Naval Postgraduate School

NPS and Marine Corps University (MCU) are teaming up on an initiative to harness the power of AI to solve critical challenges across the defense education enterprise. The MCU/NPS AI Learning Initiatives Hackathon, Sept. 15-18 at both NPS and MCU campuses, is an innovation initiative bringing together leading experts from industry, academia, and defense to advance the future of Marine Corps training and education.

Leading the charge at NPS is U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Robert Fusco, a recent NPS graduate through the modeling, virtual environments and simulation (MOVES) program now leading the USMC Digital Transformation Accelerator at NPS.

“Hackathons are idea generators,” Fusco said. “Four days of Marines and students against real educational, administrative, and training problems produces a volume of concrete, use-case-level ideas already pressure-tested by the people who own the problem.”

“This event demonstrates the unique NPS advantage to the Fleet Marine Force outside of graduate education,” he continued, “high-performance computing, academic expertise, and industry partnerships converge on real problem sets inside a hard time constraint.”

Fusco’s NPS thesis developed an AI-powered decision support tool coined MCRAGE supporting the USMC recruiting process, where legacy databases, operations reports and long-standing doctrine all drive the accession process, but require lengthy manual processes to make informed, effective decisions.

“The data exists and the doctrine exists, but they do not talk to each other … MCRAGE closed that gap,” explained Fusco. “But the contribution was more than the planning tool, it was the MCRAGE Trust Framework: semantic modeling, context curation, hybrid architectures, and traceability, the four hardpoints any AI decision support system in a bounded doctrinal environment must satisfy to earn operational trust.”

Applying this foundational knowledge to Marine Corps education is an inherent next step, Fusco says.

“Education is one of the natural next applications, because our education enterprise is one of the most bounded doctrinal environments we have,” he continued, where standards, programs of instruction, and doctrinal publications are already written down, structured, and authoritative.

“The hackathon objectives are fantastic targets,” Fusco added. “Simulation and virtual training, and wargaming, are inherently MOVES problems and NPS is already a thought leader in both. Those two are where NPS brings something no other node in the enterprise can.”

• Learn more about the MCU/NPS AI Learning Initiatives Hackathon: https://cqpub.mcele.usmc.mil/content/adobeconnect/0/7/en/events/event/private/65079/78374696/event_landing.html
• More about MOVES at NPS: https://movesinstitute.nps.edu/

U.S. Navy | U.S. Marine Corps | Marine Corps University

Innovation driven, NPS develops warfighters and warfighting solutions — see how in the latest edition of the NPS Mission Impact Report. Want to know more? Explore links throughout the report for more details about each topic.

• NPS 2026 Winter/Spring Mission Impact Report: https://nps.edu/web/guest/nps-mission-impact-report

U.S. Navy | U.S. Marine Corps | The Office of the Chief of Naval Operations | Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao | Office of Naval Research | U.S. Naval Research Laboratory - NRL | U.S. Pacific Command | Surface Warriors | U.S. Naval Air Forces | MyNavy HR | Naval Postgraduate School Foundation & Alumni Association

Nearly 70 high school, undergraduate and graduate students from across the country shared the results of their summer research internships with the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) community during the 2026 NPS STEM Internship Research Showcase, Aug. 7, highlighting the university's commitment to developing the next generation of scientists and engineers supporting naval and national security.

Aarohi Joshi, a high school senior from California, worked with NPS physics professor Joseph Hooper to develop a virtual warhead fragmentation simulator. Joshi's project focused on creating a modern, in-house simulation program that tracks fragmentation characteristics such as mass, velocity and ejection angle, providing a flexible tool that can be updated as new needs emerge.

“It's not every day that a high schooler gets to work on a naval base, and especially not one as unique as NPS,” said Joshi. “Because it is both a naval base and a research institution, I found myself drawn to the opportunity to do challenging yet meaningful work.”

Joshi said the internship offered a different perspective than a traditional classroom by exposing interns to research with real-world applications and encouraging collaboration across disciplines.

“Conducting research at NPS has been different because almost everything done at NPS has both real-world applications and real-world consequences,” she said. “At NPS, I am constantly finding new avenues to explore and improve my research.”

