Generally speaking, all midshipmen participate in project-based learning (PBL) as part of their educational activities at the U.S. Naval Academy. In Academic Year 2024 (AY2024), midshipmen from the following departments engaged in PBL that used gift funds to support the cost of materials, equipment and/or travel:
Ì Aerospace Engineering
Ì Chemistry
Ì Computer Science
Ì Cyber Sciences
Ì Electrical and Computer Engineering
Ì Mathematics
Ì Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
Ì Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
Ì Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences
Ì Physics
Ì Weapons, Robotics and Control Engineering
Project-based learning is an integral part of the Brigade experience. Midshipmen acquire practical knowledge through teamwork, problem solving and designing their own experiments. The yearlong process involves creating proposals, debating ideas, collecting data and demonstrating results.
The Naval Academy’s annual federal appropriation does not fund the entire range of project-based learning activities necessary to achieve these goals, so the generosity of donors provides a vital margin of excellence. Thanks to these supporters, project-based learning continues to be instrumental in preparing midshipmen for the challenges they will face in the fleet.
PROJECT-BASED LEARNING YOUR IMPACT
11
departments directly supported through PBL funding
70+
midshipmen participated in summer internships in 2024 thanks to PBL philanthropic support
28
conference presentations and publications funded by PBL philanthropy prominently featured midshipmen
CAPSTONE DAY
With the support of faculty, partner organizations and sponsors, every midshipman completes a research project in their field of study before they graduate. This year’s graduating class included more than 300 multidisciplinary projects in the fields of engineering and weapons, mathematics and science, and humanities and social sciences. Traditionally held each spring, Capstone Day offers midshipmen the chance to present their project-based learning research to their peers and the Naval Academy community.
The Capstone Day 2024 Brochure and the Capstone Day homepage offer detailed descriptions on the diverse range of projects and programs that use project-based learning. The teams also coordinated web presentations through their academic departments. To view some of these projects, please visit the following pages:
Projects from the School of Engineering & Weapons
Projects from the School of Mathematics & Science
Projects from the School of Humanities & Social Sciences
This brief review highlights just a few of the projects that were only made possible thanks to donor funding to support project-based learning. Please see the full Capstone Day brochure to view a full report on the 2023-2024 projects this funding supported.
POLAR BEAR
Polar BEAR is an unmanned aircraft system designed to characterize the lower atmosphere of the Arctic to determine the effect strong inversion layers have on sound and signal propagation through the deployment of novel mini-dropsondes. The aircraft will be capable of operating in extreme cold austere environments, taking off and landing vertically and transitioning to wing-borne lift enabling long range.
REMOTELY CONTROLLED UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE
USNA has multiple Ground Control Stations (GCS) acquired through Naval Systems Air Command (NAVAIR) that can be utilized to communicate, control and transmit data from the user to a UAV. This project focuses on communications between the UAV and the GCS. We plan to strengthen the video transmission pipeline between the UAV and the GCS and develop a more efficient process of communication between the pilot and the GCS.
AR-24 REPAIR TENDER
The mission of the AR-24 is to provide battle damage assessment and repair support to battle damaged surface combatants in expeditionary environments. The AR-24 has latent capacity to provide Intermediate Level Maintenance Activity support away from established shore facilities. The repair tender will be designed for expected operations in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Area of Responsibility, filling existing capability gaps in the U.S. Navy force structure.
