AFIT alum, Capt Daniel "DJ" Uribe (M.S. Systems Engineering, 2013) was named the "Most Promising Engineer or Scientist - Advanced Degree - Master's" by the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation (HENAAC). Capt Uribe is currently a Program Manager at the Center for Rapid Innovation, Air Force Research Laboratory, at Kirtland AFB, NM.
Capt Uribe joins the 27th class of honorees who are recognized as America's top engineers and scientists within the Hispanic community. These science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) leaders, innovators and champions represent the best and brightest minds our nation has to offer. They are symbols of Hispanic contributions at the highest levels of academia, government, military and corporate America. Capt Uribe will be honored at the 27th HENAAC STEM Career Conference, "Ignite, Inspire" in Pasadena, CA, October 14-18, 2015.
"Being honored as a HENAAC award winner is certainly one of the highlights of my early career, but I know that this would not have been possible without the help of many." commented Capt Uribe. "The mentorship that I received from Dr. Michael Miller and the Systems Engineering Department was instrumental in kick-starting my career as a young engineer in the Air Force. Working on my thesis research remains one of the most challenging, yet rewarding experiences of my professional life as the opportunity to do hands-on technical work has proven to be invaluable. The support from Dr. Miller and other AFIT faculty was instrumental not only during my time as a student, but in laying a foundation for my future career."
For his thesis, Capt Uribe assembled a helmet-mounted display system from off-the-shelf components. This system included instrumentation to monitor the user's eye gaze direction using either an infrared eyetracking system or an electrooculogram. He then conducted a human-subjects experiment in which the user's eye movements were monitored as they wore the helmet in an environment under controlled vibration. This research provided the first conclusive demonstration of the motion of the human eye in response to vibration while wearing a helmet-mounted display, a phenomena which is believed to reduce the visibility of information on helmet-mounted displays in many aviation environments. Portions of this research were published in two conference papers, one of which was designated as a finalist for best student paper. Additionally, a journal paper describing this research has recently been accepted for publication in the Journal of the Society for Information Display.
Dr. Michael Miller, Associate Professor of Systems Engineering within AFIT's Graduate School of Engineering and Management, served as Capt Uribe's Thesis Advisor. "While conducting his research, Capt Uribe clearly demonstrated significant technical and organizational leadership." stated Dr. Miller. "His work laid the groundwork for follow-on research and Capt Uribe mentored the following graduate student both during his last couple months at AFIT and through periodic discussions after reporting to his new assignment. His research also influenced other research conducted in the 711th Human Performance Wing as the electrooculographic recording has been adopted in follow-on research within that organization."
The mission of AFIT's Graduate School of Engineering and Management is to produce outstanding technical leaders in the DoD by providing superior graduate education built on defense-focused research. The Graduate School is one of three resident schools at AFIT including the School of Systems and Logistics, and The Civil Engineer School. The three schools work together to meet the mission of AFIT - to advance air, space, and cyberspace power for our armed forces, the Nation, and its partners by providing relevant defense-focused technical graduate and continuing education, research, and consultation.