Summer internship programs at NPS are supported through several programs, including the Office of Naval Research Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) and Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP), partnerships with regional colleges, and the NPS Student Volunteer Program.

Throughout the summer, interns worked alongside NPS faculty on naval relevant research spanning a range of scientific and engineering disciplines. Through the program, students gain hands-on research experience while contributing to projects with real-world applications and preparing for future careers in the defense STEM workforce.

• Learn more about NPS STEM programs: https://nps.edu/web/stem/

U.S. Navy | U.S. Marine Corps | Office of Naval Research | California State University, Monterey Bay | Monterey Peninsula College

Twenty-five years of partnership with the Temasek Defence Systems Institute (TDSI) is a celebration of one of the most enduring and impactful defense education collaborations in the Indo-Pacific.

Established in 2001 through a strategic partnership between the National University of Singapore (NUS) and NPS, TDSI was founded on a shared vision: preparing defense leaders to navigate complex security challenges through systems thinking, technology integration, and operational excellence.

Over the past 25 years, this collaboration has brought together military officers, defense technologists, faculty, and researchers to advance innovation, strengthen defense capabilities, and deepen the longstanding relationship between Singapore and the U.S. Navy.

Distinguished Professor Oleg Yakimenko, chair of NPS' Department of Systems Engineering, reflected on the visit:

"Having a strategic partnership with our colleagues at TDSI/NUS is essential for the Department of Systems Engineering,” Yakimenko said. "TDSI consistently sends us some of Singapore's brightest students, and they become involved in a variety of defense science and technology projects from the very first day of their arrival at NPS. Their talent, professionalism, and dedication enrich our classrooms, strengthen our research programs, and further deepen the longstanding relationship between our institutions.”

The success of TDSI also reflects the power of international military education to build enduring relationships and prepare leaders to address shared security challenges.

Dr. Mowafiq Alanazi, Deputy Director of International Graduate Programs at NPS, captures this spirit:

"International education at NPS is one of the most powerful instruments of partnership,” said Alanazi. "When we bring future defense leaders together to learn, innovate, and solve complex problems, we build more than knowledge and capability. Our educational partnership with Singapore is a shining example of the transformative power of international military education and its ability to strengthen enduring relationships, advance shared security interests, and prepare leaders to address the complex challenges of tomorrow.”

Congratulations to TDSI, NUS, and our Singaporean partners on 25 years of excellence, innovation, and collaboration. We look forward to continuing this remarkable partnership for years to come.

- Learn more about International Programs at NPS: https://nps.edu/web/igpo
- NPS Systems Engineering: https://nps.edu/web/seet

U.S. Navy | U.S. Marine Corps | The Office of the Chief of Naval Operations | Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao | U.S. Pacific Command | U.S. Pacific Fleet |
National University of Singapore

[Images courtesy of Temasek Defence Systems Institute]

A unique Terahertz (THz) Imaging Camera (TIC) is scheduled for launch to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2027. An interdisciplinary team of NPS students contributed significantly to its completion as part of their faculty-guided thesis research efforts.

The TIC is a low-cost, space-based imaging system for remote sensing of atomic oxygen emissions in Earth’s upper atmosphere that can impact satellite communications, as well as identifying human-induced sources of THz radiation from spacecraft launch and reentry, among other phenomena of interest to the defense and intelligence communities.

Born from seed funding, advanced by NPS’ Digital Trident AI Challenge, the ISS-bound TIC is a textbook example of defense-focused applied research and real-world innovation at NPS.

“This project gives our students the opportunity to work together with subject matter experts to design, build, test and operate real spaceflight hardware,” said Space Systems Academic Group chair Dr. Wenschel Lan. “That collaborative experience is critical to solving real-world problems.”

The system incorporates a novel microelectromechanical (MEMS)-based sensor, an intricate optics assembly, custom electronics, and a structure engineered to survive launch and on-orbit conditions. Each component represented a specialized challenge, and opportunities for NPS student research.

