U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Patrick Dionne) NPS Alumnus, Former CJCS, Guest Lectures By MC2 Patrick Dionne Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Adm. Mike Mullen addressed NPS students, faculty and staff on the challenges facing America today and our way forward during the latest Secretary of the Navy Guest Lecture (SGL) in King Auditorium, Jan. 23. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), Mullen served as the nation’s senior military officer and top military adviser to Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. During that time, he oversaw the end of combat missions in Iraq, the killing of Osama Bin Laden, and the dismantling of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. “My career has seen defining times in our country’s history,” said Mullen. “During the September 11 attacks, I was in the Pentagon the moment the plane hit the building. I was down in the Chief of Naval Operations’ area about 100 feet away and I knew one thing, the world as we knew it had changed. “The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the killing of Osama bin Laden also became incredibly defining events for me, as well as the rest of the world. What I learned from that is that you don’t get to choose what defines you,” he continued. Mullen offered a candid, honest review of current national and international challenges, focusing part of his discussion on leadership and the challenges associated with a globalized world. “We need leaders, and we need global leaders, but it is hard to see who those are right now in an envi- ronment that is so divisive and divided,” Mullen said. “That we would be drawing back and trying to isolate ourselves as a country after these wars, that are not even really over, that makes sense. But, we need to be very careful in the way we come home in a world that is so unforgiving and more global than ever.” Mullen graduated from NPS in 1985 with a master’s degree in Operations Research, was named a dis- tinguished alumnus in 2002, and bestowed with one of the university’s highest honors in 2009 when he was inducted into the NPS Hall of Fame. NPS’ Secretary of the Navy Guest Lecture program provides a series of professional lectures by senior leaders throughout defense, government, industry and academia designed to help the university’s stu- dents and faculty link their studies, teaching and research efforts to the defense needs of the nation. p3 Afghanistan’s Top Diplomat Reaches Out to NPS BLACK HISTORY MONTH p4 NPS Conrad Scholar Award Continues Legacy of Rear Adm. Peter Conrad February 2018 p6 FAOs, DOD Civilians Get Primer on Joint Humanitarian Ops Annual Menneken Awards Honor NPS’ Top Researchers By MC2 Patrick Dionne Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Provost Dr. Steven R. Lerman underwater torpedo or mine that would usually be tried through announced the winners of the 2017 Menneken Awards, Jan. 10. ship shock testing,” said Kwon. Made possible by the NPS Foundation through a grant from the Carl E. and Jessie W. Menneken Foundation, the awards recognize Shock testing not only provided an analysis of what would happen NPS researchers for highly meritorious research with significant im- to a ship’s hull, but was limited in its evaluation of the varied systems pact on the Department of the Navy. inside it. “Right now, the procedure of evaluating that is not well vali- dated, so this modeling offers a better technique to do that,” he added. Associate Professor Eric Hendricks from the Department of Meteorology has been honored with the award for Highly Meritorious This marks the second time Kwon has received a Menneken Award, Research by a Junior NPS Faculty Member, while Distinguished as he was formerly presented the meritorious research award in 1995. Professor Young Kwon from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering earned the Significant and Sustained Con- Hendricks’ recognition is intended to encourage younger faculty tributions award. members, providing support to both the researcher, and to the “I feel very humble to receive this research itself. award as gratification for all I have done at NPS and the Department “It was a huge honor to see all of Defense overall,” said Kwon, the hard work that I put into my who originally joined the faculty research the past two years rec- of NPS in 1990. “The most enjoy- ognized with this award,” said able aspect of NPS is that I am do- Hendricks. “I have been inter- ing work that is impactful to na- ested in weather my whole life, tional defense, and knowing that I grew up watching The Weather my work is directly applicable to Channel and was just fascinated this makes it a really rewarding by how it works. I was especial- experience.” ly interested in hurricanes and tropical cyclones so being