August Newsletter
Monthly Awards & Proposals
OERI Corner
The OERI Procedures have been updated as of March 2024. You can visit the page HERE assword protected page Please ask your supervisor for the password
The OERI Procedures can be found HERE. This is a password protected page. Please ask your supervisor for the password.
OERI New Hires
B.DanetteAllen, Ph.D.
VMASCExecutive Director
hGhorbannia, archAssistant ssorforHealth, ation,andAI ning(HEAL)
AndrewMaciejunes
ProjectScientistforthe
SpectrumAdvanced TrainingTechnology Laboratory(SATTL)
MeganWitherow, Ph.D.
ResearchAssistant ProfessorforHealth, Education,andAI Learning(HEAL)
Not Pictured: Andrew Larkin, Ph.D. is the Assistant Director of Engagement and Outreach for ICAR
OERI Updates
VMASCInstructionalTrainingSystemsisnowHealth,Education,andAI Learning(HEAL) -anewlyformedgroupforAIinmedicalmodelingand simulation.
Dr. Ginger Watson, Professor, is the Director of Health, Education,andAILearning(HEAL),leadinginstructionaltraining systems research. Dr. Philippe J. Giabbanelli, Professor, leads medical modeling and simulation for this group. Group members include Assistant Professors Faryaneh Poursardar, Megan Witherow, and Arash Ghorbannia; AI Developer SaumyaDabhi;andresearchassociateMeaghanMozingo.
CAROL CONSIDINE 26 YEARS
YIANNIS PAPELIS 18 YEARS
6 YEARS
ROBERT-ALLEN BAKER
FARYANEH POURSARDAR 2 YEARS
GINGER WATSON 3 YEARS
ANTHONY BARR 13 YEARS
PHILIPPE GIABBANELLI 1 YEAR
RISTOPHER LYNCH 12 YEARS
Across OERI
CSICS Off-Site Meeting
July 10, 2025
The Center for Secure and Intelligent Critical Systems (CSICS) hosted a team offsitemeetingatTopGolfVirginiaBeach.
This was a great chance to foster team bonds, address team priorities, and strategicallyplanfortheupcomingacademicyear.
After enjoying a great lunch and taking some swings on the range, the team gave updates on their projects and ongoing work. They wrapped up the afternoon with brainstormingsessionsandopendiscussions.
Itwasanawesomedayfilledwithlearning,laughs,andalittlefriendlycompetition, andeveryoneleftfeelingenergizedandreadytodiveintotheyearahead!
VDMC’s Mark Whitney
Speaks at Youth Sailing Virginia, Inc.
July 10, 2025
VDMC’s Executive Director Mark Whitney shared his leadership knowledge with campers at the Youth Sailing Virginia, Inc., located at Fort Monroe in Hampton.
Digital Ship Challenge
Stakeholders Meeting
July 15, 2025
VDMC’s Jennifer Renne held a stakeholders meeting for the 2026 Digital Ship Challenge. They discussed this year’s Challenge and the need for team mentors, sponsors, and industry members to participate in the Maritime Connect, formerly known as the community showcase.
DIGITAL SHIP CHALLENGE26
APRIL 25, 2026
If you know anyone in the maritime industry who would like to get involved, please forward them this link: https://digitalmaritime.org/digitalship-challenge/
Or Scan the QR code
Michael
July 16, 2025
VMASC Chief Scientist Dr. Michael Nelson gave the keynote speech at the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) Members Forum and Networking Event at Vanderbilt University this past April. He spoke on Trustworthy Web Archiving.
DPC asked him to give his presentation again, this time virtually, on July 16th
In this talk, Dr. Nelson explored how a network of accessible, publicly available, independent, interoperable, robust, auditable, cooperating web archives can be used to preserve the web.
Across OERI
Peter Foytik Interviewed by LA Times
July 17, 2025
CSICS’ Peter Foytik was interviewed by the LA Times about his experience working on the Fast Local Emergency EvacuationTimes(FLEET),whichisaplatformthatprovides significant data and accuracy for local, short notice evacuations for natural disasters such as wildfires, flash floods,andhurricanes.Staytunedfortheupcomingarticle!
Across OERI
SATTL Team Takes RF Research to the Field at Camp Shelby
July 20-25, 2025
The SATTL team of Benjamin Cherry, Anthony Baracco, and Dr. Krzysztof Rechowicz recently traveled to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, to observe the Thunderstrike 25 Prize Challenge and collectRFdata.
TheSATTLteamcollectedRFdataacross multiple training sites, working in collaboration with lab partners. The team deployed portable sensors to monitor communications in specific frequency ranges while observing training exercises and technology deployment.
A highlight of the mission was witnessing RF modeling and simulation tools that SATTL provides to its customers being applied in real-world applications, which provided valuableinsightsintohowthesetechnologiesperformduringactiveexercises.
SATTL sponsors expressed strong interest in the team's distributed sensor approach, discussing potential applications for networks of smaller, more flexible RF sensors in futureoperations.