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Brian Neri, a dual degree graduate in space systems operations and applied physics, said the collaborative nature of the project was one of its biggest draws. His thesis, focused on developing concepts of operations for the unique imaging system, received an Outstanding Thesis award upon graduation in June 2026.

“We had to balance complexity, risk and timeline,” Neri said. “Those decisions weren’t made in a vacuum. They involved discussions across the team, and understanding how one choice would impact everyone else.”

“We had a phenomenal team,” he added. “Everyone was dedicated, everyone cared, and we were all working toward something bigger than ourselves.”

• Read the full story: https://nps.edu/-/from-classroom-to-orbit-nps-student-team-builds-iss-bound-imaging-system
• More about the NPS Space Systems Academic Group: https://nps.edu/web/ssag

U.S. Navy | U.S. Marine Corps | NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

At NPS, education doesn't stop in the classroom. Next week, dozens of NPS defense analysis students will attend the latest Joint Interagency Field Experimentation (JIFX) event in Camp Roberts, joining more than 30 tech organizations and hundreds of participants from fleet stakeholders, naval research partners, and academia to conduct experimentation on potential defense technology applications.

Rapid capability development is core to the JIFX mission. In the two previous events this year, about 500 drone sorties were completed, with three companies participating in the ongoing Drone Dominance Program (DDP) — ModalAI, Firestorm and Greensight — utilizing JIFX to develop their technologies. ModalAI made it to DDP’s final 11 selection with the fourth highest ranking.

Each quarterly JIFX event focuses on different sectors of defense technology, with this next event prioritizing three main areas: AI-enabled decision advantage, autonomous systems in contested environments, and expeditionary sustainment and edge operations.

AI-enabled decision advantage experiments aim to help operators rapidly transform large volumes of data into actionable information. Experimentation with autonomous systems in contested environments seeks to improve the resilience and effectiveness of autonomous systems operating in denied, degraded and contested conditions. And expeditionary sustainment and edge operations experiments address the challenges of sustaining distributed forces in austere environments.

JIFX is held quarterly at Camp Roberts California National Guard facility in southern Monterey County. For decades, field experimentation by NPS — through JIFX and its preceding iterations — has supported the development of many defense technologies that proved remarkably successful when transitioned to operational use, with many of the companies participating during their early stages developing into industry leaders.

• Learn more about JIFX, and register for the Nov. 2-6 event: https://nps.edu/web/fx

U.S. Navy | U.S. Marine Corps | U.S. Department of War

Bound by shared sea-service traditions, mutual respect, and in celebration of 236 years of the U.S. Coast Guard, a team of Surface Warfare Officers (SWO) from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) visited the U.S. Coast Guard Station Monterey for a day of professional engagement with Coast Guard personnel and the crew of USCGC Hawksbill.

Led by U.S. Navy Lt. Steven Cleaves, an NPS financial management student in the Meyer Scholar program, the group exchanged perspectives on their respective missions, discussed operational challenges, and gained a deeper appreciation for the capabilities each service brings to maritime security.

“Community outreach has been a primary focus, so we were excited to bring this tour together and get a firsthand look at the outstanding work of the USCG Monterey crew,” said Cleaves, president of the local Surface Navy Association (SNA) chapter.

“Our goal was to give NPS students a better understanding of Coast Guard operations while also sharing the role and mission of Surface Warfare Officers with our Coast Guard counterparts,” Cleaves continued. “It was a valuable opportunity to strengthen the partnership between our sea services. We look forward to future collaborations.”

The NPS group toured the Monterey Coast Guard station, explored the 87-foot Hawksbill, and learned about the station's response boats and missions supporting search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, and coastal security along California's central coast.

NPS student participants included U.S. Navy Lts. Kailiah O'Brien, Kaitlyn Marshall, Lauren Schlegel, and Stephen Replogle. They were joined by NPS Coast Guard student Cmdr. Paul Junghans and NPS staff members Lt. Ryan Loftis and CS2 Michael Lewis. Welcoming the NPS team was Coast Guard Lt. Bartholomew Sullivan, commanding officer of the Monterey Coast Guard station, and BMCS Kira Patino, Hawksbill commanding officer.

