The US Navy is constantly introducing innovative technologies to aid the Armed Forces in protecting the country. The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) are two organizations that assist the US Navy with accomplishing this mission. The former provides defense-focused graduate education to advance the US Navy, and the latter is a scientific and engineering office that is a hub for marine and space research.
The event, regarded as the largest maritime exposition in the country, drew private-sector companies, key military decision-makers, and the defense industrial base together to network, educate, and innovate. Panel topics included "Artificial Intelligence: The Next Level of Defense," which focused on civil-military partnerships, and "International Trade and Port Security," which focused on leveraging technology to create smarter ports.
However, the Sea-Air-Space exposition also had something for children. The exposition opened on April 3, 2022, with a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Expo. Here, youth were introduced to STEM career opportunities in a hands-on environment.
During the STEM Expo, the NRL performed a STEM demo, exhibiting LEctenna (Light Emitting Diode/LED) Rectifying Antenna, showing how light beams through space. Children also had the chance to build a LEctenna during the expo.
Also, in April 2022, the NRL showcased some of its technologies and discussed ways to share ideas during the 37th Space Symposium, held April 4-7 at The Broadmoor located in Colorado Springs and virtually through the Virtual Experience platform. The conference, a yearly event, gathered all organizations belonging to the space ecosystem, such as international space agencies, military, and national security organizations, federal and government agencies, businesses, and space entrepreneurs. Over 15 leaders spoke to 10,000 attendees who traveled from 25 countries to attend the event.
A panel discussion, "Combining Science and Technology," was featured at the event to explore accomplishments in the field. The panel discussion covered opportunities to work together among the service labs and plans for guarding the US Navy's interest in space.
A month later, in May 2022, the NPS announced its collaboration with Microsoft to solve operational challenges in the US Navy and Marines experience. Through the collaboration, the NPS plans to use Microsoft Cloud to improve digital services and improve their cloud capabilities toward advancing critical mission objectives. The collaboration will harness the expertise of both organizations, first to identify challenges the Navy and Marines have and then determine how emerging technologies can address these challenges.
The collaboration will also culminate in research to determine how gaming, modeling, exercising, and simulation will improve the decision-making abilities of Navy and Marine commanders. Further, the partnership will also involve NPS researching advances in digital teaching to create a smart campus, which will be used to educate sailors and marines worldwide.
This collaboration grew out of the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). CRADA allows the US government research facilities to partner with non-government entities in the hopes that both learn and benefit from one another.