Across OERI
NSRP Panel Meeting
July 23-24 , 2025
VDMC hosted the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) Planning, Production Processes & Facilities and Welding Technology Panel meeting.
Over 80 in-person attendees, plus more virtually, learned about the latest in smart docking systems, shipyard operations, cobot technology, cutting-edge welding technologies, and more. They were able to tour General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk as well as the Cobot Alliance Training Center.
This was a great networking and collaboration meeting and VDMC is proud to be part of the momentum that is strengthening the maritime industrial base and advanced smart manufacturing in Virginia.
Across OERI
VDMC Executive Director Moderates Panel at Summit
July 24, 2025
VDMC’s Executive Director Mark Whitney attended the Defense Strategies Institute Maritime Security Summit in National Harbor, MD, where he moderated the "Maritime Dominance Panel: Efforts to Revitalize Shipbuilding and Strengthen America’s Maritime Power ”
The panel brought together maritime industry experts to address one of the nation’s most urgent challenges: revitalizing and strengthening America’s shipbuilding and ship repair capacity for the future.
Panel members discussed strategies to scale up U.S. shipbuilding & ship repair, enhance maritime program funding, incentives to boost US Navy readiness, and how to drive innovation across defense and commercial fleets with the goal of building a stronger maritime industrial base for the U.S.
This was an important discussion regarding current and future efforts to support overall maritime dominance, highlighting the need for investment, innovation, and collaboration across sectors
Across OERI
Booz Allen Visit
July 25 , 2025
OERI welcomed visitors from Booz Allen Hamilton to showcase ODU and OERI’s capabilities in autonomy, national security, modeling and simulation, national security and defense research, while exploring partnership opportunities with Booz Allen in federal contracts, joint innovation, talent pipelines, and strategic research collaborations.
Across OERI
SATTL Team Sets Up Physical Lab Space
July 29, 2025
The Spectrum Advanced Training Technology Lab (SATTL) team has been working to prepare and finalize the setup of the physical lab space, located on the second floor of our building.
From manually mounting the projectors, to soldering the ethernet cables, to applying the dryerase materials, and setting up the workbench mounted computers, the SATTL team invested great care and effort to build the lab from the ground up, infusing it with their own personal marks throughout the process
As the team continues to push for their September launch debut, no effort has been spared to ensure that this lab will reflect this project’s unique capabilities and carve its own place in the spectrum network.
Earlier this summer, as part of a real-world evaluation of a commercial MANET radio system (Persistent Systems’ MPU5), VISA and Capabilities Lab team members conducted over 160 structured tests to measure packet loss, jitter, and throughput across open water at distances up to 7 miles.
Using iPerf3 and custom bandwidth measurement tools, team members systematically tested packet sizes ranging from 5 to 1500 bytes capturing both small control messages and larger data streams. One radio was installed onshore with an antenna setup on the beach, while the other was placed on a moving boat offshore to simulate dynamic maritime conditions.
The data collected provides a detailed view of how performance degrades with distance, especially as packet size increases. These findings are now being used to support the development of communication models that can simulate real-world network conditions and inform design decisions around timeout policies and packet handling strategies.
OERI In The News
Managed retreat: Should we abandon land prone to flooding? It’s already happening.
pilotonline.com
July 27, 2025
Flooding is nothing new to Hampton Roads.
With land subsidence, sea-level rise and stronger storms creating the perfect cocktail for more frequent and severe flooding, cities across the region are working on strategies to mitigate risk. Multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects are in the works across the region. Meanwhile, some homeowners take steps such as filling basements or raising foundations for resiliency.
But some in Hampton Roads and other climate-vulnerable parts of the country are asking whether another option should be considered. At what point does it make better sense to abandon areas that repeatedly flood?
The concept is called managed retreat and involves moving inhabitants out of locations threatened by climate change. It’s already taking place on a limited scale in some Hampton Roads cities.
“Managed retreat is proactively getting people out of harm’s way before a flood can hurt them again,” said JessicaWhitehead, executive director at the Institute for Coastal Adaptation and Resilience at Old Dominion University.
Upcoming Events
Old Dominion University Athletics is hosting a Maritime Appreciation Day on Saturday, September 27, as the Monarchs take on Liberty University! It’s a great chance to celebrate the amazing people and organizations that power our maritime industry, keeping it moving forward.
Come early and enjoy the Fan Fest with live band performances, beer garden, top-notch food trucks, games for all ages, and interactive experiences in the Kids Zone.
Call or text (757) 683-3360 to learn about group ticket packages, hospitality options, and exclusive gameday experiences.
For discounted tickets, click HERE.
Upcoming Events
VDMC is hosting the 2026 Digital Ship Challenge in April 2026.
They are looking for industry members to be team mentors, attend the Maritime Connect, and to sponsor a team!
If you know anyone in the maritime industry, have them sign up today!
https://digitalmaritime.org/digital-ship-challenge/