FORMULA SAE
For the Formula SAE project, we used PBL funds to purchase supplies and equipment for the fabrication of the race car. Because this was an electric vehicle (EV) the majority of the purchases involved batteries, wiring harnesses, connectors and other specialized equipment related to electrical propulsion. The complexity of this project far exceeded what we usually encounter when trying to build a traditional gasoline powered car. As a result, this particular group of midshipmen really developed their analytical and troubleshooting skills throughout the year. They also showed great resilience in overcoming the hurdles associated with dealing with complex electrical system architectures. Finally, they learned how to work on a large team with people of different backgrounds all while staying on schedule, on budget and within strict safety guidelines. Here’s a photo of the final result:
PROF LEN HAMILTON
ROBOT FOOTBALL CAPSTONE GROUPS
The 2024 Robot Football Team competed at the 11th annual Collegiate Robotic Football Conference (CRFC) National Championship Tournament hosted by Valparaiso. Lieutenant Commander Chris Jeffries advised the interdisciplinary team. Jacey Akepolkli (EGE) and Reagan Castiglione (EME) designed a modular base; Anthony Atkinson (EME) was responsible for the center; Peter Brown (ERC) took the lead on autonomous plays; and Sabrina Sokol (ERC) and Sabrina Soncini (ERC) helmed autonomous passing. (Photos page 7, top left and right)
EW309 GUIDED DESIGN EXPERIENCE COURSE SUPPORT
Students in EW309 work to troubleshoot the automatic turret systems in the EW309 Guided Design Experience. PBL funds have allowed the department to upgrade the turret to a two-degree of freedom pan-tilt system. (Photo second from left)
MIDSHIPMEN LASER RESEARCH
Professor Avramov-Zamurovic’s group of midshipmen researchers have utilized their new optical table purchased with PBL funds. (Photo page 7, bottom left)
RAPID PROTOTYPING CAPABILITIES
Capstone students work to build a small-scale underwater robotic system. The ability to rapidly cycle through the design-build-test cycle is made possible with rapid prototyping capabilities such as 3D-printing (also known as additive manufacturing). PBL funds allow us to keep these capabilities working with a variety of materials throughout the academic year. (Photopage 7, bottom right)
NAOE PBL PROJECTS AND IMPACT
The most impactful contribution of gift funds to the mission of the NAOE department is the opportunity it provides to travel. For ocean engineers, this provides the ability to conduct site visits and collect data. For naval architects it is the ability to visit shipyards active in similar projects, collect relevant operational performance data and interact with professional engineers working in the field.
NAVAL ARCHITECTURE CAPSTONE DESIGN TRAVEL
RoPax Ferry—Seattle, WA
The inter-island passenger and cargo ferry system proposed for Honolulu, HI, aims to revolutionize transportation in the region. By enhancing trade, promoting tourism and fostering economic growth, it serves as a vital link between the Hawaiian Islands. Ultimately, it is a sustainable solution that ensures the prosperity and preservation of Hawaii’s unique natural and cultural heritage.
Juno-class submarine
UUV Mothership—Newport News, VA: The mission of the Juno-class submarine is to covertly store, deploy and recover up to large-sized UUVs. The platform will serve as a force multiplier in the surface warfare (SUW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and mine warfare (MIW) mission areas by providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and underwater mine countermeasure capabilities in adversary denied battlespaces. (Photo page 8, top left)
AR-24 Repair Tender
Norfolk, VA: The mission of the AR-24 is to provide battle damage assessment and repair support to battle damaged surface combatants in expeditionary environments. The AR-24 has latent capacity to provide Intermediate Level Maintenance Activity support away from established shore facilities. The repair tender will be designed for expected operations in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Area of Responsibility, filling existing capability gaps in U.S. Navy force structure.
(Photo page 8, top center)
Marine Amphibious Aircraft (MAAC), Japan
This vessel will be an amphibious marine aircraft capable of transporting special operations forces and equipment to places of limited access within contested areas in order to support the U.S. military’s ability to maneuver in air, land and sea.
(Photos page 8, middle left and center)
OCEAN ENGINEERING CAPSTONE DESIGN TRAVEL
• Fire Island, NY (Photo page 8, middle right)
• Padilla Bay (Photo page 8, bottom left)
• Hawaii (Photos right and page 8, bottom right)
ECE PBL PROJECTS AND IMPACT
AEROSOL JET® PRINTING OF DIELECTRIC ELASTOMER ACTUATORS USING FLEXIBLE DIELECTRIC AND CONDUCTIVE INKS
Then-Midshipman Cam Eldridge ’24
MISSION: This research aims to fabricate and characterize printed interdigitated capacitors on flexible substrates towards producing a dielectric elastomer actuator for the development of artificial muscles. An Aerosol Jet® Printing (AJP) system is used to print conductive traces using an electrically-conductive, stretchable silver-based ink on a flexible Kapton substrate to allow strain when the capacitor is placed under an applied voltage. The device is then covered by a dielectric layer to increase capacitance and strain. This work will optimize the pneumatic atomization and design parameters to achieve consistent prints and maximize capacitance.
