Cadets and faculty from Multivariable Calculus and Military Innovation visited Google headquarters in Chelsea, NY. They received a tour of the building, participated in an "innovation exercise" hosted by Google, and participated in Google panel discussions. The panel included Keith Weinstein '99 and retired EECS Department Head, BG(R) Gene Ressler, along with a USAFA graduate and a civilian engineer. Topics of discussion focused on Google's model of innovation, accountability, and technical leadership, and the shared lessons for military leaders.
In a collaborative exercise, cadets learned about Google's principles of innovation (e.g. "focus on the user," "fail fast,"...), and participated in a hands-on project to develop, test, and deploy an innovative design for a paper airplane. The Defense Strategic Studies program seeks to introduce cadets to the innovation process of Fortune 500 companies each semester. The course on Military Innovation primarily focuses on military case studies. The quarterly collaboration with Google provides cadets with firsthand experience in innovation in civilian industry. The cadets were selected for displaying creativity and technical ability beyond course expectations in a recent week-long "technology application" project.