By Jessica Zimmerman

Suffolk, Va. (September 29, 2022) – Old Dominion University President Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D. gave his first State of the University address earlier this month at Chartway Arena. During the address, President Hemphill recognized VMASC for its 25 years as an academic center of excellence in modeling and simulation and our contribution to making ODU a Research 1 classification from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

 “VMASC was established as a direct result of a close collaboration between the US Department of Defense and the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said President Hemphill. “The overarching goal was to create an academic center of excellence in modeling and simulation to support critical research. Now, 25 years later, that mission has been accomplished as VMASC is one of the most productive research units at ODU, supporting over 100 research faculty, scientists, technical professionals and students. I’ve toured VMASC twice and I continue to be impressed with their research, from drones to digital shipbuilding.”

In late 2021, ODU earned the prestigious R1 research classification, one of only 145 institutions in the country. “This is truly a significant accomplishment and will forever change the future possibilities of our institution and our students. We are truly committed to moving up among our R1 counterparts with a bold and aggressive agenda across all areas of research, with a special emphasis on maritime, coastal resiliency, offshore wind energy, data science, cybersecurity, autonomous systems and health care just to name a few,” said President Hemphill.

Immediately following the address, President Hemphill inducted several students into the ODU School of Cybersecurity Cyber LeADERS Scholars Program, one of which is Drew Brown, a VMASC Capabilities Lab Graduate Research Assistant. Drew is an ODU graduate student, working on his master’s degree in Cybersecurity. He is a veteran who served six years in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman. He is part of the first cohort of the LeADERS program, where students receive a full in-state tuition scholarship, an annual stipend and a professional development allowance as part of the National Science Foundation’s CyberCorps Scholarship for Service grant. In exchange, the students must work for the federal government in select cybersecurity positions after graduation. During the induction, seven students from the first cohort and six students from the second cohort all received a certificate and medal.

“My role as a Cyber LeADER is rapidly evolving,” Drew said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to stand with like-minded ODU scholars working for the greater good.” Drew also serves as a mentor for the CyberPatriot program. “Serving our community as a mentor to Norfolk Public School’s CyberPatriot teams allows me to maintain focus towards achieving mission objectives.” This competition program is an outreach program which was created to inspire K-12 students toward careers in cybersecurity or other STEM disciplines important for our nation’s future.

Drew Brown