PROCESS: In this work, interdigitated capacitors were designed with computer-aided design (CAD) software based on 100µm line width. Each time a capacitor was printed, it was preceded by a line test. This test included a 100µm wide line (one printing pass) with electrode pads on each end. The printed designs were then cured in a 180°C oven for 10 minutes. Electrode pads of both the line test and capacitors were protected from scratches due to measurements by applying a silver epoxy coating before probing. Following curing of the silver epoxy, line width, profile and resistance were measured using a microscope, profilometer and 4-wire ohm meter respectively.
RESULT: Prints of the improved interdigitated capacitor design are successful in producing a capacitive device that behaves as expected in simulation. While capacitance could be increased by decreasing the space between fingers, this also increases the risk of accidental contact between fingers due to a printing blemish, so attempting spacing of less than 40µm is not feasible. Prints of the improved interdigitated capacitor were measured with an optical profilometer to have a line thickness of just over 3µm. They produced an average of 11.66 pF of capacitance when measured between 20 Hz and 500 kHz.
DEPARTMENT INPUT FOR PBL GOALS
INTEGRATED COOLING OF ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED OPTICAL COMPONENTS WITH APPLICATIONS IN DIRECTED ENERGY
Then-Midshipman Christian Arbeeny ’24
ABSTRACT: One of the most impactful technologies today is additive manufacturing, or 3D printing. Over the last few decades, it has evolved from a brand-new technology into a method for printing any design out of metal, resin and more. The ability to print resin lenses would be useful in applications where replacing glass optical components could be difficult or inconvenient. Heat has been known to discolor and warp resins, which could cause issues in applications such as directed energy. Therefore, the goal of this work is to determine if modifications of a lens structure using integrated fluidic channels can result in higher rates of heat dissipation while maintaining optical transmissivity and performance. A variety of different fluidic channels were designed and printed for testing. The lenses were attached to a fluid pumping system filled with mineral oil, which was chosen as it closely matched the index of refraction to the resin. The lenses were heated and the surface temperature was recorded by a FLIR camera as they cooled. The recorded temperature was normalized, plotted with respect to time and fitted by a double exponential decay function. While the solid resin lens cooled more quickly than the glass lens, the lenses with integrated channels showed a higher rate of cooling than either the solid resin lens or the glass lens.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Additively manufactured lenses have proven to be a difficult process to master and streamline, but the data and current progress look promising. The performance of the lenses with the fluidic channels have increased levels of cooling, which would prevent discoloration, but they also absorb more power optically. This innovation could prove useful laser and optics applications in the Navy.
INTERNSHIPS
More than 70 midshipmen participated in summer internships in 2024 thanks to project-based learning philanthropic support.
CONFERENCES AND PUBLICATIONS
Project-based learning philanthropy funded a wide array of midshipman participation in various conferences and publications in 2024. See below for a list of these presentations and publications.
AERO
EA417 Class of ’24 “Caveat Upgrade” Society of Experimental Test Pilots, East Coast Symposium, 8 April 2024, NAS Patuxent River, MD. The class identified changes in the airplane’s performance after the recent change of its cockpit instrumentation, and two new engines. Some of the changes were expected; several were not.
D.K. Wilson, C.L. Pettit, V.E. Ostashev and M.J. Kamrath, “Signal power distributions for simulated outdoor sound propagation in varying refractive conditions,” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2022 in press.
A. Saroka, A. Ekanayake, J. Kang, C. Maceo and M. Sanders, “A Standardized Solution to Command & Data Handling Between Modular Bus and Payload for the Future CubeSat Missions,” the 4S Symposium 2024, 29 May 2024.
C. Humberd, C. Maceo and J. Kang, “Small Satellite as a Gateway to Hands-on Space Systems Education,” 2024 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), 9 March 2024.
J. Moore, S. Elango, M. Friedman, J. Kang and C. Maceo, “The A3Sat Emulator: A Catalyst in Disruptive CubeSat and Space Technology,” 2024 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), 9 March 2024.
O. Lakei, J. Kang, C. Maceo and M. Sanders, “Implementing Next-level Modularity in CubeSat Missions for Promoting Space Education,” 2024 IEEE Aerospace Conference, 6 March 2024.
N. Loftis, E. Schneider, C. Maceo, J.S. Kang and M. Sanders, “Educational and Real-World Satellite Mission Operations Center at the U.S. Naval Academy,” the 37th Annual Small Satellite Conference, UT, USA, 3 August 2023.
