25 other
technologies currently in development to provide operational feedback to improve the capabilities of
each.
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Department of Systems Engineering
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Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering
Completed Events
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Future Events
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Colloquium: On 2 October, Dr. Graham Peaslee, the Elmer E. Hartgerink Professor of
Chemistry at Hope College, gave a seminar to faculty and students with respect to uses of a
pelletron particle accelerator like the one in PANE. The title of his talk was "Ion Beam Analysis
for Screening Consumer Products", and an abstract: "Various ion beam analysis techniques have
been used with small accelerators for decades, especially Particle Induced X-ray Emission
(PIXE) and Rutherford BackScattering (RBS). These typically non-destructive analysis
techniques allow elemental analysis and layer thickness and composition on the surface of
almost any solid target. We have been expanding the repertoire of samples studied by these
techniques (and other ion beam analysis techniques) to include environmental samples such as
lake sediment, forensic samples such as glass and automotive paint, and most recently
environmental toxins in consumer products. This work includes the screening of polyurethane
foams, textiles and plastics for halogenated flame retardant chemicals, and various consumer
products for the presence of per- and polyfluorinated compounds. A summary of these results
were presented together with future directions that any ion beam analysis laboratory might
pursue.
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Colloquium: On 9 October, Mr. Terry Bauer will present a colloquium discussing "Recent Test
Results of the High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD) and its Future Applications”.
The presentation will be an update on the Army's high energy laser efforts at the US Army Space
and Missile Defense Command. The primary focus of the talk will be 10 kW High Energy Laser
Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD) efforts over the last 18 months. Results of the High Power
Demonstration at WSMR and the Propagation Data Collection at Eglin AFB as well as future
plans will be discussed.
Colloquium: On 10 October, Dr. Tom Downar will present a colloquium discussing
"Transuranic Transmutation Techniques in Advanced Nuclear Reactors”. His research interests
include computational nuclear reactor physics and the development of coupled neutronics,
thermal-hydraulics, and fuel performance analysis methods for power reactor safety analysis.
Applications include the transient analysis of a wide range of reactor types, including Light
Water, Heavy Water, High Temperature Gas, and Sodium cooled reactors.
Trip Section: On 22 October, MAJ Nestor Echeverria and cadets enrolled in NE350
(Radiological Engineering Design) will travel to STERIS Isomedix in Chester, NY to see a realworld application of radiation technology that applies their required design project.
Additionally, cadets will gain a better understanding of transportation, shielding, security, safety,
disposal or radioactive waste in support of course requirements. STERIS Isomedix uses a
radioactive source to sterilized medical supplies. While there, they will be reloading new
Colbalt-60 sources into their irradiation facilities, thus providing the cadets a unique opportunity
to observe the inner workings of the machines and the process of transporting and handling
radioactive materials.
Department of Social Sciences
Army Debate Wins at James Madison:
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Army debate won the Novice division of the JMU Debate Tournament this past weekend. CDT
TJ Collins and CDT Matt Watts followed up their second place finish at Rutgers last week with a
dominating victory and 1st place prize at JMU. TJ was also awarded the top speaker prize in a
crowd of over 50 novice debaters. CDT Ian Holbrook took home a 3rd place speaker award and
2 other novice teams (CDTs Matlack and Collins / CDTs Gulbis and Hickey) and 1 JV team
(CDTs Reed and Oakley) made it to the round of sixteen.
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The victorious Army team at James Madison
Combating Terrorism Center Yearling Lecture:
On Tuesday, 30 September, LTG(R) Dell Dailey gave the 4th Annual CTC Yearling Class Lecture in
Robinson Auditorium to the Class of 2017. Remarking on his time as JSOC Commander and
Counterterrorism Coordinator at the State Department, LTG(R) Dailey provided his insights into US
counterterrorism and the current threat. He has been a Senior Fellow in the CTC since 2012.
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LTG(ret) Dailey presenting a Yearling lecture.
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LTG(ret) Dailey and COL Jebb
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Guest Speaker at the Union League Club
Combating Terrorism Center Director, MAJ(P) Bryan Price, PhD, spoke at the Union League Club last
week. MAJ Price discussed the growing threat of ISIS to a packed audience in Manhattan, increasing
engagement with NYC for USMA and the CTC.
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Army Debate Engages with Bard College:
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Army Debate participated in the opening event of Bard’s Hannah Arendt Conference on the
Unmaking of American Values last night. CDTs Aaron Spikol, Theo Lipsky and Will Oakley
teamed up with 3 Bard students and 1 Bard professor to publicly debate in front of an audience
of over 75 students, faculty and community members whether or not individualism is still an
American value worth fighting for. The team represented themselves, the Department and the
Academy with distinction. In many cases the Cadets were the first Army Soldiers any of these
students ever met and left the event impressed with the professionalism, intellectual curiosity,
and communication skills of Aaron, Theo and Will.
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International Congress of Biometeorology (ICB) Dr. Adam Kalkstein attended the International
Congress of Biometeorology (ICB) in Cleveland, OH from 28 September through 1 October. The ICB is
held once every three years and serves as the primary meeting of the International Society of
Biometeorology for scientists around the world who research the interaction between weather/climate and
living organisms. Dr. Kalkstein presented two research talks, one examining the ability to forecast
influenza based upon weather conditions, and the other as part of a young professionals workshop
discussing how best to include undergraduates in research studies. Further, Dr. Kalkstein acted as the
chair for a human health session. The next ICB will be held in Durham, UK in 2017. POC is Dr. Adam
Kalkstein at [email protected].
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Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering
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Dr. Adam Kalkstein discusses the impact of weather on influenza across the Southwest United States as
part of the International Congress of Biometeorology in Cleveland, OH.
Architectural Tour of West Point On 4 October, Dr. Jon Malinowski gave a guided tour of West
Point's architecture to members of the Westchester & Hudson River Chapter of the American Institute of
Architects. Despite the rain, the members and their guests were shown three phases of West Point's gothic
architecture as well as key buildings in Central Area. The tour supported the Superintendent's goal of
increasing Academy outreach to the greater New York area. The POC is Dr. Malinowski at x4673,
[email protected].
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Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy and
International Relations invited LTC Shane Reeves,
Academy Professor and Acting Deputy Head, to guest
lecture 60 graduate students, undergraduate students, and
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Department of Law
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law school students about the law of armed conflict (LOAC). The students were curious about
the implications of LOAC in regards to ISIS, Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and accusations of
genocide in Syria. LTC Reeves also met with Seton Hall faculty members, who were very
curious about the military, and had a robust discussion about international law.
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Assistant Professor LTC Matthew Kemkes discussed the legal
implications of drone warfare as a participant on the Philosophy
Forum’s panel on “The History, Law, Strategy, and Ethics of Drone
Warfare.” LTC Kemkes first addressed whether attack drones are
unique weapons systems under international law. Next, he discussed
the importance of the United States establishing defensible practices
under international law such as the UN Charter. This is especially
significant as others in the international community will point to the precedent set by the United
States to justify their own use of drones in the future. Finally, he discussed the legal issues
associated with different types of drone strikes and what concerns are raised when the United
States authorizes a targeted killing of a U.S. citizen in a country with which we are not at war.