WISE Challenge

It is an honor to participate again in the Warfighting Innovation in Science and Engineering Challenge!  We are proud of the research and projects that our Cadets undertake each year to address important issues facing the Army and the Nation. Our teams are excited and honored to represent West Point on this much larger stage in front of senior leaders from across the Department of Defense. Here at West Point, nine teams volunteered to compete and began the journey toward the WISE Challenge finals.  The three West Point teams that you will see in the finals excelled through West Point’s internal quarterfinal and semifinal competitions.  I am personally excited to see all of the projects that each Academy will present.  Thank you to Mr. Douglas Tamilio and his team at DEVCOM Soldier Center for hosting this event. And thank you to the West Point faculty and staff that educates and inspires our Cadets to seek out solutions to these significant problems. Best wishes to all of the Teams and Go Army!​

Brigadier General Shane R. Reeves​
Dean of the Academic Board​
United States Military Academy, West Point

• PROJECT A: EW Minefield
• PROJECT B: Team SNIP
• PROJECT C: SCRAM

The United States Naval Academy is very grateful to participate in its next WISE Challenge.  As the undergraduate university of our country’s Naval Service, the Naval Academy prepares young men and women to become professional officers of competence, character and compassion within the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The Naval Academy prides itself on providing its graduates a top-ranked liberal arts education with a strong focus on engineering and technical disciplines. Competitions like this provide a great opportunity for friendly competition that motivates the Midshipmen to excel and enhance the science and engineering knowledge and skills they have learned in class.  Being able to work and innovate on Warfighter challenges, provides not only potential solutions but also gives invaluable experience in solving problems that will benefit them for the rest of their careers. 

CAPT Rob Wolf  
Dean, School of Engineering and Weapons  
United States Naval Academy 

• PROJECT A: DSEND Suit
• PROJECT B: Nuclear Wargaming
• PROJECT C: High-Resolution Assessment of Radiance and Measurements for Beam Experiments

Welcome to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s WISE site. We are honored to once again be a part of this Service Academy STEM competition. This year the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s WISE teams feature the Marine and Environmental Sciences, Operations Research and Data Analytics, and the Cyber System’s majors. These entries showcase just a few of the service-related projects Cadets complete as part of their capstone research experiences. We are extremely proud of the work our students do every year to advance Coast Guard missions and address Coast Guard needs. Thank you for supporting our Cadets and good luck to all the teams.

CAPT Gregory J. Hall, Ph.D.​
Vice Provost of Research​
U.S. Coast Guard Academy

• PROJECT A: Natural Language Processing to Triage Maritime Distress Signals
• PROJECT B: AI/Machine Learning in Cyber Wargaming
• PROJECT C: The Socioeconomic Impacts of Climate Change: Finding Solutions Through Sustainable Resources and Cultural Resiliency

The Cadets and Faculty of the U.S. Air Force Academy are extremely pleased to be competing in the 2024 WISE Challenge with our fellow Academies.  We are very proud of the scientific and engineering education we provide to our Cadets, and the ingenuity and hard work of the entire Cadet Wing are represented by these project teams.  As we prepare junior officers to embark on their careers in the Air Force and Space Force, events such as the WISE Challenge provide an opportunity for them to apply the knowledge they have accumulated in their education and training to a real-world problem, while helping their fellow warfighters.  It also underscores the importance of collaboration and teamwork in solving any difficult challenge.  Thank you for taking the time to learn about the Cadets’ projects and encouraging their success.

Dr. Mike Anderson ​
Director, Capstone Design Program ​
Department of Mechanical Engineering ​
United States Air Force Academy

• PROJECT A: Autonomous Construction Vehicle for the Rapid Airfield Repair Mission
• PROJECT B: Novel Missile Nosecone Design for Hypersonic Missile Defense
• PROJECT C: Ballistic Impact Response of Foamed Glass Aggregate

The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) is ready to compete in our 3rd year with the WISE competition. Our blend of theory, design and practical hands-on education and training has served our nation well, in peace and war. The projects presented are the result of our Kings Point Scholar program participants. This is a 9-credit independent research project, guided by a faculty advisor that students voluntarily take on in addition to their nominally 170-credit programs. This challenge provides our students with an opportunity to highlight the depth and breadth of the education, their personal interests, as well as their capacity to do more with less – a hallmark of our service. As the only academy who is able to put their graduates to work in the industry the day of graduation with a USCG license in their hands, our focus is on large commercial ships, military support ships, and smaller intercoastal commerce. Projects from our Academy go through proof of concept and prototype construction with limited resources available. We are proud to present two of our student’s projects in this year’s competition with our other federal service academy family members. Thank you for supporting our midshipmen and we are looking forward to seeing all the projects submitted this year.​

CAPT Anthony Nigro, USMS​
Head, Department of Marine Engineering ​
United States Merchant Marine Academy

• PROJECT A: Optimizing Ship Propulsion: CFD Analysis of Propeller Cavitation Reduction and Performance Enhancement
• PROJECT B: Flettner Rotor-Powered Marine Vessel – Design Evaluation and Systems Optimization