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FORT BELVOIR, VA (June 2025)—There’s a theory that modern warfare will start on the battlefield but end in a lab – meaning whichever military force can refine their technologies, tactics, and strategies in the lab the fastest can potentially gain an advantage on the battlefield. The Army’s research and development pipeline, specifically the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center, is leveraging a homegrown mentorship program to provide its Soldiers that advantage.
The Army Strategic Program for Innovation, Research, and Employment, known as ASPIRE, stood up in 2021. The program, which recently hosted its fourth iteration and culminating expo at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, engages faculty and students at various colleges and universities across the country to foster innovation, helping the Army solve current and future problems to give Warfighters an advantage against near-peer adversaries.
“One of the main goals of ASPIRE is to introduce undergraduate students to areas of science and technology that are of mutual interests to the Army,” said Alicia Miller, ASPIRE Program Manager. Additionally, the program prepares students to enter the workforce, who may one day help guide research in these areas of interests for the Army.” ASPIRE also has an employment recruiting function integrated into the program to help find top-tier student talent.
Since ASPIRE’s inception, the Center has executed more than 75 projects. All projects span the course of two semesters and comprised of a team of undergraduate students [U.S. citizens], supervised by university faculty members, and guided by C5ISR Center technical experts.
While the ASPIRE program is open to any college or university, there were 10 institutions that participated in this year’s capstone: Auburn University, Christopher Newport University, City College of New York, Old Dominion University, Penn State Harrisburg, University of Alabama, University of Arizona, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University, and Virginia Tech.
The Army benefits from programs like ASPIRE because it has the potential to foster innovation and solve real-world challenges through young academic perspectives, advance critical research, and strengthen ties with the local community.
“The ASPIRE program plays a vital role in strengthening connections between the C5ISR Center and students before formal employment, fostering early engagement and collaboration,” said Kaitlyn Mccullough, Program Support Specialist. “It provides both parties with a valuable trial period to assess fit while enabling students to gain hands-on experience solving real-world challenges.”
Each year, the capstone program sets out to tackle specific Army topics. This year, student projects centered around hazard and target detection; positioning, navigation, and timing; advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning; advanced sensor development; and power advancement, to name a few. This year, students presented their capstone projects virtually due to ongoing travel restrictions.
In addition to solving real-world problems, the ASPIRE program pairs students with Army civilian subject matter experts, creating an opportunity for close mentorship by experts in STEM.
“Mentoring the next generation of engineers is paramount as it helps establish interest in the C5ISR Center organization and helps to pass the torch of technical expertise to a new generation of engineers,” said Brian Kellermeyer, an Optical Engineer and ASPIRE Mentor. “As new hires join the organization, programs like ASPIRE help cultivate a technically competent workforce in our domain of C5ISR technology.”
During the capstone projects, the mentors guide the students in addressing complex challenges while fostering innovation and critical thinking. The mentors also help students develop professional skills and build connections that can lead to future career opportunities.
“The ASPIRE program provides young engineers with the knowledge and experience of developing a technical product for a customer,” said Kellermeyer. “Regardless of whether they decide to work at the C5ISR Center, the experience of the program will help enable their ability to successfully support the science and technology efforts early within their career, benefitting the S&T community as a whole.”
The U.S. Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center is the Army’s applied research and advanced technology development center for C5ISR capabilities. As the Army’s primary integrator of C5ISR technologies and systems, DEVCOM C5ISR Center supports our networked Warfighters by identifying, developing, maturing, and rapidly integrating innovative technologies to drive continuous transformation.
DEVCOM C5ISR Center is an asset of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command. DEVCOM is Army Futures Command’s leader and integrator within a global ecosystem of scientific exploration and technological innovation. DEVCOM expertise spans eight major competency areas to provide integrated research, development, analysis and engineering support to the Army and DOD. From rockets to robots, drones to dozers, and aviation to artillery – DEVCOM innovation is at the core of the combat capabilities American Warfighters need to win on the battlefield of the future. For more information, visit c5isrcenter.devcom.army.mil/.
| Date Taken: | 06.11.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.11.2025 15:32 |
| Story ID: | 500362 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 54 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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