Navy veteran and four-time CAS alum built a career by probing the link between humans and their machines

Schmorrow, a four-time Western Michigan University graduate, transferred to Western in his junior year because, unlike other schools he had attended, he felt welcomed into the Bronco family. 

“I can’t emphasize enough that the magic for me in the late 1980s was the special feeling WMU somehow provided. There was something comforting and welcoming that was ubiquitous on campus,” says Schmorrow. 

Schmorrow was so influenced by Western that he went on to get not only his bachelor’s degree in economics and psychology in 1989, but also two master’s degrees (experimental psychology, 1990, and philosophy, 1993), as well as his Ph.D. (experimental psychology, 1993) at WMU. 

It was Schmorrow’s time studying psychology as an undergrad that launched his lifelong passion for probing the relationship between human behavior and artificial intelligence (AI). 

From Ph.D. to the Navy

In 1993, the newly minted Dr. Schmorrow joined the U.S. Navy after his grandmother asked him to consider service. 

“I couldn’t imagine a fresh Ph.D. would have any role in the military. However, my grandmother was an amazing woman and when she asked me to please investigate the possibility of military service as a gift to her, I could not say no,” says Schmorrow. 

He received a lot of “intriguing” offers from the different military branches, but the Navy flew him to Pensacola, Florida. If he attended and passed flight school, they told him, they would make him a Naval Aerospace Experimental Psychologist as a Lieutenant, skipping ahead in rank. The Navy won, and Schmorrow began what would become a twenty-year military career. 

Following an initial deployment on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower supporting Operation Deny Flight and Operation Provide Promise, Schmorrow’s career with the Navy “ranged from bench level science and engineering work, to managing research funding, to serving at the highest levels of research and development, policy and strategy within the Department of Defense.” 

Just a few of his titles included student naval aerospace experimental psychologist (AEP); John G. Jenkins Postdoctoral Fellow in Applied Cognitive Research; human factors engineer project officer and biomedical support branch head; assistant professor at Naval Post Graduate School; chief scientist for human technology integration at the Naval Research Laboratory; executive assistant to the chief of Naval research; member of the Defense Science Board; and DoD human systems director. 

Solving intractable problems

Perhaps one of Dr. Schmorrow’s more interesting positions was serving as program manager with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the government’s rather radical department designed to explore seemingly impossible ideas and, in many cases, make them a reality. 

In the December 2003 Genius Issue of Esquire Magazine, Schmorrow described his vision for human/technology interaction: “Wouldn’t it be interesting to be able to have a symbiotic relationship with your computational system?” 

At DARPA, Schmorrow had the opportunity to help transform an initiative focused on biomedical and cognitive systems-based IT for weapons systems. He led the creation of a research and development program focused on human-technology integration, with the goal of increasing the number of information weapons systems operators could effectively manage. 

“We were able to create and foster imaginative, innovative and high-risk research ideas that yielded revolutionary technological advances in science and technology in support of the U.S. military,” says Schmorrow.  

The project, called Augmented Cognition, was designed to exponentially “extend the information management capacity of the ‘human-computer’ combination by developing and demonstrating enhancements to human cognitive ability in diverse and stressful operational environments.” The technologies developed under this program require fewer workers to operate and have led to enhanced operational capabilities and improved performance in challenging environments. In short, the project facilitated the development of “intelligent adaptive computational systems”— a paradigm-shifting achievement. 

Schmorrow’s work with the Office of Naval Research has also led to a transformative method of combat training now being used by the U.S. Marine Corps. The Infantry Immersion Trainer is a virtual reality program that employs smells, sounds, pyrotechnics and holographic displays to immerse a soldier in the most realistic combat training environment imaginable “to prevent fatal errors before troops are exposed to the real threat.” From concept to prototype, the program was created in less than a year and has already trained thousands of Marines. 

Schmorrow's professional career is filled with impressive successes, and he has won multiple accolades from both the Navy and Western Michigan University for his many accomplishments. In the fall of 2020, Schmorrow was awarded the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Achievement Award, the "Discovery Driven" Pillar Award and the Department of Psychology’s Alumni Achievement Award. In addition to the Navy’s Top Scientists and Engineers Award in 2007, Schmorrow has earned nearly thirty awards and medals from the Navy in recognition of his accomplishments. 

Soar Technology

In 2013, Schmorrow retired from the Navy with the rank of captain. Not one to rest on his laurels, he joined Soar Technology (SoarTech), a company focused entirely on his lifelong passion: human behavior linked with artificial intelligence. Schmorrow serves as executive vice president and chief technology officer for the company. 

SoarTech’s mission is focused on developing “human-centered artificial intelligence solutions” for the U.S. military. The company believes that the future of AI will consist of some combination of both human-centered and cognitive artificial intelligence. 

“SoarTech focuses on the development of intelligent software that reasons like humans, automates complex tasks, simplifies human-machine interactions and models human behaviors. Our philosophy is three-fold: to augment—but not replace—the human; to think ‘top-down, not bottom- up;’ and to be transparent so that decisions and processing are communicated to the human in human-like terms via Explainable AI.” 

Personally, Schmorrow would like to explore the role of AI in sustainability efforts. SoarTech’s work on autonomous vehicle programming has inspired him to consider the other ways in which AI may promote environmental responsibility—  he believes artificial intelligence will play a major role in stabilizing alternative energy production sources, such as wind and solar farms, which are impacted by weather conditions. “The goal would be for AI to consume as little energy as possible while producing as much energy as possible.” 

Throughout his career, Schmorrow has recognized the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork to the success of any project. “Interdisciplinary research is at the forefront of progressive discovery. Leading large-scale programs requires the ability to understand multiple vectors.” 

Working with a range of experts in a variety of disciplines can guarantee success or at least the likelihood of it. By attacking a question from multiple disciplines, a physiologist may catch an angle missed by a psychologist, a cognitive scientist may ask a question that can be answered by a software developer, and so on—culminating in a more innovative and ultimately superior solution than could have been achieved using a narrow, single-discipline lens. 

The most important human link

While Schmorrow’s career has been undeniably impressive, nothing brings him greater happiness and pride than his family. His wife of twenty years, Laura, recently retired from her career as a business executive and is enjoying pursuing her passion for art—particularly painting. 

Their oldest child, Grace, is a psychology major at the University of Central Florida and will pursue a graduate program, likely in industrial/ operational psychology. She is also a talented singer and has released several recordings under her full name, SarahGrace. Their son, Maximus, is also a talented musician and spent his first year out of high school at a Los Angeles music conservatory. While there, he wrote, recorded and produced an album of his songs. His next step is to study business and marketing at Virginia Commonwealth University. Their youngest, Lily, will be a senior in high school this fall. Lily is also an artist who enjoys writing, digital art, photography and fashion. She has expressed interest in pursuing a degree that combines her artistic talents in those areas. 

"My primary source of joy has been watching these kids grow into creative, smart, compassionate, articulate and aware humans,” says Schmorrow.

Schmorrow has some advice for current students, advice that in some respects, we could all take to heart. Be present, and perhaps just as importantly in a post-pandemic world, don’t isolate yourself. “You will find your people, just be patient  and open to it.”  

This story is published as part of the College of Arts and Sciences Annual Magazine—view the 2022 Magazine online.