To encourage individual thought leaders to share their knowledge with the AFCEA audience, each year SIGNAL produces The Cyber Edge Writing Award. Writers address a unique theme and the top three submissions receive cash prizes and accolades. A panel of industry experts selects the winners.
Congratulations to our 2024 winners!
- 1st Place: Sam Richman
- 2nd Place: Retired Maj. Jonathan Harbin, USA
- 3rd Place: Retired U.S. Navy Capt. George Galdorisi
The winners will receive engraved awards and monetary prizes and will be recognized during an awards ceremony at AFCEA International’s TechNet Cyber conference, June 25-27 in Baltimore. All three winning articles will be published in SIGNAL Magazine’s July 2024 issue as part of The Cyber Edge special section.
Roger Khazan leads the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory (MITLL) Secure Resilient Systems and Technology (SRST) Group, helping solve some of the hardest technical problems relevant to national security. Samuel A. Mergendahl is an associate staff member in the MITLL SRST Group. He works on secure system engineering, including work that leverages advances in programming languages, such as Rust, to ensure functional and cyber assurance of critical mission systems. Richard W. Skowyra is a technical staff member at the MITTL SRST Group. He currently leads the group's efforts in designing cyber-resilient satellite systems.
Holding the High Ground: Defending Satellites From Cyber Attack
SIGNAL Magazine, April 2023
Cmdr. Clayton Robinson, USN (Ret.), is a strategic planner with COLSA Corporation.
Robotic Pawns: Unmanned Surface Vessels and Gray-Zone Warfare
SIGNAL Magazine, April 2023
Physical-Cyber Convergence Outside the Perimeter
SIGNAL Magazine, April 2023
Morgan Livingston is a Science Policy Fellow at the Institute for Defense Analyses Science and Technology Policy Institute.
Securing Machine Learning Requires a Sociotechnical Approach
SIGNAL Magazine, July 2022
Elie Alhajjar is a senior research scientist at the Army Cyber Institute and jointly an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.
Adversarial Machine Learning Poses a New Threat to National Security
SIGNAL Magazine, July 2022
- Lt. Col. Veronica Wendt, USA (Ret.) is a research fellow at the National Defense University College of Information and Cyberspace (NDU CIC)
- Michelle Guo, is founder of MAGICAVE Media, LLC
- Dr. Anteneh Girma is associate professor of computer science and cybersecurity at the University of the District of Columbia
Identifying Shared Vulnerabilities and Mitigation Strategies for Cloud, Wireless, and IoT
SIGNAL Magazine, July 2022
- George Galdorisi is director of Strategic Assessments and Technical Futures for the Naval Information Warfare Command Pacific
- Capt. Sam Tangredi, USN (Ret.) is professor of National, Naval and Maritime Strategy in the Center for Naval Warfare Studies of the U.S. Naval War College.
From AI Hype to AI Proof
SIGNAL Magazine, July 2021
Samuel Richman, U.S. Defense Department systems engineer at Zscaler
Defending the Digital Human Digital Network
SIGNAL Magazine, July 2021
Lt. Col. Kenny is the creator of an online forum to foster discussions on emerging technologies at www.militarycommunicators.org.
Precision-Guided Marketing and the Future of Information Operations
SIGNAL Magazine, July 2021
- Dr. Bryan C. Ward is a technical staff member in the Secure Resilient Systems and Technology Group at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
- Ryan C. Burrow is associate staff member in the Secure Resilient Systems and Technology Group at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
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Control Systems Need Software Security Too
SIGNAL Magazine, June 2020
Midshipman Allison Annick, USN, is a senior at the U.S. Naval Academy majoring in cyber operations and minoring in Chinese
Aging Workforce Brings On COBOL Crisis
SIGNAL Magazine, July 2021
Stephen Wood is Strategic product manager, Tripwire.
Four Steps To Reduce IoT Risk
SIGNAL Magazine, July 2020
SIGNAL's Sparky Baird Writing Contest
Prior to 2020, SIGNAL gave the Sparky Baird Writing Contest annual award to the author(s) of the outstanding SIGNAL Magazine article of the year. The W.J. "Sparky" Baird Award is named after Col. W.J. Baird, USA (Ret.), former general manager of AFCEA and editor of SIGNAL Magazine. Col. Baird became editor of SIGNAL in 1956 and held that position for 18 years. He assumed the additional duty of AFCEA general manager in 1959. That position became AFCEA president in 1977.
2019
"Cyberspace Triggers a New Kind of Arms Race"
SIGNAL Magazine, February 2018
Nicola Whiting, Titania
2018
"How the Hashtag is Changing Warfare, " SIGNAL Magazine, June 2017
Adam B. Jonas, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command G-2/Threat Tec LLC
2017
"Army Braces for a Culture Clash," SIGNAL Magazine, January 2016
Command Sgt. Maj. Rodney Dale Harris, USA (Ret.)
2016
"The Network of the Future is Needed Now," SIGNAL Magazine, December 2015
Lt. Col. David R. Waller, USAF, United States Special Operations Command
Maj. Ernest H. Jenkins, USA, United States Central Command
Lt. Cmdr. Christina M. Hicks, USN, Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Atlantic
2015
"Defense Acquisition, Meet Moore's Law," SIGNAL Magazine, August 2014
Col. M. Thomas Davis, USA (Ret.)
2014
"The Failing of Air Force Cyber," SIGNAL Magazine, November 2013
1st Lt. Robert Lee, USAF
2013
"The Tactical Edge Sees Data Interoperability," SIGNAL Magazine, November 2012
Frank Klucznik
Capt. Michael Stephens, USAF
2012
"A Culture Shock Is Coming," SIGNAL Magazine, July 2011
Paul Strassman
2011
"China Enters the Aircraft Carrier Club," SIGNAL Magazine, April 2010
James Bussert
2010
"Twitter is Mission Critical," SIGNAL Magazine, October 2009
Carol Scheina
Gabe Mounce
Daniel Ward
2009
"Asymmetric Warfare Requires Intelligence Community Reorganization," SIGNAL Magazine, April 2008
Diana Raschke
2008
Vinh Nguyen
"Current Trends in Intelligence Outsourcing Affect Workforce Stability," SIGNAL Magazine, December 2007