Johns Hopkins APL Engineer Newman Inducted as Military Sensing Symposia Fellow

Andrew Newman, an engineer at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, was inducted as a fellow of the Military Sensing Symposia during the 2025 National Security Sensor and Data Fusion conference.

Fellows of the Military Sensing Symposia (MSS) are recognized for sustained, significant contributions to the field of military sensing. They are nominated based on their outstanding scientific and leadership accomplishments, significant impacts to national defense, extensive service to the MSS community, and recommendation by their peers.

Newman’s journey with MSS began in 2002 when he co-authored his first paper for the National Security Sensor and Data Fusion (NSSDF) conference. More than 20 years later, he serves as conference chair and member of the MSS Executive Council, guiding the symposia with 35 years of professional experience and expertise.

In 2023, he was awarded the Joe Mignogna Data Fusion Award in recognition of his leadership in the data fusion community.

“Andy is well known in our community because of his long history of technical and leadership achievements across analysis, planning, control, and data fusion for critical national security systems,” said Mark Luettgen, former NSSDF conference chair. “It is a pleasure to see him getting this recognition.”

Throughout his career, Newman has contributed to a wide variety of projects in intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting (ISR&T) systems, sensor and data fusion, target tracking, and dynamic ISR resource management applied to land, maritime, air, and space missions. Among his most notable accomplishments is work on the Dynamic Time Critical Warfighting Capability, which is designed to enhance situational awareness and prosecution of challenging targets.

Newman also led the Precision Engagement of Moving Targets Independent Research and Development (IRAD) effort — a robust upstream data fusion, multi-hypothesis tracking, and closed-loop ISR capability — and invented Reconnaissance Blind Chess, a game designed to strengthen autonomous decision-making under uncertainty.

“Andy’s induction as an MSS fellow is well-deserved recognition of his exceptional technical leadership and lasting impact on the military sensing community,” said Frank Bantell, APL’s ISR&T program area manager. “His contributions exemplify world-class expertise in support of our nation’s security.”

As supervisor of APL’s ISR and Targeting Technology Group, Newman oversees a team of engineers, scientists, and mathematicians who pioneer next‑generation data fusion and sensor resource management tools. Through his mentorship and expertise, he has led the development of technical capabilities that have revolutionized the way the U.S. military performs long-range targeting.

“It’s an honor to join the ranks of the MSS fellows, and I am grateful to MSS leadership for this opportunity,” Newman said during the induction ceremony. “I’ve been fortunate to spend my entire career working on sensing technology, and I hope to continue to serve the community for many years to come.”