The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) continues to showcase its exceptional research capacity via the next Naval Research Working Group (NRWG), April 21-23, 2020. However, per current COVID-19 guidance, NRWG 20 will be executed as an entirely virtual event.
The NPS Naval Research Program (NRP) is the event organizer and serves as an Office of the Chief of Naval Operations funded launch-point for new initiatives, which posture naval forces to meet current and future operational challenges. Through research, NPS’ world-class faculty and students deliver cutting-edge solutions to some of the most pressing challenges faced by operational naval forces across the globe.
Now in its 7th year, the NRWG continues to serve as the primary synchronization and collaboration event bringing together fleet topic sponsors, NPS faculty members, and students to communicate, review, validate and recommend topics for NPS research.
This year’s virtual NRWG20 will feature many of the same activities facilitated by our onsite NRP programs, with online forms of the Research Trade Show, Engagement Sessions, Moderated Panel Sessions, NPS Lab Tours, and the Faculty Poster Session.
Numerous Department of the Navy topic sponsor organizations are expected to participate in NRWG20. Funding for FY21 is proposed to be approximately $11 million. In its six-year history, the NRWG process has generated over 2,000 topics submitted through the NRP Topic Portal, and more than 600 research projects have been completed or are in progress.
The Research Trade Show remains a key feature of the NRWG schedule. With a shift to the virtual environment, research topic sponsors will still have a forum to discuss research opportunities, the benefit(s) to the naval services, and expected deliverables from selected NRP research projects, online with individual NPS faculty and students.
NPS lab tours also remain an integral part of the NRWG, with at least 14 different labs to be featured in total. Virtual Lab Tours are the perfect opportunity for Topic Sponsors to gain a more in-depth understanding of specific research lab capabilities at NPS.
Engagement Sessions will continue to part of the NRWG20 event schedule and serve as a forum for Topic Sponsors to brief their topics, providing NPS faculty and students the opportunity to engage in a greater in-depth discussion of topic details.
Back by popular demand are Moderated Panel Sessions for Topic Sponsors, faculty and/or NPS students to discuss key institutional priorities in the areas of Cyber, Human-Machine Teaming and Artificial Intelligence. Panel discussion will stimulate cross disciplinary interactions and collaboration within NPS and among Topic Sponsors.
Activities will be interspersed over all three days of the NRWG 20 schedule. Delivery will be executed via a combination of synchronous (live) sessions via Zoom or asynchronous (pre-recorded video) sessions or briefs. Note: All Moderated Panel Sessions will be live, or synchronous events accessed via Zoom. Virtual Lab Tours have limited capacity, and early sign ups are encouraged.
We're excited to bring back Whova, a free application which you can download to the mobile device of your choice, and then be able to view the event schedule to plan your agenda.
Important: All sessions require signup. Whova allows you to explore the professional profiles of event speakers and attendees; send in-app messages and exchange contact info; network and find attendees with common affiliations, educations, and shared networks; access the event schedule; receive updates from the organizers; and much more.
Register and download the app now by visiting the NRP website at https://my.nps.edu/nrp/nrwg-20 where the NRWG20 Schedule can be reviewed for complete event details. And join the NRP conversation on Twitter, @NPS_NRP.