able The award for Significant and Sus- to work in this field is incred- tained Contributions is intended ibly rewarding to me.” to recognize a senior faculty mem- Associate Professor Eric Hendricks, left, and Distinguished Professor Young Kwon ber for his or her body of work are the 2017 recipients of the Carl E. and Jessie W. Menneken Awards. Made possible Hendricks’ research involves with particular emphasis on sus- by the NPS Foundation through a grant from the Carl E. and Jessie W. Menneken advancing our understanding tained impact to improving the ef- Foundation, the awards recognize NPS researchers for highly meritorious research and prediction of tropical cy- with significant impact on the Department of the Navy.(U.S. Navy photo by MC2 fectiveness of the Navy and DOD. Patrick Dionne) clones in support of Navy op- erations, as well as high-resolu- Kwon’s research contributions have led to the development of higher- tion modeling of hazardous material plumes in urban environments order finite-element models of non-linear materials for structural in support of homeland defense. analysis. He has also developed fluid-structure models that have been employed for use in naval-relevant applications. Most recently, he “The idea here is to essentially improve our predictions of tropical and his group of students have worked on Femtosecond Laser Sur- cyclones to not only protect our fleet out at sea, but naval base per- face Textured Aluminum Alloys for drag reduction, amongst other sonnel as well,” he said. applications. Additionally, Hendricks noted that throughout 2017, “We saw the Additionally, Kwon’s work was influential at the highest levels of disaster these storms can cause through Hurricanes Harvey, Maria defense with his study of the feasibility of using numerical model- and Irma ... If we can better warn people 48 hours, 72 hours, even ing of the effects of shocks on new naval vessels as a replacement for 120 hours in advance and figure out a clearer picture of what is the extremely expensive full-ship shock testing on behalf of the Chief of intensity of the storm and how strong the rains and winds will be, Naval Research (CNR). His numerical models and his recommenda- then we can be better prepared.” tions in this area have the potential to save billions of dollars in costly at-sea ship trials. The Carl E. and Jessie W. Menneken Awards are named in honor of NPS’ first dean of research, Carl E. Menneken. The awards are “Last year, the CNO talked to our president about what could be the best conferred upon faculty members for outstanding effort and achieve- option to test if a ship could survive the stresses of dangers such as an ment in research that makes a significant impact on the Navy. “Update NPS” is a monthly publication for students, faculty and staff of the Naval Postgraduate School produced by the Public Affairs Office. For additional copies, comments, or to suggest story ideas, contact the editorial staff at [email protected]. 2 Afghanistan’s Top Diplomat Reaches Out to NPS FACULTY By Javier Chagoya news & notes Dr. James Wirtz, Dean of NPS’ School of Inter- national Graduate Stud- ies offered a presentation to the local Monterey Rotary at the Hyatt Regency Monterey, Dec. 7. Wirtz discussed how enemies of the U.S. could use modern technology to gain an upper hand in a wartime en- vironment, or as a preemptive strike against the U.S. The discussion was offered as part of Wirtz’s ongoing effort Dr. Hamdullah Mohib, Afghan Ambassador to the United States, speaks with students from NPS’ to raise awareness of the issue Department of Defense Analysis during a campus visit, Jan. 10. The informal discussions revolved around recent developments with Afghanistan’s government reforms, the nation’s nascent military force, and its that also includes a collection of evolving cultural attitudes towards the U.S. (U.S. Navy photo by Javier Chagoya) essays entitled, “Understanding Intelligence Failure: Warning Re- Dr. Hamdullah Mohib, Afghan Ambassador extreme form of Islamism. When bin Laden sponse and Deterrence,” and an to the United States, delivered a thought- was finally brought down, the young man article entitled, “Intelligence and provoking and insightful guest lecture to an became depressed and mourned his death. National Security.” audience of NPS students, faculty and staff in However, later the young man found other the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering writings that bin Laden had released, and “I think it’s important that NPS Auditorium, Jan. 10. saw that his words and actions were abso- faculty come out and share their lutely contrary to Islam. It was then he real- expertise with local business and During the briefing, Ambassador Mohib pro- ized that bin Laden was not a leader for Mus- community leaders,” said Wirtz.