ECE
C. Arbeeny, C. Nelson, C. Smith and B. Jenkins, “Integrated Cooling of Additively Manufactured Optical Components with Applications in Directed Energy.” Oral presentation at the Proceedings of the Twenty-sixth Annual Directed Energy Science and Technology Symposium, Directed Energy Professional Society, Colorado Springs, CO, 20-24 May 2024.
C.S. Smith, A. Julius, C. Arbeeny, J.D. Stevens, Additively manufactured rectangular waveguides for the electromagnetic characterization of materials using the transmission/reflection line method. Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 270-276, 2023.
C. Eldridge (MIDN), Y. Fu (MIDN), C. Smith, H. ElBidweihy, “Fabrication of Interdigitated Capacitors Using Aerosol Jet Printing,” ASTM International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing— ICAM 2024.
MNE
T. Minor, J. Burkhardt, J. Latta, M. Millett and M. Murray, “Characterizing Neutron Background Radiationwithin Traffic Tunnels,” Hardened Electronics and Radiation Technology Conference, Huntsville, AL, 15-19 April 2024.
H. Davis, H. ElBidweihy, M. Millett, M. Porter, “Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Neutron Irradiationon AlGaN High Electron Mobility Transistors,” Hardened Electronics and Radiation Technology Conference, Huntsville, AL, 15-19 April 2024.
NAOE
Logan Paugh (EOEH), “Wave-Focusing Induced by a Submerged Plate in Combination with Headland Breakwaters,” UK, Young Coastal Sci and Eng, March 2024.
Mckenna Brophy (EOEH), “Modeling An Intermittent Coastal Inlet,” UK, Young Coastal Sci and Eng, March 2024.
Tanner Cummins (EOEH), M.M. Eckhoff, T. M. Cummins, S. Mouring and T. Tomiczek, 2023. “Experimental and
Theoretical Investigation of Wave Forces on Vertical Structures.” Global Oceans 2023 Gulf Coast. September 2023, Biloxi, MS, USA, IEEE. OCEANS 2023, Gulf Coast.
Mitch Henshaw (EOEH), Ulysses Buzan: M. Henshaw, U. Buzan, L. Sung, V. Vishwanathan, “Cylinder Wake Turbulence Measurements using a Piezoelectric Strip,” IEEE International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC), Glasgow, Scotland—May 2024.
Allison Kalinowski (ENMH), “Maneuvering Analysis of a Non-Body-of-Revolution Submersible with Large Pod Appendages,” National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Undersea Warfare (USW) Conference, Groton, CT, USA, 2023.
Spencer Eves (ENMH), ENS (USN), “Deep and NearSurface Performance Analysis of a Non-Body-of-Revolution Submersible with Large Pod Appendages,” National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Undersea Warfare (USW) Conference, Groton, CT, USA, 2023.
WRC
Journal Articles
Nathaniel A. Ferlic, Svetlana Avramov-Zamurovic, Owen O’Malley, Thomas Kelly and K. Peter Judd, “Randomness of optical turbulence generated by Rayleigh–Bénard convection using intensity statistics,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 41, B85-B94 (2024) Special issue on Propagation Through and Characterization of Atmospheric and Oceanic Phenomena.
Nathaniel A. Ferlic, Svetlana Avramov-Zamurovic, Owen O’Malley, K. Peter Judd and Linda J. Mullen, “Synchronous optical intensity and phase measurements to characterize Rayleigh–Bénard convection,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 40, 16621672 (2023).
Conference Papers
Svetlana Avramov-Zamurovic, Nathaniel A. Ferlic, Thomas Kelly, Owen O’Malley and K. Peter Judd, “Spatial and Temporal Study of Controlled Underwater Optical Turbulence from Synchronous Measurements,” accepted, Proceedings Imaging and Applied Optics (COSI, IS, MATH, pcAOP), OSA Technical Digest (Optical Society of America), July 2024.
Owen O’Malley, Svetlana Avramov-Zamurovic, Nathaniel A. Ferlic and K. Peter Judd “Gerchberg-Saxton Algorithm to Retrieve Phase of Laguerre-Gaussian Beams that Carry OAM” accepted, Proceedings Imaging and Applied Optics (COSI, IS, MATH, pcAOP), OSA Technical Digest (Optical Society of America), July 2024.
Owen O’Malley, Thomas Kelly, Nathan Faust, Svetlana Avramov-Zamurovic, Nathaniel Ferlic, Linda Mullen, Matthew Kalensky, K. Peter Judd, Carlos Pirela and Jaime Anguita, “Phase and Intensity Characteristics of Laser Light Propagating through a Controllable Underwater Stochastic Process,” accepted, CLEO, May 2024.
