ONR Program Officer Named AAAS Fellow for ‘Visionary Leadership’

For his “multi-decade visionary leadership role in setting and shepherding the research agenda in AI and computational neuroscience at the Office of Naval Research [ONR],” Dr. Tom McKenna recently was named a 2023 Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

AAAS is one of the world’s largest general scientific societies and publisher of the Science family of journals. Being named an AAAS Fellow is considered a distinguished lifetime honor within the scientific community.

McKenna — a program officer in ONR’s Warfighter Performance Department — and other members of the 2023 class will be formally honored Sept. 21 at a special Washington, D.C., ceremony commemorating AAAS’ 150th anniversary.

In a statement, Dr. Sudip S. Parikh, AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals, said, “This year’s class embodies scientific excellence, fosters trust in science throughout the communities they serve and leads the next generation of scientists while advancing scientific achievements.”

Dr. Patrick Mason, head of ONR’s Warfighter Performance Department, said, “I want to offer my sincerest congratulations to Dr. McKenna for this great honor. For many years, he has promoted innovative research and creative thinking in the areas of computational neuroscience and artificial intelligence, which has enhanced our nation’s naval capabilities dramatically.”

McKenna oversees several research areas within ONR:

— Bio-Inspired Autonomous Systems — Studies the sensorimotor control, biomechanics and fluid dynamics of underwater propulsion and control in aquatic and amphibious animals, in order to expand the capabilities of naval underwater and amphibious vehicles and enable enhanced underwater performance.

— Cognitive Science for Human-Machine Teaming — Pursues intelligent systems that can enhance humans and excel as teammates, trainers and assistants, leading to effective human-machine teaming. This is especially valuable for dirty, dangerous jobs like ship maintenance, mine countermeasures and explosive ordnance disposal.

— Computational Neuroscience — Seeks to develop large-scale, realistic, brain-inspired models capable of executing machine perception, learning, motor control and cognitive skills. The ultimate goal is creating brain-based intelligent systems that can be embedded into autonomous platforms and robots.

— Human Interaction with Autonomous Systems — Aims to create intelligent autonomous systems and robots that could serve as teammates with humans, enabling peer-to-peer collaboration.

McKenna also coordinates the ONR-wide Science of Artificial Intelligence program, which seeks to develop superior computational methods for building versatile intelligent agents (physical and cyber) that can perform various naval tasks in real-world environments. The program invests in science that allows artificial intelligence to operate with high-level instructions and seamless collaboration with humans and other agents.

Over the years, McKenna, who joined ONR in 1988, has sponsored numerous award-winning scientists in disciplines such as computational neuroscience, which is the study of the complex circuits and systems that enable the brain to function. The aim is to design more powerful algorithms for machine learning, perception, pattern recognition, motor control, decision making and action planning in autonomous platforms and robots.

Two of McKenna’s most accomplished principal investigators are Dr. Terrence Sejnowski of the University of California, San Diego and Dr. Haim Sompolinsky of Harvard University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Both professors recently won the 2024 Brain Prize for pioneering contributions to computational and theoretical neuroscience, laying the foundation of brain-inspired artificial intelligence.

In addition, McKenna has supported the development of groundbreaking technologies such as multiple bio-inspired underwater vehicles outfitted with specially designed fins and flippers to move like fish. He also sponsored the creation of the Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot — a bipedal humanoid robot developed to assist Sailors with inspection and damage control operations.

“Being named an AAAS Fellow is a tremendous honor,” said McKenna. “Usually, such awards go to those who are performing the research and publishing the results. I’m humbled they would single me out since my role is supporting and centrally managing the work of ONR's principal investigators.

“I greatly enjoy working at ONR,” he continued. “It’s a privilege to support top-tier researchers, to be a positive force in their careers and to help determine the direction of scientific research, both nationally and internationally.”

Warren Duffie Jr. is a contractor for ONR Corporate Strategic Communications.