Noah Pointer and Jacob Hall conduct digital twin research using the STARS Platform in the new expanded MAX Lab Arena (Source: Noah Pointer, October 20, 2026)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL — The Swarm Test Arena for Resilience Systems (STARS) expands to a new facility representing a 64% increase in experimentation area to STARS, allowing greater experimentation flexibility.
The new arena is now 15 ft x 15 ft, and can field forty ground agents for experimentation for algorithms involving multi-agent systems. Although other research fields including human factors and digital twin development have been used in conjunction with STARS to advance research in those fields.
For more information on STARS, read out latest publications, or contact us.
Daytona Beach, FL — Dr. Bryan Watson, Principle Investigator of the BID4R Lab was recognized for is accomplishments in demonstrating innovation in research. Having led four inventions disclosures in Fiscal Year 2026, leveraging biological inspired design to improve multi-agent swarms in applications such as: drone swarms, sensors networks, and satellite constellations.
(Left to right) President P. Barry Butler, Dr. Bryan Watson, and Provost Kelly M. Austin Dr. Watson Receiving his award for Innovation and Research (Credit: David Massey) (Left to Right) Dean of Engineering Jim Gregory, Dr. Eduardo Rojas, Dr. Omar Ochoa, Dr. Bryan Watson, Daniel Diessner, the EECS Department Faculty with their Research Awards (Credit: David Massey)
BID4R lab Principal Investigator Dr. Bryan Watson was recently featured as a guest on the INCOSE Podcast, where he discussed his path from the Nuclear Navy to leading the lab’s research in biologically inspired resilience.
Drawing on his eight years as a submarine officer, Dr. Watson shared how operating complex systems at sea shaped his understanding of socio-technical resilience, where the interaction between people and technology is just as critical as the hardware itself.
The conversation also highlighted the core of BID4R’s work. Dr. Watson explained how functional abstraction allows the lab to translate survival behaviors found in nature, such as communication between Amazon River turtle eggs and task reallocation in ant colonies, into robust algorithms for drone swarms and supply chains.
As Chair of the INCOSE Technical Program Committee, Dr. Watson also offered a preview of IS 2027 in Washington, D.C., including a new $99 Student Access-Only Registration Tier. The tier offers 150 seats to INCOSE student members, awarded by lottery. Eligible students can enter here.
The episode is available wherever you get your podcasts.
Overlook of Wageningen, Netherlands, where BISCCITs 2026 was held
Wageningen, Netherlands — Dr. Watson attended the BioInspired Sensing Computing and Control with International Teams annual workshop this past June, presenting a poster titled “Successful Examples of Biologically Inspired Designed-for-Resilience”.
During his time there, he shares thoughts on the welcoming, interdisciplinary community that allowed for connecting and learning. He says “What a fantastic community. Small enough to connect with people, welcoming, and interdisciplinary.” He also took note of all the skilled presenters and how he can incorporate those features into the lab, such as “[using] the assertion evidence style featuring short claims and many visuals” and “simplifying their figures to ensure the main scientific idea was clear”.
Pictured is Dr. Watson’s poster for the BISCCITs workshop, where he presented Successful Examples of Biologically Inspired Design For Resilience in the BID4R Lab.
Noah Pointer (Center) Accepting the On-the-Spot Award at NASA with Sasha Sims (Right) and Pam Underwood (Left)
Merritt Island, FL — Noah Pointer, during this time working at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) this summer received an award:
“For delivering outstanding, high-impact support to the Spaceport Digital Twin, showing initiative, technical skill, and professionalism beyond expectations.”
-Brian Hughes, Director of Kennedy Space Center
Picture of the Award Presented to Noah Pointer
Noah Pointer
Noah Pointer is a B.S. Candidate in Software Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and member of the BID4R Lab under the mentorship of the lab supervisor, Dr. Bryan Watson.
His academic work includes research into methods for engineering thriving by utilizing machine learning to interpret biometric data, under Dr. Julianna Gesun.
Noah has been working with NASA for multiple year, and plan to continue working at NASA space centers upon graduation as a Full Time Engineer. All of the BID4R Lab wishes him continued success in his work!
(Left to Right) Carolyn Richardson, Joanna Morris, Abigail Butcher at Summer SRS 2026
DAYTONA BEACH, FL — It may be Summer, but the work continues for BID4R. Joanna Morris, Abigail Butcher, and Carolyn Richardson, who presented their ongoing research at the ERAU Summer Student Research Symposium.
Carolyn Richardson
Among those who represented BID4R was Carolyn Richardson, a recent addition to the BID4R Lab, who is currently pursuing both a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and M.S. in Systems Engineering.
Carolyn was awarded a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) Grant to pursue her work titled Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Detection in Wright-Giemsa Blood Smears Using ResNet-18 Pattern Recognition with MayGAN-Based Data Augmentation.
Those interested in learning more can see her work presented in the ERAU Scholarly Commons.
SoS Engineering Conference Dinner inside The King’s Mine in Kongsberg, Norway (Credit: Jonah Kohlmeyer)
KONGSBERG, NORWAY — BID4R traveled to Kongsberg, Norway for the 21st Annual System of Systems Engineering (SoSE) Conference 2026, hosted at the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN). Representing the lab were Dr. Bryan Watson and Jonah Kohlmeyer, M.S. candidate in Systems Engineering.
Dr. Watson presented his paper, “Reframing Design-for-Ilities in Systems of Systems Engineering Under Hierarchical Emergence,” and chaired a session on System of Systems governance and policies. Jonah Kohlmeyer presented a case study on the development of the Swarm Test Arena for Resilient Systems (STARS), sharing insights from the lab’s ongoing robotic swarm research.
