By Timothy L. Rider
PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. – Five employees earned Master of Armament Engineering certificates, and another employee received a Doctor of Philosophy in Armament Engineering and a sword symbolizing a successful doctoral thesis defense during a commencement ceremony for the Armament Graduate School here on May 22.
U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center employees Thomas Ackershoek, Jr., Jack Bishop, Tyler Hughes, Peter Rottinger and Edgar Vanoye received Master of Armament Engineering certificates while Tyler Rottunno received a Doctor of Philosophy certificate and the doctoral sword.
“Technology is moving very quickly,” said keynote speaker Brig. Gen. Anthony R. Gibbs, who leads the Army’s Capability Program Executive for Mission Autonomy. “We cannot ignore that.”
The Armament Graduate School is operated by the Armaments Center, a research, development, technology and engineering organization assigned to keep the nation’s lethal guns, ammunition and fire control technologies apace with modernity.
The Armaments Center started the Armament Graduate School in 2009 to support its technology development. It leverages a faculty comprised primarily of experienced Armaments Center Ph.Ds to help the organization retain and grow armament-related technical competencies for the Army.
“The degree itself is very academically challenging,” said Armaments Center Director, Chris Grassano. Students retain their full-time positions as DoD government employees during their study, attend classes in-person during a given semester on Fridays and complete coursework during their personal time.
There is “quite an amount of pressure” as students manage school and work, said Grassano.
Grassano described the challenges for the students and the supporting families. “I thank you all for your dedication and your resilience. You had to balance your day-to-day challenges of all the work that had to be accomplished.”
“Your work is not just academic,” said Gibbs to the graduates. “It has a direct, tangible impact on the lives of our Soldiers. The technologies that you develop, the armament systems that you design and perfect and the lethality and survivability you bring to the fight are what bring our Soldiers home.”
Exemplifying the technological nature of the curriculum is Rotunno’s doctoral thesis: “Impacts of Firing Rate and Barrel Natural Frequency Interactions on Dispersion of Fully Automatic Small-Caliber Weapon Systems.”
Describing a “massive page of equations” within, Armament Graduate School Chancellor Don Carlucci said of the dissertation: “I'm certain it's going to bear fruit for the Army, because some of the stuff you found in there was pretty incredible.”
Rotunno started the dissertation in 2019, a year after receiving his Armament Graduate School Masters in Armaments Engineering certificate. “I began my dissertation research focusing on the relationship between firing rate, barrel natural frequency and dispersion in fully automatic small-caliber systems,” he said.
“What makes the armament engineering discipline at Picatinny truly unique is the systems-level perspective it provides,” said Rotunno. “It allowed me to see how all the technical disciplines integrate. This broad, yet deep, understanding gives me the confidence to collaborate across groups, driving efficiency in cross-functional tasks.”
Rotunno said he credits that broad perspective for allowing him to seamlessly transition between working in weapons and ammunition engineering groups, and he also credits the learning for his being competitively selected to his current position as the lead engineer and Armaments Project Officer for the Army’s Precision Family of Ammunition.
Accreditation Ongoing
Having received statutory authority to grant degrees, the Armament Graduate School began the accreditation process with a pre-applicant site visit by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in 2021. It has completed several milestones toward accreditation and is currently a candidate institution and a member of the MSCHE.
“This program tracks toward becoming the only accredited program of its kind. We must recognize it for what it truly is: It’s a national asset,” said Gibbs.
Achieving accreditation would allow AGS to confer degrees to the 46 students who have received master’s certificates and the three who have received doctorate certificates. Credits earned at AGS would also be transferable to other accredited institutions.
Confirming the validity of the curriculum’s rigor via accreditation is a “great thing” said Rotunno. “Because I love what I do here, and I’m planning to be here for the long haul, completing the coursework, making me more competent at what I do was ultimately what matters most to me.”
He added: “It’s also pretty awesome being one of three in the world with a Ph.D. in Armament Engineering.”