By MC2 Michael Ehrlich

Under Secretary of the Navy the Honorable Janine Davidson explores NPS' Center for Autonomous Vehicle Research with Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Research Associate Professor Dr. Doug Horner, June 27. Davidson toured several labs and met with faculty for a roundtable discussion on current education and research programs underway at NPS.

"Every day we fight to stay ahead of the adversary – that means the Navy must continue to adapt and innovate. If we lose our competitive edge, we risk mission failure," stressed Davidson. "The Naval Postgraduate School's world-class academics are conducting operationally-relevant research and sharing this knowledge with our next generation of Naval leaders, as well as our joint and international partners. Their innovative work and dedication to teaching is helping the Navy develop the intellectual capital of its people and will ensure that we are prepared to meet both the challenges of today, and the complex and dynamic battlespace of the future."

"It was an honor to have the under secretary at NPS and, in particular, the Center for Autonomous Vehicle Research," added Horner. "The emphasis of the visit was on the future role of unmanned systems in the Navy. It was great seeing her enthusiasm, commitment and knowledge in this important area."

Director and Chair of the Cebrowski Institute Dr. Peter Denning led a roundtable discussion with Davidson, where she posed several questions about autonomous systems and military doctrine.

"The Cebrowski Institute hosted an interdisciplinary group of faculty from across campus to talk and think together on these questions," explained Denning. "Automation, doctrine, military innovation, approvals and thinking."

One of the presenters during a tour of Halligan Hall, Research Associate and current doctoral student Sean Kragelund, discussed the opportunity of having Davidson visit the campus.

"I presented my research on algorithms to allow teams of autonomous systems to cooperatively search for mines … My research is applying a new optimal framework to assess different combinations of vehicles and sensors for doing that mission," said Kragelund. "It was a great opportunity to present some of the ongoing research we are doing here and show her the different spectrum of research that happens at NPS."