Aerospace Day
January 29, 2025
VISA, along with several other ODU departments/offices, attended the 2025 Virginia Aviation Business Association (VABA) Aerospace Day in Richmond
From engaging conversations with industry leaders to showcasing the Elevating Health Care Access Project and the ODU UsV Test Launch Site, this event was a great opportunity to meet with legislators and provide updates on achievements and encourage legislative support for aerospace activity in the state.
Governor Glenn Youngkin and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears both made an appearance and talked about the advancements in aerospace and the recent successes in Virginia.
VISA and the other ODU attendees appreciated the opportunity to connect, learn, and share insights about the evolving aerospace industry.
ODU Libraries visit
January 31, 2025
Erika Frydenlund hosted an ODU Libraries Tutorial, a collaborative session led by ODU librarians Nikki Galloway and Amber Gruszeczka.
This engaging workshop introduced faculty and researchers to the wealth of resources and services offered by ODU Libraries, most importantly the VIVA system through which the state pays for publication fees of specific journals, but also including interlibrary loan, research data management, digital repositories, and tools for enhancing your academic profile such as ORCID and ODU Digital Commons.
With a focus on practical applications and interactive discussions, this session was designed to ize their research impact and streamline scholarly workflow.
Across OERI
Two New Publications from Dr. Philippe J. Giabbanelli
January 31, 2025
The latest on this month's issue:
"Exploring bias due to below-limit-of-detection values in influenza vaccine antibody modeling: A case study and instructional guide for the CIVIC study" in the journal Vaccine.
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This is a collaboration between multiple institutions including the National Cancer Institute, the University of Georgia, the and University of Southern Mississippi. While missing data is a common problem in vaccine studies, improper correction mechanisms may lead to biased data. This modeling study supports vaccine research by showing how to deal with missing data with less bias than current methods. The study appears in the journal Vaccine, which is one of the most respected academic journals dedicated entirely to vaccines, covering all aspects of research, development, and implementation.
"Benchmarking and Assessing Transformations Between Text and Causal Maps via Large Language Models" in the journal Applied Ontology.
There is tremendous interest in using tools such as ChatGPT to automatically explain complex models to users and stakeholders, and a growing body of work that operates a reverse transformation by turning textual descriptions into models However, techniques are difficult to compare in the absence of benchmarks and given a large number of potential assessment methods. This paper led by VMASC is a collaborative effort involving modelers and specialists in generative AI from Virginia Tech and Portland State University to develop benchmarks and clear assessment methods, thus supporting standardization of the field. This work is published in Applied Ontology, known for publishing high-quality research on artificial intelligence and conceptual modeling.
Across OERI
VDMC’s Dr. Katie Smith’s New Publications
February 1, 2025
"A quantified hypervulnerability approach for assessing resilience in supply chain networks," K. Smith, R. Diaz, and Y. Shen, Int. J. Simulation and Process Modelling, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 166–178, 2024. doi: 10.1504/IJSPM.2024.143849.
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the vulnerability of supply chain networks to sources of concurrent disruption. This research investigates and broadens a quantified, generalised definition of vulnerability, which enables a group of entities to be identified as highly, or hyper, vulnerable. This concept of hypervulnerability thresholds is demonstrated on a conceptual example. The example explains and shows how the definition of hypervulnerability thresholds can be applied. A maritime supply chain case study with various risks and disruptions is presented and analysed to demonstrate the practical utility of the approach and provide valuable information to guide decision making in other applications. Finally, the article concludes with answers to research questions and directions for future work.
"An AI-enabled dependency network system for quantifying supply chains risks and ripple effects stemming from cybersecurity and other non-compliance issues," R. Diaz, K. Smith, and R. Ungo, J. Inf. Warfare, 2025.