Svetlana Avramov-Zamurovic, Nathaniel A. Ferlic, Owen O’Malley, Matthew B. Hart, Shawn Divitt, Vasanthi Sivaprakasam, K. Peter Judd, Martin Lavery, Linda. J. Mullen, Matthew Kalensky, Jonathon Wells and Samuel Mellon, “Systematic propagation and scattering studies of light that carries orbital angular momentum,” OPTRO, France January 2024.
Owen O’Malley, Nathan Faust, Svetlana Avramov-Zamurovic, Nathaniel Ferlic, Matthew Kalensky, K. Peter Judd and Carlos Pirela, “Comparison between phase retrieval methods for laser light propagated through Rayleigh-Benard underwater convection,” Conference SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing, April 2024.
Nathaniel A. Ferlic, Svetlana Avramov-Zamurovic, Owen O’Malley, Linda J. Mullen and Peter K. Judd, “Temporal statistics of synced optical phase and intensity measurements through Rayleigh Benard turbulence,, Conference on Laser Communication and Propagation through the Atmosphere and Oceans XII, part of SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, August 2023.
Owen O’Malley, Svetlana Avramov-Zamurovic, Nathaniel A. Ferlic and Peter K. Judd, “Systematic Study of a Gaussian Beam after Propagation through Optical Turbulence Generated by Rayleigh-Bénard Convection,” Proceedings Imaging and Applied Optics (COSI, IS, MATH, pcAOP), OSA Technical Digest (Optical Society of America), August 2023.
PHYSICAL SUPPORT
Project-based learning funds were also used to make equipment improvements and technological upgrades to support midshipman learning and engagement opportunities.
COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
Lenovo Workstations
As part of the SI335 Algorithms class required for the computer science majors, students completed a programming project, which asks them to create the code for an agent which solves a certain kind of planning optimization problem. The students then developed programs that were tested against a large number of randomly generated examples.
To help motivate students, their projects were given points for each generated example “map” based on how well their program did relative to the best one in the class. The students were able to see that some strategies for their programs are really good for certain kinds of example maps, but then perform really poorly on others. There are a few common strategies they come up with and it leads to a really fruitful discussion in class after they have the results. But computing these results is pretty computationally intensive—it requires testing each of their submitted programs (written in a variety of different programming languages) on hundreds of randomly generated maps, then correlating and sorting the results for each one and grouping them according to how well they did on different types of examples. (Photo below, right)
The Lenovo Threadripper workstation was great for this task—using all the cores, it lets the professors compute all the scores in just a few hours rather than a few days, and to build significantly more challenging problems for the students to solve.
High End Graphics Cards / Computer Equipment
This year the computer science department developed the data science major’s machine learning course, the second in a two-course sequence on machine learning and AI, which is required for every data science major. This course delves heavily into neural networks, and necessitated the development of several new projects to help students learn the material.
To support the creation of these student projects, the instructors needed to train many, many neural nets over the course of the semester. These GPUs made this a quick task and supported numerous student projects including neural networks being used in various prediction systems, and students building their own image classifiers. (Photos below, center and left)
Embedded Raspberry Pi Displays (with stands)
Undergraduate computer science students are usually taught computer networks “as they are.” Students learn one of the layered models of the network stack and learn which protocols belong where and what their purpose is. Hands-on networking tasks traditionally focuses on network analysis and network architecture design: building VLANs, various servers or implementing IPv4 routers.
Ideally, a component of teaching computer networks should teach them “as they could be.” Students should encounter the engineering challenges faced by computer scientists who invented the protocols we use today and develop their own solutions to those problems. This is an especially important approach when educating future DoD thinkers and leaders. Forward-deployed units and weapon systems operate in environments that the internet stack was not designed for; most of these systems are built using custom protocols designed to address their unique challenges. A computer scientist graduating from USNA should not only be prepared to administer a corporate network in a business park, but they should also expect to see and design new methods of computer communication purpose-built for unique environments.Vint Cert, the inventor of TCP/IP, is still building new protocols. Right now he is inventing a protocol for interplanetary communication:
“It requires a different set of protocols because TCP is not designed to do flow control with a 40-minute round trip. The problem gets worse when you go to the outer planets. Instead of minutes, it’s hours or even days. And the planets are rotating, disrupting communication.”
