Traveling to Latvia expands student researcher’s experience and expertise

Danny Rosen recently crossed the Atlantic Ocean for a special opportunity to collaborate.

A senior computer science major, Rosen attended the first International Student and Coordinator Assembly of the Vertically Integrated Projects program in Riga, Latvia, in October. There, he presented research and participated in a student pitch competition with other student researchers from around the world. 

“The coolest part was being on a team and working with students from so many different backgrounds – not just from different countries, but also in different disciplines like biomedical or chemical engineering students – which I wouldn’t normally get to work with,” said Rosen, who is an undergraduate research assistant at the Hume Center for National Security and Technology. 

“Within two days, we came up with an idea in a provided area that met certain United Nations  goals for sustainable engineering improvements in the world.”

The trip was just the most recent research opportunity afforded to Rosen due to his involvement with the Virginia Tech National Security Institute, which houses the Hume Center. He also has presented at the center’s annual colloquium and been the first author on published research. 

“To get first authorship on a publication like that as an undergraduate is pretty rare,” Rosen said. “That’s something I can point to in a job interview that really shows the impact of the project I’m working on and how much work I have put into it.”

During the assembly, Rosen presented research related to the reinforcement learning training environment for radio frequency signals. The work was developed by a Hume Center student team led by William “Chris” Headley, associate director and research associate professor in the institute’s Spectrum Dominance Division.

The research was one of the institute’s Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP), which is an approach to enhancing higher education by engaging undergraduate and graduate students together in multiyear projects. Rosen credited his previous experience presenting his research at the Hume Center Colloquium as helping the performance of his international presentation.

“The colloquium was my first time ever presenting something that I had put so much time and effort into like that,” Rosen said. “Being able to talk in front of an audience and answer questions about a complex research topic is a skill that I know will help me in my future career.” 

During the assembly’s pitch competition, Rosen’s team, which was made up of students from various countries and majors, took home runner-up honors.  

Rosen said the experience capped his time at the Hume Center, which has opened his mind to career paths in national security and intelligence.

“I got involved with the VIP research project initially because I had an interest in machine learning and knew I wanted to work with that after school, but I didn’t know much about national security,” Rosen said. “Now working in national security or defense or something along those lines appeals to me. I see all of the great opportunities.”

Rosen was accompanied on the trip by Hume Center faculty Alan Michaels, Alyse Jones, and  Ehren Hill. During the event, the group collaborated with leaders from other universities with the goal of developing new international partnerships and collaborative VIP program.

The Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology is housed within the Virginia Tech National Security Institute and serves as the hub for national security-focused research, experiential student learning, and workforce development at the university. The summer internship program and similar efforts aim to work toward that effort of encouraging Virginia Tech students to consider a career in national security, the intelligence community, or related fields.