The Warfighter Innovation in Science & Engineering (WISE) Challenge is a new Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) competition sponsored by the Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Soldier Center and approved by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research & Technology. This competition offers the opportunity for Cadets and Midshipmen from all four U.S. Service Academies to showcase their innovative science and engineering achievements aligned with Warfighter relevant problems. This challenge replaced the Soldier Design Competition held annually at MIT.
West Point will host a Semi-Finals to select cadet teams for the Finals as a live virtual event on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 from 7:30-9:00pm. Judges for the Semi-Finals include BG Buzzard, CSM Coffee, COL Howell, COL Hartke, CSM Killingsworth, and Mr. Dan Madden. At the semi-final competition, the cadet teams will present a 5-minute prerecorded video and answer judge questions for 5 minutes. The entire event will be broadcasted on USMA’s YouTube Channel.
The DEVCOM Finals are a live virtual event on Tuesday, April 27, 2021, from 10am – 9pm. Each Academy will send three teams. Distinguished guests include Senator Joni Ernst and Senator Gary Peters. Questions.
Project Descriptions for DEVCOM WISE Challenge Semi Finalist Cadet Teams:
- Carbon Composite Crew. The project seeks to design a biosensing, conductive textile material for military uniforms, synthesized using a carbon nanotube and cellulose nanofiber composite. Cadets Felita Zhang, Edward Tang, Paul Trackey, Danielle Lynch, Hunter Beauchamp, and Jeff Tantow. Advisor COL John Burpo, Dept. of Chemistry and Life Science.
- Fire Team 6.8. This project seeks to create an effective means of heat dissipation for machine gun barrels to be effectively deployed by soldiers. Cadets Allan Jung, Iain Herring, Jonathan Carbonella, and Jerry Bastin. Advisor MAJ Briana Fisk, Dept. of Civil and Mechanical Engineering.
- Quiet Reconnaissance Team. Provides a means to surveille the occupants of a vehicle and impose an effect on the vehicle. Cadets Jacob Ericksen, Patrick Shea, Mike McPherson, and Connor Fischer. Advisor Dr. Gunnar Tamm, Dept. of Civil and Mechanical Engineering.
- SPARK 2.0. This project creates minimizes the time required to plug in and disconnect a Soldier worn battery in the field, allowing for rapid escape from a vehicle with a battery if needed. Cadets Kevin Guardino, Clayton Hanson, Joseph Drennan, Ryan Thistlewood, and Nolan Pearce. Advisor Dr. Becky Zifchock, Dept. of Civil and Mechanical Engineering.
- Squads with Autonomous Teammates Challenge (SWAT-C). This project seeks to design, build, and test semi-autonomous air and ground-based vehicles to augment warfighter situational awareness and engagement capabilities. Cadets Andrew Mizell, Madison Teague, and Bryan Kim. Advisors COL Christopher Korpela, Dept. of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and LTC Steve Chetcuti Dept. of Civil and Mechanical Engineering.
- Team Boron. This project seeks to characterize and analyze, novel boron compounds as burn rate modifiers for missile propellants and/or explosives to advance warfighters capabilities in combat. Cadet Jared Hudspeth. LTC Carl Lundell, Dept. of Chemistry and Life Science.
- Team Catastrophic Kill. A large database of information collected at the National Training Center is analyzed to better understand and improve small unit performance. Cadets James Downey, Zach Ellis, Charlotte Spencer, and Ethan Nguyen. Advisor COL Paul Evangelista Dept. of Systems Engineering.
- Team Defenders. The project seeks to design, print and test a new structure for the armor plate of a combat vehicle against a buried blast while optimizing the plate to be as light as possible. Cadets Jarrett Justice, Courtney Loomis, Tyler Kim, and Jesus Carillo. Advisor Dr. Kevin McMullen Dept. of Civil and Mechanical Engineering.
- UAS Swarm. To develop a multi-UAS system to assist in characterizing a chemical attack plume to aid in Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, or Explosive (CBRNE) response and identification. Cadets Dennis Kirby, Nick Finke, Karlee Scott, Matt Blejwas, and Bartlomiej Gryzbowski. Advisors Dr. Steve Henderson, Dept. of Systems Engineering, Mr. Pratheek Manjunath, Dept. of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, MAJ Mark Lesak, Dept. of Civil and Mechanical Engineering.