Existing virtual network design simulators do not really support fast and easy design of custom protocols. They are usually designed for simulating networks and protocols “as they are.” A swarm of physical computers like Raspberry Pis and time to experiment with them has supported the natural critical learning environment I try to establish in my classes.
We’ve used Raspberry Pis in computer networks for years. But we always had to plug each Pi into its own computer monitor, and monitors are big and require their own wires and power supplies. With small, purpose-built monitors that can draw power directly from the Pis, we reduce the hassle of designing on Pis and reduce the hazard of tripping over cables (not just a chance—this happens every year). I can imagine a class project in which each student has their own Raspberry Pi and implements a different part of the network: someone implements addressing, someone else implements data storage; all communicating with a protocol the class designed themselves. It’s an ambitious project, but with the funding of the low-level Raspberry Pi equipment the project will be able to focus more on the networking challenges rather than the Raspberry Pi administration challenges.
Capstone Laptops
Each year the computer science department sponsors projects that involve topics such as networking, control systems, communications, the internet of things and various other Navy related topics. Many of these Capstones involve software or concepts that cannot be run on the Navy/Academy network, so having standalone laptops that the students can use to develop and run their projects on is necessary to tackle these hard topics.
ENGINEERING AND WEAPONS CAPSTONE SPACES
PBL funds were used to help transform empty lab rooms into MNE and Interdisciplinary Engineering Capstone project workspaces. These spaces are used by first-class midshipmen throughout the year to develop and build their hands-on Capstone project—a culmination of their engineering education and team leadership experiences. Additionally, PBL funds were used to purchase and install computer-controlled prototyping machines and to acquire prototyping kits enabling midshipmen to more easily build and test prototype models of their design ideations.
Department of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (DOAS) Improvements
BLUE ROBOTICS BLUEROV2 REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLE (ROV) The Blue Robotics BlueROV2 ROV is a low-cost, high-performance ROV that uses open-source electronics and software and can be customized for use in midshipman Independent Research and Capstone Research involving underwater inspections, underwater acoustics studies and more. The BlueROV2 ROV purchased by the USNA DOAS was purchased with a Ping360 Scanning Sonar. As an example of the utility of the ROV, in April 2024, the DOAS received a call from USNA Waterfront Readiness (WFR) about four recent YP strikes on a submerged structure in their basin (one strike bent a shaft). The DOAS used its sidescan sonar to survey the basin and identified (by shadow) what looked like a pole or pylon in the seabed.
A week later DOAS went back over to the YP basin with Assistant Professor John “Jake” McConnell from the USNA WRCE and his BlueROV2 ROV equipped with a Ping360 scanning sonar. The team worked with Navy divers to confirm and localize the object identified in the sidescan sonar survey and passed the location off to the Navy divers who were later able to find the object and lead a recovery (see picture above). The USNA DOAS BlueROV2 ROV will continue to be used for this type of applied work in collaboration with WRCE and will be used in a AY2025 Capstone Research Project to localize and collect water quality measurements from the Naval Support Activity Annapolis Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant (AWWTP) effluent discharge manifold in Carr Creek.
3D PRINTING ACCESSORIES (MOUSER ELECTRONICS)—
The DOAS owns and operates a MakerBot Carbon Fiber Method 3D Printer that is used to fabricate custom brackets, fittings and parts for field instrumentation and data collection systems used in midshipman Independent Research and Capstone Research. The 3D Printing Accessories from Mouser Electronics were used to fabricate brackets to hold instrumentation for a custom-flow through system that was used in the AY2024 Capstone Research Project, “Optical Tracing of the Naval Support Activity, Annapolis (NSAA) Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant (AWWTP) Effluent Plume in Carr Creek Cove,” then-Midshipman Noah A. Dornik ’24, then-Midshipman Timo R. Perez ’24 and then-Midshipman Shania R. Vincent ’24. They were also used to make a sunshield for a fluorometer on a HyperProII Hyperspectral Profiler used in the AY2024 Capstone Research Project, “Factors Affecting Wintertime Light Penetration in the Severn River,” then-Midshipman Alayna Schloeder ’24, then-Midshipman Gabi Schultz ’24 and then-Midshipman Sophie Scrivner ’24.
