AFIT Class of September 2006 graduates

  • Published
  • By Kim Curry
  • Air Force Institute of Technology Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) --  More than 40 scientists, engineers and management specialists are the latest recipients of graduate and doctoral degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology.

AFIT's Graduate School of Engineering and Management held its September 2006 graduation ceremony Sept. 14 in the Institute's Kenney Auditorium as the graduating class was awarded 33 master's degrees and eight doctorates.

Brig. Gen. Paula G. Thornhill, AFIT commandant, delivered the commencement address to the 35 graduates who attended the ceremony. The dissertations of seven doctoral students in attendance were highlighted at the ceremony:

Theory of Effectiveness Measurement, by Maj. Richard Bullock, Advisor: Dr. Richard Deckro. Effectiveness measures provide military planners and battlefield leaders feedback on the impact of military actions, such as whether or not to maintain existing strategy. Major Bullock's research, sponsored by Headquarters Air Force/A9, Studies and Analyses, Assessments and Lessons Learned, developed a new mathematical framework that provides rules for developing measures to determine military campaign progress.

A General Framework for Analyzing, Characterizing and Implementing
Spectrally Modulated, Spectrally Encoded Signals, by Maj. Marcus Roberts, Advisor: Dr. Michael Temple. Major Roberts' research, sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory, focused on next-generation communication systems that aim to provide cell phone and Internet capabilities in a single hand-held unit. He pioneered the use of spectrally modulated and spectrally encoded signals that now form the basis for integrating these capabilities into the next-generation Global Information Grid, which provides military commanders fingertip control of worldwide engagements from a single desktop computer.

Fault and Defect Tolerant Computer Architectures: Reliable Computing with Unreliable Devices, by Maj. George Roelke, Advisor: Dr. Rusty Baldwin. Future computer systems based upon nanotechnology will be smaller and faster than current systems. However, manufacturing these devices (which are 6,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair) creates about 1,000 times more defects than current devices. Therefore, fault tolerant designs are essential to obtaining the high reliability required by military weapon systems. Major Roelke's research, sponsored by the Space Vehicles Directorate of AFRL, designed a new nano-scale microprocessor using his novel fault tolerant design model.

Modeling and Estimation of Atmospherically Induced Pointing Error, by Lt. Col. Marcus Schulthess, Advisor: Lt. Col. Matthew Goda. Atmospheric turbulence degrades the quality of high-energy laser beams as they propagate to their targets. Therefore, mitigating turbulence effects is critical to ensuring high-energy beams are accurately pointed to the vulnerable spot on a missile. With support of the Airborne Laser Systems Program Office, Colonel Schulthess developed new models that predict laser system operating parameters necessary to reduce the effects of the atmospheric turbulence in delivering laser energy on target aim-points. Colonel Schulthess' work significantly enhances the Air Force's capability to increase the range of attack and decrease kill times for directed-energy weapon platforms operating in the atmosphere.

Lightweight In-plane Actuated Deformable Mirrors for Space Telescopes, by Lt. Col. Michael Shepherd, Advisor: Dr. Richard Cobb. In the emerging field of membrane optics, the heavy glass primary mirror belonging to a space-borne telescope is replaced by a paper-thin reflective film that maintains its precise shape using embedded electronic actuators. Colonel Shepherd, under the sponsorship of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, developed strategies for shaping these mirrors and demonstrated optical quality control on an experimental prototype. His pioneering work may enable scientists to create the next generation of large aperture surveillance and celestial telescopes that will view objects at far greater distances with superior detail.

Fusion of Imaging and Inertial Sensors for Navigation, by Maj. Michael Veth, Advisor: Dr. John Raquet. Since the advent of the Global Positioning System, precision navigation has become an important requirement for the modern warfighter. Major Veth, with support by the AFRL Munitions Directorate, developed a new image-based navigation theory for use in areas where GPS signals are unavailable; for example, indoors, underground or underwater. Using this new theory, he developed a prototype image-aided navigation sensor that performed significantly better than current sensors. The results of his research will help expand the Department of Defense's precision navigation capability into mission areas where GPS signals are currently unavailable.

Dynamics and Control of Tethered Satellite Formations for the Purpose of Space-Based Remote Sensing, by Lt. Col. Kurt Vogel, Advisor: Dr. Richard Cobb. Formidable challenges face engineers in keeping a distributed cluster of satellites in formation while facing the earth during their orbits. Colonel Vogel pursued a unique approach to solve this problem through the use of space tethers. With sponsorship by the National Reconnaissance Office, he defined the challenges of using space tethers and characterized the dynamic conditions required by tethered formations over all possible orientations to keep these satellites properly positioned and oriented. Colonel Vogel's work provides important, new knowledge to program directors and mission engineers on the utility of tethered satellite clusters for the space-based remote sensing mission.

Air Force officers composed the majority of this class, however, the institute also graduated four Navy officers, two Army officers and four civilians, along with six international students: three from Greece, and one each from Jordan, Sri Lanka and the South Korea. Upon graduation, most AFIT students will fill technical positions requiring advanced academic degrees in their respective fields of study from across the DOD.