Mills Medal - Naval Research Program

Mills Medal page title banner

The Mills Medal

Nested Applications
Mills Medal content

Lieutenant General Richard P. Mills, USMC, signed the charter that established the Marine Corps Thesis Research Working Group (predecessor to the Naval Research Program).

He was a visionary who understood the value of education, and saw the Naval Postgraduate School as an underutilized research resource for the service. The Mills Medal was founded through the NPS Foundation to recognize research, analysis, or service conducted under the auspices of the Naval Research Program (NRP) that had a meritorious or conspicuous impact to a Headquarters or Fleet organization. The Foundation is in possession of the medals, certificates, and an endowment has been established to support an annual cash prize of $1,000. This medal applies to all NPS Faculty (present and former), NRP funded Primary Investigators/Researchers.

In April of each year, the NRP will solicit Mills Medal nominations. However, NRP Topic Advocates may nominate a Principle Investigator at anytime throughout the year. The Mills Medal is intended to recognize NPS Faculty that completed NRP research that had a meritorious or conspicuous impact for your organization.

Nomination form

Mills Medal image

 

Mills Medal recipients

Past Recipients

2023

Dr. Warren Vaneman, from the Department of Systems Engineering, was selected as the recipient of the Mills Medal for 2023.

2022

No selections were made for 2022.

2021

Senior Lecturer Jeff Appleget, from the Department of Operations Research, was selected as the recipient of the Mills Medal for 2021.

Dr. Appleget's adroit application of wargaming to inform force development decisions in support of the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab has no peer. His students' willingness to immerse themselves in the most demanding future operating environment challenges is a function of his charisma, technical/tactical acumen, and positive leadership.

View the announcement

2020

Professor Kyle Lin, from the Department of Operations Research, was selected as the recipient of the Mills Medal for 2020.

Professor Lin’s project helped develop the Surface Ship Drydock Schedule Planner, a versatile decision aid tool that generates an optimal drydock schedule that maximizes drydock utilization. This tool has been adopted Navy-wide and has significantly helped mitigate one of the Surface Navy’s greatest maintenance challenges.

View the announcement