September 27, 2023

Purdue scholar Belle Higginbotham, a game development & design/animation & VFX major from Louisville, Kentucky, was inspired to join DCTC by her father’s career in the military and government. But it wasn’t obvious to her how her studies in game development and design could be used to contribute to national security.

That is until Belle met Dr. Payuna Uday, a research scientist with the Systems Engineering Research Center and proud Purdue alumna. Dr. Uday joined the DCTC executive leadership team on a recent visit to Purdue and sought out Belle to tell her about work that SERC’s sister organization, the Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC), is doing to build an online game to explain the different aspects of defense acquisition. “I was really happy [Dr. Uday] took the time to read my bio and come talk to me. It felt good to have that recognition. When she invited me to join the research team to provide my feedback as a designer it was the beginning of a strong and personal connection.”

Dr. Uday recognized that Belle’s coursework on game design and what makes games fun would benefit the AIRC team as it develops a game to teach users about defense acquisition. Dr. Uday connected with Belle’s DCTC professor, Dr. Ken Callahan, who agreed Belle’s role as an advisor to the acquisition game team would make an interesting micro-project for the DCTC class. Semester-long micro projects are part of the DCTC integrated curriculum and development to give scholars an opportunity to work in teams to research and analyze real-life defense challenges.

“Dr. Callahan does a great job of helping us build teams in class, but he doesn’t micromanage us,” Belle explained. “He creates opportunities for us to take initiative, learn about each other, and decide how our personalities blend. The multidisciplinary nature of the class makes that especially interesting. For the gaming micro-project, I recruited my classmate John [Eberle] because he understood the financial issues in the game much faster than I could. I also recruited Armand [Destin] because her mechanical engineering background means she understands the problem in the game differently than I would. Together we’ll be able to create a more thorough presentation to our class about the acquisition game and its purpose.”

During the executive leadership team’s visit to Purdue, Belle also learned from AIRC fellow John Willison that the Army has a sizable civilian workforce whose mission is to develop virtual, interactive, and multimedia systems for outreach, education, simulation, and training. “He came right up to me as I was leaving class and said, ‘I saw your bio. I am working to set up summer internships with labs that do gaming work. You’re probably looking at Orlando or the West Coast, let me know your preference.’ It was amazing. At Purdue you can be a small fish in a big pond, but with DCTC, people have come looking for me. It’s nice to have those who know what is needed in national security take an interest in me.”