Navy Needs Data Scientists

In the nonstop march of technology stimulating Navy information warfare (IW) resides a human skill that could determine success or failure. Vice Adm. Jan Tighe, USN, deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare and director of naval intelligence (N2N6), says the expertise of data scientists is necessary to make the service’s digital transformation successful.

The Navy seeks these scientists in two ways. First, it looks to industry to provide the types of data scientists it needs. Second, the service grows the expertise it requires within its ranks, among civilians, officers and enlisted personnel.

Adm. Tighe points out that data scientists help rationalize and take advantage of data. They come up with algorithms to look for trends. While this discipline has traditionally been considered an element of computer science, it also blends into operations analysis and other related areas. She notes that academia is generating these scientists, and the Navy is thinking about how it can incorporate them into its own work force.