Naval Academy Midshipman 1st Class (Senior) Kade Heckel, 21, of Hughesville, Pennsylvania, and Midshipman 1st Class (Senior) Evan Robertson, 21, of Oak Harbor, Washington, recently received Marshall Scholarships. This highly competitive academic scholarship provides up to two years of postgraduate study at a UK university. This year, more than 1,000 candidates competed for one of the 41 scholarships awarded. This year’s class has the largest number of American Service Academy graduates since the Service Academies began competing for the Marshall Scholarship in the early 1980s.
Heckel is a double major in computer science and computer engineering at the Naval Academy. A Trident researcher, he conducts research on machine learning for network intrusion detection. He served as Training Officer and Vice President of the Cyber Security Team at the Naval Academy.
In the fall of 2019, Heckel was honored by the NAVSEA Commander for discovering vectors of attack against commercial 3D printing technologies, and was invited to present his findings at the Department of Defense’s Avengercon Cyber Security Conference. His research influenced the Navy’s requirements for placing such systems on ships.
Upon commissioning, Heikal plans to pursue a Master of Science degree in Artificial Intelligence and Adaptive Systems at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England. After completing the Marshall Scholarship Program, Haykal will serve as an electronic warfare engineer.
Robertson is a double major in aerospace engineering and physics at the Naval Academy. He is one of five philatelists in the 2022 class, conducting research with NASA on autonomous satellite robotics and space systems design.
Outside of class, Robertson is a varsity on the Navy Heavyweight Crew, and vice president of the USNA chapter at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Tau Beta Pi Honor Society for Engineering. As a lifelong musician, he organized the “School of Rock”, a group of bands who enjoy playing and discussing rock music in their spare time.
Upon commissioning, Robertson plans to pursue a Master of Science degree in Advanced Mechanical Engineering with Aerospace at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. After completing the Marshall Scholarship Program, Robertson will report to Naval Air Station Pensacola for flight school. After successful completion of flight school, he will join the fleet as a naval pilot.
The Marshall Scholarship Program was established by an Act of Parliament in 1953 to commemorate the humanitarian ideals of the European Recovery Program (the Marshall Plan). The program’s objectives include enabling future American leaders the opportunity to study in the UK, helping scholars gain an understanding and appreciation of contemporary Britain, contributing to the advancement of knowledge in Britain’s centers of academic excellence, and motivating scholars to work. As ambassadors throughout their lives, strengthening British-American relations. The program has awarded more than 2,000 scholarships so far.
For more information about the Marshall Scholarship, please visit http://www.marshallscholarship.org/.
For more information about the Naval Academy, please visit www.usna.edu or their Facebook page.
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