STO Awards – Overview
Every year, the NATO Science & Technology Board (STB) recognizes outstanding achievements in the international collaboration on Science & Technology (S&T) within the NATO framework. In order to motivate individuals and teams alike to continue providing exceptional contributions to the benefit of the STO community and the Alliance writ large, the STB presents to types of awards: the Von Kármán Medal and the STO Excellence Awards.
The Von Kármán Medal is awarded to highly accomplished individuals with a life-time dedication to international S&T collaboration in NATO. Through exemplary service, recipients repeatedly delivered significant contributions to STO activities over a long period of time. They combine an internationally recognized career in S&T with leadership and vision to advance the S&T collaboration among the Allied nations. Typically, the STB awards only one Von Kármán Medal per year.
The STO Excellence Award recognizes exceptional accomplishments in recent STO activities, conducted and completed during the last four years. Recipients delivered high-quality original work of considerable military relevance and benefit, while achieving a significant degree of international collaboration. The STO Excellence Awards can be granted to teams and to individuals. The STB typically presents several such awards every year.
2020 Recipients of STO Awards
In spring 2020, the STB decided to award the 2020 Von Kármán Medal to:
Mr Michael Huggins (USA).
The 2020 STO Excellence Awards were granted to the following two teams and two individuals:
- “Advances in Artificial Intelligence and Information Fusion for Maritime Situational Awareness” [CMRE];
- “Urban Combat Advanced Training Technology – Live Simulation Standards (UCATT-LSS)” [MSG-140];
- Mr. Stan Cole (AVT Panel, USA);
- Dr. Michael Eismann (SET Panel, USA).
The STB warmly congratulates all 2020 Award winners whose contributions have brought extraordinary value to NATO and honour to our S&T community.
The citations for each recipient are summarized hereunder.
2020 Von Kármán Medal
Mr. Michael Huggins (USA)
During an extensive and dedicated career, Mr. Michael Huggins has successfully made impactful contributions to the development of novel advanced liquid rocket engine cycles as well as developing higher performing and environmentally friendly energetics while further directing technology to dispose of ageing munitions and propellants in a “green” manner.
Mr. Huggins has led S&T research at a high level within the US Air Force and is recognized internationally as a senior leader in defence S&T. He made outstanding impacts to the STO mission through three primary contributions: (1) his leadership in establishing and exponentially growing the Research & Development activities and knowledge for space operations, (2) his excellence in the realms of propulsion for aircraft, access to and in space as well as tactical missile operations, (3) his remarkable and continued leadership, culminating in an unprecedented three terms as Chairman of the AVT Panel.
2020 STO Excellence Awards
“Advances in Artificial Intelligence and Information Fusion
for Maritime Situational Awareness” [CMRE]
Led by CMRE’s Data Knowledge and Operational Effectiveness (DKOE) group, the Maritime Artificial Intelligence and Information Fusion (MAI2F) initiative is part of the programme of work outlined and funded by NATO ACT.
The MAI2F team used its expertise in the cognitive processes of Perception, Comprehension and Projection to provide methods of analyzing vast amounts of information for operators, merging heterogeneous data sources and resolving conflicting, intermittent and potentially corrupted or irrelevant information.
The result was a suite of improved products for multi-target tracking, anomaly detection and ship track and destination prediction.
Furthermore, the team developed and validated new knowledge acquisition techniques based on analytical gaming that allow human reasoning to be quantitatively captured. Operational benefits of the MAI2F project were confirmed by Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) through operational use. Some MAI2F tools will be included in the next NATO Command and Control Information System TRITON.
The scientific quality of the MAI2F team’s work is validated by more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, including one in the prestigious Proceedings of the IEEE.
“Urban Combat Advanced Training Technology – Live Simulation Standards (UCATT-LSS)” [MSG-140]
In the early 2000s, NATO studies showed and predicted that urban areas would continue to increase in number and size and would likely become the focal point for unrest and conflict. To ensure NATO forces were prepared to operate effectively in an environment that was considered to be the most complex and physically straining, it was advised that coalition force readiness should be increased by developing a common set of training requirements and increased interoperability for instrumented urban operation training.
Since that time, UCATT has worked hard and without pause to develop and promote live simulation interoperability standards. The recent shifting of focus from expeditionary missions to securing coalition territorial integrity and deterrence has led to the adage of “training is the new operations”. That fact has increased the value of UCATT standards for alliance force readiness and is testimony to the great value of UCATT as an enabler of NATO operations. Over time, UCATT has become the focal point for live simulation interoperability and standardization.
On any given day of the year, UCATT is demonstrably enabling large multinational exercises that clearly show what the combined efforts of the group has achieved and promises to achieve in the future.
UCATT is continuously working on a set of standardized live Simulation interfaces, like the UCATT laser engagement standard, that has placed military users and acquisition organizations in a better position to define requirements for new projects, show industry where to invest, open tendering opportunities, and bring interoperable training to a new level. UCATT has delivered and continues to deliver.
Mr Stan Cole (AVT Panel, USA)
Mr. Stanley Cole has actively conducted excellent collaborative research on behalf of the United States of America over the last three decades. As a Panel Member-at-Large in NATO’s Science and Technology Organizations (STO) Applied Vehicle Technology (AVT) Panel, he has taken on many leadership roles. Since joining STO’s AVT panel, he has acted as panel mentor, chair, technical team member, program committee member, and chair for numerous NATO activities. In this way, he has significantly contributed to NATO’s S&T capabilities in the field of aeroelasticity.
Dr. Michael Eismann (SET Panel, USA)
In his nearly 10 years as Coordinator of the Optics Technology Focus Group of the Sensors and Electronics Technology Panel, Dr. Eismann has brought a great deal of intensity and enthusiasm to the position. As a Panel Mentor for a large number of Task Groups, Symposia, and other Panel activities he has been instrumental in the success of SET Panel’s research programme. Dr. Eismann’s unparalleled and indefatigable diplomacy has lifted up all of the members of the Panel to active and productive participation in the critical research of the Alliance.
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