15 M SIDESCAN SONAR TOW CABLE (KLEIN MARINE SYSTEMS)—The Klein 4900S Towed Sidescan Sonar System is used extensively to support midshipman Independent Research Projects and Capstone Research Projects related to underwater acoustics. In AY2024 it was used to support the Independent Research Project, “Sidescan Sonar Imaging of Underwater Targets with Different Geometries and Reflectivity,” then-Midshipman William Schabacker ’24, and the Capstone Research Project, “Survey of the Forrest-Sherman Seawall on Hospital Point, U.S. Naval Academy,” then-Midshipman Maelyn J. Bierman ’24, then-Midshipman Sanjana W. Manojith ’24 and then-Midshipman Madeline M. Turner ’24. The weight-bearing tow cable was damaged while supporting a survey for WFR (Item 1). The new tow-cable will be used to support project-based midshipman Independent Research and Capstone Research projects in AY2025 and into the future. (Photos above)
INSTRUMENTATION TRIPOD (CAMPBELL SCIENTIFIC)—The Severn River Watershed Observatory (SRWO) is a continuous monitoring network for the Severn River operated out of Hendrix Oceanography Laboratory (HOL) that collects meteorological and oceanographic data that supports multiple project-based learning activities for DOAS. Construction on Hendrix Pier has necessitated a relocation of sensors used in (SRWO). The instrument tripod from Campbell Scientific will be used to mount SRWO weather sensors that will be used to support project-based midshipman Independent Research and Capstone Research projects in AY2025 and into the future.
SNAP PASSIVE ACOUSTIC RECORDERS (LOGGERHEAD INSTRUMENTS)—The DOAS oceanography major curriculum utilizes hands-on experiential learning to teach midshipmen. The SNAP Passive Acoustic Recorders will be used in hands-on field laboratories in the new SO411: Ocean Acoustics course to collect broadband acoustic noise from the local environment. The passive acoustic recorders will also be used to support midshipman Independent Research and Capstone Research projects in AY2025 and beyond in bioacoustics and coastal ocean noise. (Photos below)
DELL 5340 RUGGED LAPTOPS—Much of the project-based learning conducted by the DOAS involves field work that challenges midshipmen conducting Independent and Capstone Research to collect data using advanced technology, instrumentation and equipment that require proprietary data collection software. The DOAS requires multiple ruggedized field-capable laptops to operate instrumentation used in project-based Independent Research and Capstone Research. The two Dell 5340 Rugged Laptop will be used to support multiple midshipmen projects in AY2025 and beyond. (Photo below, left)
WAVEFORM GENERATORS AND OSCILLOSCOPES (IN-PROGRESS)—Waveform generators and oscilloscopes will be used to support controlled laboratory experiments to measure sound speed in water and other media. The experimental sound speed set-ups will be used in hands-on field laboratories in the new SO411: Ocean Acoustics course and to support midshipman Independent Research and Capstone Research projects to investigate sound speed in different sediment types in the future.
PORTABLE UNDERWATER SOUND RECORDING SYSTEM (CETACEAN RESEARCH TECHNOLOGIES)—The SQ26-H1
Portable Underwater Sound Recording Systems by Cetacean Research Technologies will be used to support midshipman Independent Research and Capstone Research projects in AY2025 and beyond in marine mammal acoustics and coastal ocean noise. (Photo below, right)
ECO ADCP WITH DEPLOYMENT BUOY (NORTEK USA)—The 1 MHz Nortek ECO 3-beam ADCP (https://www.nortekgroup. com/info/eco) is a bottom-mounted system made for waters up to 50 m with a 20 m range. It can be deployed for up to a month depending on the sampling frequency using a custom bottom mounted buoy deployment system. It has a blanking distance of 0.1 m. It has an onboard GPS and compass and uses a pressure sensor to time-average a tidally-varying water column into three equal depth layers above the blanking distance and the records horizontal currents speeds and true current directions for each layer. It has an accuracy of +/- 0.5 cm/s. In AY2024 a Nortek ECO ADCP was used to support the Independent Research Project, “Non-Tidal Residual Current and Water Level Response to Storm Events in a Micro-Tidal Estuary,” then-Midshipman Siena N. Hall ’24 and the Capstone Research project, “Optical Tracing of the Naval Support Activity, Annapolis (NSAA) Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant (AWWTP) Effluent Plume in Carr Creek Cove,” then-Midshipman Noah A. Dornik ’24, then-Midshipman Timo R. Perez ’24 and then-Midshipman Shania R. Vincent ’24. In AY2025, the Nortek USA ECO ADCP with Deployment Buoy will be used to support project-based learning activities related to Ocean Acoustics and acoustic current measurements for midshipman Independent and Capstone Research.
