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AROUND THE REGION - May 2025 Edition

By AFRL Regional Network Midwest Community posted 05-05-2025 11:42

  

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Thank you to everyone who attended the AFRL Regional Network – Midwest Virtual Annual Meeting. While we had originally planned to gather in person, we truly appreciate your flexibility and continued engagement in making the virtual event a success. Your participation and insights help strengthen our shared mission and regional collaboration.

In case you missed any part of the event—or want to revisit key moments—we’ll be releasing recorded presentations on our YouTube and LinkedIn over the coming months. These videos will also include updates from AFRL technical directorates, highlights from our awardees, and insights from state economic development agencies. Stay tuned for more as we continue to share the exciting work happening across the network.

The Small Business Consulting Corporation (SBCC) serves as a Department of Defense contractor that facilitates the integration of innovative commercial technologies, advancing capabilities in leaders, and delivering solutions for our nation’s defenders.

Founded by Brigadier General Gerald Goodfellow (USAF, Ret.), SBCC addresses challenges faced by the Air Force in adopting innovative capabilities for its advanced weapon systems and war fighters. The organization specializes in identifying critical capability gaps and providing effective remedies through a robust network of commercial partners, seasoned instructors, and advanced analytical tools. 

“We don't just admire innovative ideas, we operationalize them,” noted Goodfellow. “This team addresses the Air Force’s toughest challenges. Whether enabling access to advanced technologies, leveraging software tools in government-owned data environments, or empowering Airmen to think critically and lead with pride, SBCC is a key resource for solutions.”

SBCC's structured around three lines of effort: Commercial Engagement & Integration (CE&I), Data Engineering & Analytics (DE&A), and Education. 
The CE&I initiative connects major command (MAJCOM) partners with leading solution providers, including startups and tech incubators, to integrate dual-use technologies into the defense sector. This includes organizing technological showcases where commercial entities can present innovations to MAJCOM decision-makers, with selected solutions receiving guidance on funding and implementation pathways. 

Their digital engineering experts in DE&A collaborate directly with Airmen to create custom-coded programs for Air Force data platforms. The resultant statistical analysis and optimization creates decision-making advantages across the board room and the battlefield. 

In parallel, SBCC offers immersive, seminar-based leadership courses tailored to various levels within the Air Force. These programs aim to cultivate emotionally intelligent leaders equipped with a coaching-focused growth mindset, thereby strengthening leadership across the command.
Connect and learn more about SBCC’s mission and services

The Data Mine at Purdue University is a collaborative, research-focused learning community that equips students from all majors with data science skills to solve real-world problems. Open to all, regardless of computational background, it emphasizes teamwork, hands-on research, and data literacy, preparing students for success in a data-driven world.

This program connects student teams with industry partners for academic year-long projects focused on real-world data science challenges. Each team includes 12 students (3 graduate students and 9 upperclassmen from diverse majors) and operates using Scrum Agile project management, with a paid teaching assistant who serves as the team’s Scrum Master.

The Data Mine is seeking companies that are interested in developing a data science project for a student team. This is a valuable opportunity to engage with emerging talent, explore new data-driven solutions, and test proof of concept projects. To get started, companies provide a 2-page project description and a company mentor who will volunteer to meet with students once a week virtually. Each project costs the company $20,000 per academic year, which contributes to programmatic overhead and hiring a teaching assistant.

If your company is interested in participating, email datamine@purdue.edu.

    Learn more about becoming a corporate partner

    AFRL Regional Network YouTube Channel!


    Have you checked out the AFRL Regional Network - Midwest YouTube Channel? On this platform, partners have access to a variety of video content that includes:
    • Funded project video reports
    • Network promo videos
    • Informative and instructional videos
    Stay tuned to all of our social media channels as new content will be added frequently!

    Partner with Us


    The AFRL Regional Network - Midwest is a unique opportunity to partner with the Air Force Research Lab. If you are interested in becoming a partner, please visit our Join Page for more information!

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    If you or your organization would like to be featured in an issue of Around the Region, please email us at afrlmwst@purdue.edu. A representative will then reach out to you for additional information.

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