The chapter hosted a luncheon featuring Akshay Prabhu, director of software engineering at Capital One. Prabhu delivered an insightful presentation on his team's journey to harness the full potential of data integration. Attendees gained valuable insights into the challenges and triumphs of transforming raw data into actionable information for software applications.

Prabhu shared how his team successfully engineered self-healing workflows, implemented proactive monitoring systems and streamlined producer and consumer onboarding through user-friendly interfaces. The interactive session encouraged discussion as attendees posed questions and shared their perspectives on these innovative approaches.

The chapter hosted two forensic scientists from Signature Science, who presented their work supporting federal, state and local law enforcement using forensic genetic genealogy. They provided a broad overview of how the field has resulted in the capture of notorious serial killers and how it can be used to unveil new details of currently unsolved crimes.

The chapter hosted a golf event in April at Birdwood in Charlottesville, Virginia. This event was attended by local government and industry defense and intelligence professionals. The event directly supported scholarships and grants for local students and teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education programs.

It's all about big data analytics! Vendors and invited guests from government and industry engaged on big data analytics and social media exploitation and analysis in June. Vendors provided demonstrations of capabilities supporting intelligence analysis-related data analytic tools, tactics, techniques and procedures for large dataset analysis as well as methodologies to capture, store, search, share, transfer, analyze, visualize and understand large structured or unstructured datasets gathered from ubiquitous information and disparate data sources, including social media and other open-source data resources.

The chapter hosted a Swing for STEM golf event on October 29, 2014, at Birdwood Golf Course in Charlottesville, Virginia. This event was well-attended by local government and industry defense and intelligence professionals. The event directly supported scholarships and grants for local students and teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education programs.

The chapter is pleased to recognize and congratulate Jenifer Peguero who received a 2014 Distinguished Young AFCEAN Award at West in February.

The chapter would like to congratulate STEM Award winners from Liberty University, including Joshua Raymond Adler, Jordan N. Kehr, Emily Stokes, Daniel Hinson Adams and Kelly Nicole Garrett.

The September luncheon was the kick-off to the chapter's Fall 2014 speaker series. The event spurred a great turn out, spotlighted a local small business, First Citizen's Bank, and included a great discussion with keynote speaker John L. Newby II, Virginia's deputy secretary of veterans and defense affairs.

Adrian Felts and Tim Brooks presented Matt Shields from Charlottesville High School with the last of two STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Teaching Tools grants in March. Shields' $1,000 grant was to buy a laptop to help students operate robotic weather balloons and operate the robots they build and take to competitions.

In April, the chapter presented ROTC awards to University of Virginia Army and Air Force cadets and a Navy midshipman who demonstrated high academic achievement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related disciplines. Joe Reagan, chapter vice president for small business, presented the awards.

The chapter awarded its first four $1,000 merit-based scholarship grants in April to qualified minority or female students enrolled in four-year accredited science or engineering programs at a Virginia college or university. The chapter thanks its corporate sponsors SRC Incorporated and Battelle. The grant winners are: Ayana Braxton, Virginia Commonwealth University, recipient of the Minority Scholarship sponsored by Battelle; Adriana Sprouse, Christopher Newport University, recipient of the Minority Scholarship sponsored by SRC; Courtney Sigloh, The University of Virginia, recipient of the Women's Scholarship sponsored by Battelle; and Gabriella Freckman, Virginia Commonwealth University, recipient of the Women's Scholarship sponsored by SRC.

Adrian Felts, chapter president, presented Alecia Mullins from Madison County High School with one of two STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Teaching Tools grants in March. Mullins requested a grant to implement a statewide program through the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries called Trout in the Classroom (TIC). TIC provides hands on learning using inquiry-based techniques that teach the skills of research, journaling, data analysis, problem solving and the use of various types of scientific equipment.

The chapter hosted Battelle's vice president for special programs and the former staff director of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Tim Sample, for an engaging discussion on “National Security in the Age of Cyber” in September. This was the inaugural kickoff for the 2014 luncheon season for the chapter. Nearly 30 percent of the chapter membership was in attendance including its newest corporate sponsor, the University of Virginia Foundation (UVAF). The chief executive officer of the UVAF accepted a certificate of corporate membership and announced that the foundation would underwrite half of the cost of each luncheon this year in order to ensure more funding goes to the chapter's scholarship program.

In January, the chapter awarded five $1,000 scholarships on behalf of the AFCEA Educational Foundation to students of the newly formed chapter at Liberty University. Adrian Felts, chapter president; Carole Freas, chapter vice president for education; and Josh Isaacson, president of the Liberty University student chapter, presented the awards. Scholarship recipients are all AFCEA student members majoring in engineering and computer science. The recipients were Amanda Cabrera, Daniel Adams, Benjamin Mikkelson, Timothy Vernon and Kenneth Bruce.

The Honorable Terrie Suit, secretary of homeland defense and veterans' affairs, Commonwealth of Virginia, spoke the chapter in November regarding the potential economic fallout that will accompany major cuts to defense spending.