The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) sponsored "SUSTAIN X" multi-disciplinary capstone design team conducted a series of meetings with various industry professionals in Silicon Valley. Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CME) cadets Brandon Wilson, Troy Shuman, Dallas (Stowe) Faircloth, Brian Feeney, Jonathan Morton, and Dan Gerson, investigated the innovative and entrepreneurial culture of Silicon Valley by conducting information meetings and social engagements with industry professionals at Slack, DIUx, Google X, and the West Point Society of San Francisco that were facilitated by LTC Novoselich and LTC Jones.
Highlights included a discussion of design thinking at Slack, the innovation and counter-drone efforts of DIUx, and a technical panel discussion of engineers from Google X’s Project Wing and Project Loon. West Point graduates and friends of the academy facilitated the meetings. The cadets gained valuable insights into the future of autonomous aerial delivery platforms, user-centered design thinking, and the rapid pace of innovation to better inform their solution to the DARPA-sponsored sustainment challenge.