By connecting with their Coast Guard counterparts, the NPS students and staff gained valuable operational insight while building relationships and strengthening cooperation across the sea services. Well done and BZ!

U.S. Navy | U.S. Marine Corps | U.S. Coast Guard | U.S. Coast Guard Station Monterey | Surface Navy Association

“Converge @ NPS was a clear success,” said Kaitie Penry, NPS’ director for emerging tech and innovation. “It connected the right people around the right problems — warfighter students, defense-focused faculty, industry and government partners working together on real national security needs.”

While the commissioning of the GB300 took center stage, there was also a lot more to celebrate at last week’s Converge @ NPS, held July 22-24 on the Naval Postgraduate School campus.

Converge is a semi-annual event bringing NPS students and faculty from across the institution together to engage with defense and industry professionals, exploring new opportunities to apply emerging technologies to key operational challenges. With more than 550 participants attending, it was the largest Converge @ NPS event to date.

The Tech & Project Showcase at Converge provided countless opportunities for connecting, with emerging tech companies showcasing their capabilities alongside NPS students and faculty detailing research projects that could potentially use them — creating opportunities for collaborative research, and building partnerships for testing, prototyping and deploying solutions.

In addition, student project pitches and demos provided attendees with a deeper look inside the defense-focused research and innovation that is a hallmark of NPS; while a series of panel and breakout group discussions provided opportunities for deeper conversation.

“The event demonstrated the power of NPS as a convening platform for applied research, emerging technology, and mission-driven collaboration,” Penry added, “and the NPS Foundation’s support under the Partner Intermediary Agreement was essential to making that impact possible.”

• Learn more about research and innovation at NPS: https://nps.edu/web/research
• Work with NPS: https://nps.edu/web/research/working-with-nps

U.S. Navy | U.S. Marine Corps | Naval Postgraduate School Foundation & Alumni Association

The Naval Postgraduate School’s (NPS) Consortium for Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education (CAMRE) and FLEETWERX are delivering on a paradigm shift in expeditionary logistics, demonstrating the complete cycle of component fulfillment — from request to manufacture to delivery to operational use, all in less than 24 hours — at this year’s Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026.

The team is bringing together the “trifecta of advanced manufacturing, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence… to deliver true parts that the joint force needs,” noted U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Michael Radigan, CAMRE advanced manufacturing and repair operations subject matter expert, in a recent interview.

The demonstration began when U.S. Marines manufactured replacement parts aboard ship using expeditionary advanced manufacturing equipment. Those components were then transported by a digitally-crewed surface vessel (DCSV) and delivered to a U.S. Navy ship, completing what organizers describe as the Navy’s first DCSV resupply of a Navy ship.

But the mission was not complete … Following delivery, the DCSV continued by transporting drone components to the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division Lightning Lab, where Marines and Soldiers assembled the unmanned aerial vehicles before deploying them for testing at Makua Range.

From manufacturing and maritime delivery to assembly and operational employment, the end-https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/rsrc.php/yk/r/5ak_tKfzmQv.webpto-end process was completed in less than 24 hours. The demonstration showcased how advanced manufacturing, autonomous logistics and joint force collaboration can compress timelines that traditionally require days or weeks into a matter of hours while supporting operations across the maritime and land domains.

CAMRE officials noted the RIMPAC demonstration marks another step toward making advanced manufacturing an operational capability for the joint force.

“The globally-distributed manufacturing model gives commanders and program offices resiliency in their supply chains,” said Radigan. “Enabling service members to train to the highest standards for producing the most critical of parts, ensures operating forces have valid options across the globe to maintain readiness and lethality.”

• Read the full story: https://nps.edu/-/camre-fleetwerx-conduct-first-of-its-kind-digitally-crewed-surface-vessel-resupply-during-rimpac-2026
• More about CAMRE: https://nps.edu/web/camre
• More news from RIMPAC 2026: https://www.cpf.navy.mil/rimpac/

U.S. Navy | U.S. Marine Corps | U.S. Department of War | U.S. Pacific Fleet | U.S. Indo-Pacific Command | RIMPAC