Post by Naval Postgraduate School

“The focus of my thesis work here at NPS is the development of autonomous behaviors for unmanned surface vessels,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Evan D. Humphreys, recipient of the 2026 Spring Quarter’s Surface Navy Association Award for Excellence in Surface Warfare Research. “Specifically, I'm looking at developing behaviors for a flotilla of unmanned surface vessels that are under air threat.”   One of 400+ NPS students set to graduate tomorrow, June 18, Humphreys’ research in support of his master’s degree in mechanical engineering focused on advancing the survivability of autonomous surface vessels through an analysis of defensive behaviors — a critical defense technology.   Through hundreds of simulations across multiple tactical scenarios, Humphreys developed a quantitative analysis revealing the effectiveness of varied autonomous defensive behaviors. Humphreys said his participation in NPS’ popular Meyer Scholar Program, focused on developing student expertise in naval combat systems, helped him better understand the broader context of his NPS research.   “The Meyer Scholar Program has allowed me to connect what we do here academically to the operational needs of the Navy and out in the fleet,” Humphreys said. “Bringing together myriad students with different background and perspectives … combined with different seminars and weekly topical discussions … has allowed me to become a more learned scholar as well as a better warfighter.”   Join Humphreys and all of this quarter’s 400+ graduating students for NPS’ Spring Quarter Graduation ceremony with commencement speaker, U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. William Bowers tomorrow, June 18, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific.    • Watch graduation live: https://lnkd.in/gBxhsNFu • Learn more about the graduating class: https://nps.edu/graduation • About the NPS Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering: https://nps.edu/web/mae US Navy | United States Marine Corps | U.S. Naval Surface Force | Commander Naval Surface Force Atlantic | Surface Navy Association #awardwinning #student #research #AutonomousSystems #graduation

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