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Overview
Dr. Alan Van Nevel is the associate provost for research for the Naval Postgraduate School. In this role he assists with the administration of research activities at NPS, with the goal of accelerating the development of new technology to impact warfare concepts and capabilities.
Prior to joining NPS, Alan was the chief scientist and strategy officer for the Research Department for the Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division (NAWCWD). The Research Directorate mission is to create and prevent technical surprise through exploring relevant, new or emerging areas of science, creating advanced technologies and capabilities, and applying new technologies and capabilities to Navy needs.
Previously, Alan served as the Director of Research from April 2016 until February 2022. In the director role, he developed a new NAWCWD approach to S&T leadership of NISE funding. He served as the lead for the autonomy portfolio, developing new technologies in control theory, applied mathematics, and collaborative systems .
Prior to becoming the Director of Research in April 2016, Alan served as the division head for the Weapons Guidance division. The Weapons Guidance division mission is to provide multi-spectral, multi-disciplined engineering expertise for all aspects of weapons guidance systems and warfighter environments; inclusive from initial research and development to battlespace performance.
Up until August 2013, Alan served as branch head for Guidance Engineering. The Guidance Engineering branch head duties included hiring, staffing, project planning and oversight for a diverse group of scientists and engineers working on weapon systems. He was in that role from Jan 2012 to Aug 2013 Alan’s first positions at NAWCWD were in the research department, initially as a post-doctoral researcher and principal investigator before becoming the branch head in Nov 2001 for the Image and Signal Processing group, responsible for branch research activities.
In 1990, Alan completed his B.S. degree in physics at Truman State University, going on to the University of Missouri-Columbia, completing his M.S. and Ph.D. in physics in 1993 and 1996. Since August 1996 he has been employed at China Lake. He is a 2012 graduate of the Federal Executive Institute Leadership in a Democratic Society program, and completed the Navy Senior Leadership Seminar at the Naval Postgraduate School in June 2018
Alan’s hobbies include soccer, rugby, tropical fish, and pinball and arcade machines. He helps to run monthly scholastic chess tournaments in the community. Alan is the local high school soccer referee instructor and assessor, as well as an active official. He is also certified as a level 2 soccer goalkeeper coach.
Prior to joining NPS, Alan was the chief scientist and strategy officer for the Research Department for the Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division (NAWCWD). The Research Directorate mission is to create and prevent technical surprise through exploring relevant, new or emerging areas of science, creating advanced technologies and capabilities, and applying new technologies and capabilities to Navy needs.
Previously, Alan served as the Director of Research from April 2016 until February 2022. In the director role, he developed a new NAWCWD approach to S&T leadership of NISE funding. He served as the lead for the autonomy portfolio, developing new technologies in control theory, applied mathematics, and collaborative systems .
Prior to becoming the Director of Research in April 2016, Alan served as the division head for the Weapons Guidance division. The Weapons Guidance division mission is to provide multi-spectral, multi-disciplined engineering expertise for all aspects of weapons guidance systems and warfighter environments; inclusive from initial research and development to battlespace performance.
Up until August 2013, Alan served as branch head for Guidance Engineering. The Guidance Engineering branch head duties included hiring, staffing, project planning and oversight for a diverse group of scientists and engineers working on weapon systems. He was in that role from Jan 2012 to Aug 2013 Alan’s first positions at NAWCWD were in the research department, initially as a post-doctoral researcher and principal investigator before becoming the branch head in Nov 2001 for the Image and Signal Processing group, responsible for branch research activities.
In 1990, Alan completed his B.S. degree in physics at Truman State University, going on to the University of Missouri-Columbia, completing his M.S. and Ph.D. in physics in 1993 and 1996. Since August 1996 he has been employed at China Lake. He is a 2012 graduate of the Federal Executive Institute Leadership in a Democratic Society program, and completed the Navy Senior Leadership Seminar at the Naval Postgraduate School in June 2018
Alan’s hobbies include soccer, rugby, tropical fish, and pinball and arcade machines. He helps to run monthly scholastic chess tournaments in the community. Alan is the local high school soccer referee instructor and assessor, as well as an active official. He is also certified as a level 2 soccer goalkeeper coach.
NPS Experience
- 2023 - current: Associate Provost
Other Experience
- 2022 - 2023 Chief Scientist for Research, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division
- 2016 - 2022 Department Head, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division
Research Interests
ATR, image exploitation, signal processing
Teaching Interests
Physics, pattern recognition, automatic target recognition, image exploitation