The conference brought together the global System of Systems (SoS) engineering community for a strong lineup of industry keynotes and technical sessions. Highlights included keynotes on ASML’s history in developing Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography, CorPower Ocean’s work generating grid-scale energy from ocean wave motion, and SAAB’s presentation on their systems engineering and discovery development process. Technical presentations spanned a wide range of topics, from SoS engineering frameworks to machine learning optimization of concrete 3D-printed structures — alongside BID4R’s own contributions.
Beyond the conference sessions, Kongsberg — and Norway more broadly — left a lasting impression, with stunning scenery and excellent food throughout the trip. A particular highlight was the conference dinner, hosted inside a preserved silver mine, offering a truly unique setting to close out the event.
Jonah Kohlmeyer at Trolltunga (“the Troll’s Tongue”), above Lake Ringedalsvatnet in Norway
Streets of Kongsberg, Norway (Credit: Jonah Kohlmeyer)
Special thanks to Dr. Bryan Watson for the opportunity to submit and travel to this event, and an extra special thanks to the conference organizers, for their hospitality.
Overlook of Kongsberg, Norway (Credit: Jonah Kohlmeyer)
Dr. James Hand (Left), Dr. Bryan Watson (Center), and Dr. Rogelio Garcia Otalvaro (Right) at INCOSE IS 2026
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN — This year the BID4R sent recent Ph.D. graduates Rogelio Garcia Otalvaro and James Hand to the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) International Symposium 2026 (IS 2026) in Yokohama, Japan. Alongside them the BID4R lab advisor Dr. Bryan Watson attended as Deputy Technical Program Chair for the conference. For next year Dr. Watson will be the Technical Program Chair for IS 2027 in Washington D.C., USA.
Rogelio and James presented papers that continued work from the presentations they made at last year’s IS 2025. Rogelio presented his work titled “Democratizing Resilience Analysis: Open-Source Tool Adaptation for Multi-Stakeholder Infrastructure Assessment”. This presentation gained interest in those looking for open-source solutions to resilience analysis.
James presented “A Sensitivity Analysis of the Effects of Spatial heterogeneity on System Resilience to Contagious Faults”, which is a direct follow up to one of the papers he presented that earned him the Brian Mar Best Student Paper at last year’s International Symposium.
The three, alongside another professor from ERAU Dr. Vidhyashree Nagaraju, and James’ wife Alexis Tucker attended the closing reception the evening after their presentation where they got to experience traditional Kagura dances and shamisen music performances. Outside the conference, members of the lab were also able to explore the local cuisine, visit nearby shrines, and other tourist experiences.”
BID4R Lab Members at Giuseppe’s Steel City Pizza, April 2026, (left to right) Spoorti Nanjamma, Fayruz Maysha, Grace Gratton, Maxwell Moolchan, Joanna Morris, James Hand, Bryan Watson, Nick Wilson, Graci Flaherty, Tim Mascal, Ava Neubert, Nate George, and Morgan Kendall
DAYTONA BEACH, FL — The Biologically Inspired Design-for-Resilience Lab (BID4R) wraps up a great Spring 2026 Semester. The lab shared a meal at Giuseppe’s Steel City Pizza, enjoying fantastic pizza, with a crowd favorite being the unique Spaghetti and Meatball Pizza.
Spaghetti & Meatball Pizza at Giuseppe’s Steel City Pizza (source: Trip Advisor)
Dr. Bryan Watson expressed his gratitude for everyone in the lab and their hard work. He emphasized the quality of the work the lab engages in, congratulated those who won well deserved accolades, scholarships, and professional recognition during the year. Dr. Watson shared his ambitions and plans for the coming semester and years.
The attendees expressed thank to Dr. Watson for his consistent support throughout the semester, and excellent advice during his meetings with lab members even as the lab has grown significantly in size since it was established in 2022.
Congratulations to the Graduates
James Hand, PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
It was also a bittersweet moment for the lab. As its first student member, James Hand, will be graduating with his PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science this spring.
He is joined by other Spring 2026 graduates Noah Fulton who will be receiving his M.S. in Systems Engineering and Maxwell Moolchan who will be receiving his M.S. in Systems Engineering.
Additionally, Spoorti Nanjamma and Christine Sessions will both be graduating their Master’s Degrees and transitioning to PhD Students under Dr. Watson. Spoorti will be receiving her M.S. in Systems Engineering, while Christine will be receiving her M.S. in Systems Engineering and her MBA.
Noah Fulton, M.S. Systems Engineering
Maxwell Moolchan, M.S. Systems Engineering
Spoorti Nanjamma, M.S. Systems Engineering
Christine Sessions, M.S. Systems Engineering & MBA
All attendees of the BID4R Semester Sendoff Dinner
CSER is a premier conference in Systems Engineering, bringing together leading experts from academia and industry to deliver distinguished keynote presentations and drive discussions that shape the future of the field. Our lab members were grateful for the opportunity to learn from and connect with fellow innovators, as well as to share perspectives on how biologically inspired design can advance ongoing work in Systems Engineering.
“This year’s CSER focused on Intelligent Digital Twins, which is not typically a primary focus of our lab. I appreciated the exposure to a different area of Systems Engineering, as it sparked new research ideas and broadened my perspective. The conference was also an excellent opportunity to learn, connect with leaders in the field, and gain a deeper appreciation for the impact engineers can have on the world.” — Nathan George
We are very grateful to George Mason University for hosting and look forward to seeing everyone again at University of Alabama Huntsville next year!
Interplay between Physical Design Choices and Emergent Cyber System Consensus: A Case Study with an Underwater Swarm, By: Ava Neubert and Bryan Watson, P. E.
