Underwater Robot Competition, Ningbo, China: ![]()
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) cadets Pongpat Taephanitcharoen, Zachary Short, and Lucas Ruff recently participated in the Annual International Underwater Robot Competition in China. This year’s competition was held in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. More than 300 college students, over 100 teams from 35 universities in China, the United States, the Netherlands, and Korea participated. The competition features various events that utilize a robotic fish platform. The robotic fish are controlled autonomously through programs that students write. The West Point cadets won the first place in the synchronized swimming event that they competed in.
Chemistry and Life Science AIAD to Australia: ![]()
Cadets Joseph Jude and Sam Brown use a stereo microscope to differentiate finer anatomical details including comparison of the proboscis (tubular mouthparts for blood meals) and palps (a sensory appendage). Over 30 species of Anopheles mosquitoes transmit human malaria. The Culex genus serves as a vector for other important diseases such as West Nile Virus and Japanese encephalitis.
Army Research Labs:
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At the Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, MD, Cadets Seamus Bann '15 and Reed Pyers '15 have been working with Dr. Jim Sumner's Biotechnology lab in the Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate (SEDD) on creating a renewable, cost-effective energy source in the form of bio-hybrid fuel cells. Bann and Pyers are working with Dr. Sumner's team to evaluate the fuel cell's performance given a variety of variables; the ultimate goal is to build a body of evidence that demonstrates the fuel cell's viability as an energy asset.
Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs AIAD to Israel:
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Nine cadets completed a 14-day cultural immersion tour of Israel sponsored by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA). The cadets participated in the trip with 23 other cadets and midshipmen from the Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard Academies. The cadets learned about Israeli history, culture, and military though a professionally guided tour to sites around Tel Aviv, Haifa, the Sea of Galilee, Jerusalem, and the Dead Sea. Cadets interacted with Israeli Defense Force officers and cadets at the Israeli Military Academy and IDF bases, and attended lectures concerning Israeli politics, Middle Eastern security, the role of the Holocaust in contemporary Israeli society, and ethical dilemmas on the battlefield.