CHEMISTRY IMPACT
Supercapacitor Testing Cell
One of the ongoing projects in the research groups of several faculty members in chemistry is to test the efficacy of new ionic liquids as electrolytes for use in energy storage devices. The midshipmen who work on these projects combine their knowledge in chemistry and electrical engineering to build simple, symmetric capacitors to test the capacity, conductivity and stability of new materials using the shown cell, which greatly streamlines experimentation. The reusable nature of this cell (compared to disposable coin cells) allows students to minimize downtime waiting for consumables, maximizing how much progress can be made on individual research projects in a given semester.
CDWG-APC
The UPS Equipment is used to protect critical instrumentation from damage during unexpected power outages. This unit is attached to an expensive autoclave system, which is essential support for biology-and biochemistry-related research projects of faculty and students each semester. Unfortunately, recent power outages damaged the electronics of this instrument, requiring costly and lengthy repairs. No biological and biochemical work could be carried out that used live organisms until this unit was repaired, as the unit is necessary for preparing and properly disposing of those materials. This purchase will ensure that there are no future interruptions to all the biology and biochemistry work that requires this tool by protecting the unit from uncontrolled shutdown and power surges.
Karl Fischer (KF) Titrator (Hanna Instruments auto-titrator)
Multiple faculty members and their research students have benefitted from using the KF Titrator to measure water content in solutions. To date, we have collected a significant amount of publishable data. The total number of midshipmen involved in this research currently is six. The instrument has already delivered data for many published manuscripts (at least five different manuscripts in the past 12 months) and it is a key instrument being used for upcoming manuscripts (at least four more) that will be published by the end of 2024.
GM/NaI Radiation Counter LCD display and detector
A Geiger Mueller Sodium Iodide Radiation Counter with detector assembly was purchased from Spectrum Techniques. The counter-detector systems are used as part of the laboratory curriculum. Radioactivity laboratory exercises are focused on demonstrating to midshipmen (1) that radioactive decay is a first-order kinetic process, (2) demonstrate the random nature of nuclear disintegrations, (3) illustrate the fact that radioactivity is a natural phenomenon, (4) show how to determine the half-life of a radioisotope with a very long half-life, (5) show how to determine the half-life of a radioisotope with a short half-life and (6) examine the shielding of radiation by different types of materials. This laboratory exercise is directly linked to Naval Applications, such as Nuclear Reactors and Nuclear Weapons, which are important topics for future Naval Officers.
Bio-Rad T100 Thermal cycler
The Bio-Rad T100 Thermal cycler is a common instrument shared by multiple faculty doing biochemical and biology-related research. It has so far been used for molecular biology experiments by independent research students and a future Trident research scholar. They have been studying viral proteins implicated in neurological disease. Midshipman Sean O’Boyle ’25 presented work done with the instrument at the Interacademy Chemistry Symposium this past spring. Then-Midshipman Ricardo Limas ’24 won the Chemistry Department Student Research Award this past spring also performed research using this instrument.
CYBER SCIENCE IMPACT
Wireless Communication
Wireless communication using USB-powered oscilloscopes, signal generators, personal area network transceivers and software defined radios (SDRs) support a course taken by every cyber operations major. Students gain familiarity with the time and frequency domains in which electromagnetic waves operate.
Funding was used to purchase digital oscilloscopes that use student laptops to display time and frequency information. Radio controlled cars were purchased so that students could deconstruct the transmitted waveforms and conduct a jamming and reverse engineering attack on the cars. Xbee modules were used to transmit and receive information using their IEEE 802.15.4 signal. The students used received Xbee transmissions to perform decoding based on the Hamming code forward error correction scheme. The SDRs were used in classroom labs where students analyzed AM and FM radio signals, and explored tracking systems such as AIS and ADS-B.
Students gained familiarity with the electromagnetic spectrum, understanding different modulation schemes, the impact of noise and how limitations of bandwidth and signal to noise ratio can impact data rate capacity. Additionally, they were introduced to digital signal processing, which allowed for a more hands-on approach to learning about wireless communications.
