NSI Newsletter - Spring 2024 Edition

Iain Boyd

From the Director, Dr. Iain Boyd:

A key challenge to national security faced by the U.S. today is having access to a workforce that is suitably educated and trained. In addition to the well-documented general shortage of STEM-educated students in the U.S., the national security enterprise must also compete with other sectors for the brightest talents in fields such as banking for cybersecurity, automotive for artificial intelligence and commercial space for hypersonics. With our primary focus on applied research performed by graduate students, NSI is making essential contributions to the development of much-needed workforce in state-of-the-art defense technologies.

At the University of Colorado Boulder, we are particularly well-placed to make an important difference to the defense workforce as we have a very high population of domestic students in our undergraduate and graduate programs. For example, more than 70% of the 500 graduate students studying aerospace engineering at CU Boulder are from the U.S. Engaging such students in the study of technology directly relevant to national security gives them firsthand experience in the challenges faced and a role in developing solutions. These experiences will significantly increase the interest of our students in pursuing a career in the national security sector following their graduation. This critical aspect of NSI’s mission formed an important part of the conversation with the Hon. Alex Wagner, Assistant Secretary to the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, during his recent visit to CU Boulder.