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Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a key driver of productivity gains across various industrial sectors, including naval shipbuilding and repair. By integrating AI into supply chain operations, these industries can achieve greater efficiency, cost savings, and resilience. AI’s ability to optimize processes and enhance decision making offers significant advantages. However, with the growing use of AI, the risks of cybersecurity incidents also increase. As the use of AI-based systems becomes more prevalent, the potential for cybersecurity vulnerabilities and incidents also grows. These incidents could have severe repercussions, potentially compromising the integrity of supply chains, disrupting manufacturing operations, and exposing sensitive data. This paper explores the role of AI in supply chain management within the naval shipbuilding and repair industry, focusing on both the benefits and the emerging cybersecurity risk management and other challenges associated with AI adoption. It provides insights into balancing innovation with the need for strong cyber defenses in this vital sector.
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Across OERI
VDMC Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing Tour
February 4, 2025
VDMC team members toured the smart manufacturing research facility at Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM), one of their partners on the Virginia Smart Manufacturing Accelerator project. VDMC is looking forward to more collaboration.
Pictured: Jason Dudley, Devon Nelson, Jessica Johnson, and Jessica Galassie
Across OERI
VISA Welcomes New Deputy Director, Dr. Thomas Alberts
February 11, 2025
VISA is excited to welcome Dr. Thomas Alberts as their new Deputy Director.
Dr. Alberts brings extensive experience in mechanical and aerospace engineering, transportation systems, robotics, smart structures, uncrewed systems and more.
Dr. Alberts is full professor in the ODU Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Interim Director of the Institute for Autonomous and Connected Systems.
With his leadership and research experience, VISA is excited to have Dr. Alberts join the team and contribute to advancing VISA’s position as a leader in spaceflight and autonomous systems research and development.
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Across OERI
VMASC Hosts Thirsty Thursday February 27, 2025
VMASC Chief Scientist Michael L. Nelson hosted a second Thirsty Thursday for VMASC staff.
Someone asked Dr. Nelson previously about the distinction between R1 and R2, prompting him to give a presentation titled "Carnegie Classification: R1 vs. R2 Explained."
Dr. Nelson talked about how universities are accredited, rankings, how ODU received the prestigious R1 designation from Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, and how Carnegie is changing the criteria for how they classify research designations.
Job Postings
VMASC Spectrum and Advanced Training Technology Laboratory (SATTL) is hiring a CUI Compliant Cloud Technology Specialist.
Old Dominion University (ODU) seeks a skilled IT professional to implement and manage cloud infrastructure for handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) using Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Teams. This role is critical in ensuring ODU's compliance with federal regulations while enabling secure communication and collaboration for both internal and external users This position requires a thorough understanding of CUI handling requirements and the ability to implement complex security solutions within the Microsoft ecosystem. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in both network security and Office 365 administration, with the ability to navigate the unique challenges of securing sensitive information in a higher education setting.
Learn more here: https://hera.odurf.odu.edu/careers//Careers.aspx?req=25007&type=JOBDESCR
VMASC Spectrum and Advanced Training Technology Laboratory (SATTL) is hiring a Software/Systems Configuration Manager.
The Spectrum and Advanced Training Technology Laboratory (SATTL) is seeking a Software/Systems Configuration Manager who is responsible for ensuring that all software components, documentation, and related assets are correctly identified, controlled, and maintained throughout their lifecycle. This position will require working closely with software development teams, quality assurance, and systems engineering to ensure compliance with DoD regulations and industry best practices for software configuration management. Software to be managed includes internally developed software supporting lab operations as well as code provided by external organizations (models, simulations, operational system code). Other items to be managed include government furnished equipment and laboratory equipment purchased in support of the SATTL mission.
Learn more here: https://hera.odurf.odu.edu/careers//Careers.aspx?req=25007&type=JOBDESCR
Upcoming Events
The 2025 VDMC Digital Ship Challenge, which will take place on March 15, 2025, is almost here!
The Digital Ship Challenge is an annual regional competition for high school students across Hampton Roads where student teams, led by their teachers and mentored by local maritime industry representatives, design, build, test, and present innovative solutions to today’s maritime challenges. Schools will soon be able to sign up for the Challenge. For more information, visit https://digitalmaritime.org/digital-ship-challenge/.
